Best Fruit N Nut Loaf Recipes

FRUIT CAKE LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
• Grease and line a 9" x 4" loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
• Add the warm water, milk, vanilla and eggs. Beat until thoroughly combined.
• Add half of the flour mixture, mix just until combined, and then the remaining half and mix just until combined. Do not overmix.
• Fold in the candied peel and nuts, adding more or less as you'd like it to taste.
• Spread the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the frosting, beat the cream cheese, vanilla and powdered icing sugar for 2 minutes until smooth and light. Adjust the consistency with more powdered sugar or cream to make it easy to spread.

FRUIT 'N' NUT MINI LOAVES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Stir in the apricots, nuts and cherries. Beat eggs and vanilla; stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon into eight greased and floured 4-1/2x2-1/2x1-1/2-in. loaf pans (pans will be full). , Bake at 325° for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from the pans to wire racks. Cool completely before slicing.

NUT LOAF SUPREME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• Put walnuts and pecans in a resealable bag and seal; crush nuts using a rolling pin.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic in the hot oil until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, marjoram, sage, and thyme; cook and stir until mushrooms are golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl.
• Stir crushed walnut mixture, Swiss cheese, wild rice, cottage cheese, eggs, parsley, salt, and pepper into mushroom mixture until evenly mixed. Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until loaf is golden brown, about 1 hour. Let loaf cool in pan for about 20 minutes before inverting pan and removing loaf.

FESTIVE FRUIT & NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4/fan 160C and lightly grease and line the base and sides of a deep 22-23cm round loose-based cake tin with Bake-o-Glide or baking parchment (see overleaf). Beat the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, ground almonds and spices until thoroughly mixed and creamy, preferably with an electric beater or in a food mixer.
• Measure off 100g/4oz of the cake mixture, put in a bowl and set aside. Fold the fruit and rum into the remaining mixture, then gently stir in the marzipan. Spoon this mixture into the prepared cake tin and flatten with a spatula to make a smooth even surface, then make a slight dip in the centre of the cake. This simple trick will give the finished cake a nice flat top. Bake for 11⁄4 hours.
• While the cake is in the oven, make the fruit and nut topping. Mix all the nuts, cherries and syrup into the remaining cake mixture (see tip overleaf). Spoon the mixture on top of the part-cooked cake (once it has had its 11⁄4 hours), evenly distributing the mixture of nuts and cherries across the surface of the cake. Loosely cover the top of the tin with foil.
• Return to the oven for 40 minutes more, then take off the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, so the nuts can turn golden. Keep an eye on them, so they don't get too dark. To test the cake mixture is cooked, insert a fine skewer into the cake - if it comes out clean then it's ready. Cool in the tin then turn out, keeping the lining on, and wrap with foil. (The cake will keep for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen for up to 2 months.)
• To serve, remove the cake from the foil and strip away the lining. Place on a board or serving plate and tie with a decorative ribbon.