English Dried Fruit Cake

Just the ingredients alone were enough to inspire me, therefore it was no effort to mix this cake together with all of its delicious dried fruits, except that I had to replenish quite often because I so rapidly devoured them.

I used Rose’s mixed dried fruit recommendations: toasted pecan pieces, baking apples and then added golden raisins, dried mango, dried apples, prunes, Turkish apricots, dried pears, and cranberries. Following Rose’s directions was not difficult. I chose to use two 9 x 2 pans.

Realizing that previous eras' fruitcakes had a tendency to be dry, I watched carefully and took this newly innovated one out a bit early. This worked well. The cake was cooled, syruped with rum, and wrapped for five days. I took one layer and added a little more rum and kept it another day at which time I put it on a plate to serve it. I froze the other layer after adding more rum.

I cut the first layer into pie-shaped wedges and served it with crème fraiche with a sprinkle of orange zest. The cake was tender, flavorful with the complementary rum, held its shape, and was pleasant to view. Everyone had expected one of the dreaded dry, candied fruitcakes of their youth, and their eyes lit up with joy at the first bite of this one as they pronounced it "marvelous".

FYI: Before I baked this cake, I wrote to Woody on Rose’s blog to ask his input about baking it in my NordicWare wreath pan, which I thought would be festive for Christmas.

My question:

Hi Rose and Woody,  

Do you think it would be appropriate to bake the English Fruit Cake in my Nordic Ware wreath pan. 

Thanks, Joan

Woody’s response:

Hi Joan,  

The Wreath Pan holds 10 cups and a 13 x 9 pan holds 15 cups. You will need to make a two-thirds batter, except the leavening.  

You will have to experiment with slightly less than two-thirds due to the center tube with the wreath pan.We always recommend baking it to the original recipe to establish your control. 

If this is for the Bake Along, you need to make it in the 13 x 9 for it.  

Rose & Woody

So, now to test it I intend to bake it first in the 13 x 9 and then in the wreath pan. I think we will have a fun interpretation