I know fruitcakes aren’t the most popular dessert in holiday Texas, but they’re definitely the most talked about when it comes to this quirky flavor. As a kid, I was never a fan of fruitcake and I’d be lying if I said I was until my aunt made her famous Texas-style fruitcake that she got to share with all of Central Texas.
NOT YOUR ORDINARY FRUIT PIE
Granted, it still has the traditional fruitcake ingredients, but theirs comes with a bit of brandy like a cake that really changes the flavor of this popular Christmas dessert. Here is the recipe for the Texan Fruitcake.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups chopped dried plums (6 oz), chopped
1 1/4 cups chopped dates (6 oz), chopped
1 1/2 cups dark raisins (8 oz)
1 1/4 cups golden raisins (6 oz)
1 1/4 cups currants (6 oz)
¾ cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup molasses
½ cup of coffee liqueur or ½ cup of strong black coffee
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
1 cup chopped glazed cherries
1 cup candied citrus peel
1 1/2 cups (7 oz) toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger powder
1 teaspoon of cloves
2 teaspoons of nutmeg
3 tablespoons of cocoa
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup ground hazelnuts or almonds
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 glasses of cheap brandy
Instructions
In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat and add the raisins, dates, prunes, currents, brown sugar, molasses, spices, coffee liqueur (or coffee), and zest and juice. orange.
Bring to a gentle boil and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for 30-45 minutes.
When cold, add the beaten eggs.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, brandy, and baking soda.
Add the ground walnuts and fold through the boiled mixture. Add the cherries, citrus zest, and walnuts. Pour into the prepared baking pan. You can decorate the top with walnut halves and additional cherries.
Bake at 300 degrees F for 1 ½ to 2 hours depending on the size of your pan. Mine took the full two hours on a 10 inch springform pan. The cake should feel firm to the touch in the center and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. The cake should cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing.
At this point you can poke small holes in the top and bottom of the cake with a fork and pour in 4 ounces of dark rum or your favorite whiskey, half on top, wait ten minutes, then flip and pour in the rest. . half at the bottom.
Soak several layers of cheesecloth in additional rum if desired and wrap completely around cake, then cover with several layers of plastic wrap and store in a COOL place.
When serving you can add a layer of marzipan or if you’ve decorated the top with fruit and nuts, brush with a simple glaze of equal parts water and sugar boiled together for about 10-15 minutes.
12 Heartwarming Christmas Songs Just In Time For Christmas
Innocently hearing about how someone’s mother was having an affair with Santa Claus, to a completely different way of singing Silent Night.
From hip hop’s first Christmas song to the most popular soul Christmas song of all time, here are 12 heartwarming Christmas songs to put on your playlist just in time for Christmas!
The 20 Best Restaurants Central Texans Want To Visit Temple
This was before it was announced that a Dutch Bros. Coffee location would open there (which was one of the places I predicted as a contender in our article).
So now Dutch Bros. is open at that location, but the responses to my survey were interesting because they paint a picture of how diverse Temple’s population is. People recommended some familiar restaurants with locations in the surrounding area, but also some I’d never heard of.
These are the top 20 survey results. Let’s see what the good people of Temple are up to!
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