Mom's Fruitcake
Super easy
Fairly expensive
Better-Than-Average Fruitcake is a delightful twist on the classic holiday treat, blending a rich, tender texture from graham cracker crumbs with a medley of candied fruits, raisins, and pecans. This 1970s-inspired recipe, enhanced with lemon and vanilla extracts (or rum for a twist), bakes into moist, sliceable loaves that deepen in flavor with optional aging in rum and brandy.
Prep
30m
Cook
1h 30m
Wait
30m
| Category: | Desserts Cakes & Cupcakes Christmas |
| Seasons |
Ingredients
For
1
Batch(es)
Fruit cake
| 4 sticks (2 cups) Butter |
| 2 1/2 cups sugar |
| 10 large eggs |
| 1 pound graham cracker, rolled into fine crumbs (5 Cups) |
| 1 pound seedless golden raisins |
| 1 lb candied pineapple (Some like It chopped, but I don't) |
| 1 pound candied red and green cherries (chopped if you prefer) ***NO candied citrus! |
| 1 pound pecan halves, chopped |
| 2 Tablespoons Lemon or rum extract |
| 2 Tablespoons maxican vanilla extract (Yes it makes a difference!) |
| Rum and brandy (or rum extract mixed with water) for aging (optional, about 1/4 cup every 2 weeks) |
Mom's Fruitcake Directions
- Line loaf pans with parchments then grease with shortening and set aside.
- Pour 1 cup boiling water over the raisins, let it absorb the water till raisins are plump.
- When ready to use, drain water from raisins and place on paper towl and pat dry excess water.
- In a large bowl, combine dates, candies pineapple, red and green cherries.
- Drain the raisins and add to bowl
- Add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves to sifter and sift into the date and fruit mixture
- Add the crushed greham crackers
- In a seperate bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until combined.
- Add the eggs and beat til fluffy
- Add the vanilla and rum extract.
- Beat till well combined.
- Fold into the fuit and flour mixture until well combined.
- Pour into prebared loaf pans and put into a 325° oven
- Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours
- Cool in pan for 30 minutes.
- Remove parchment from cake.
- Wrap in plastic wrap AND aluminum foil andstore in regrigerator
- Best if eaten 1 month or more after making. (You can freeze it.)
Notes
Mom says that Mexican vanilla is the best to use with this recipe
- This recipe produces a rich, candy-like fruitcake that's sliceable and improves with age—perfect for holidays. The graham crumbs create a tender, crustless texture without flour.
- Variations from the era often swapped extracts; if lemon doesn't ring a bell, using rum extract in the batterwould work seamlessly without changing the method.
