Best Holiday Bourbon Fruitcake Recipes

KENTUCKY BOURBON CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease a 10 inch tube pan and line bottom with parchment paper.
• Soak raisins and cherries in 2 cups of bourbon or whiskey for 48 hours. Before making cake, drain well and reserve the bourbon.
• In a separate bowl, mix flour, nutmeg and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, cream butter with the white sugar. In a separate small bowl, cream yolks and brown sugar until very light.
• In a very large bowl, combine the two sugar mixtures and blend well.
• Alternately add flour mixture and reserved bourbon in three stages, mixing well with each addition.
• Add soaked fruit and fold in. Add nuts and fold in.
• In a clean medium bowl, whip egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter until evenly distributed.
• Pour into prepared 10 inch tube pan. Place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven and bake for 4 to 5 hours at 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Ovens vary, so watch the baking time. Test cake with wooden pick. (May take longer than 5 hours).
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out. When almost cool, brush sides and inside hole heavily with bourbon. Wrap cake with bourbon soaked cheesecloth, then with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight and saturate again with bourbon. Cover with plastic wrap and then with foil and store for at least 2 weeks in a cool dry place.

BOURBON FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the candied fruits, raisins, currants, and bourbon. Mix well, cover and marinate 3 hours on the counter.
• Cream together the butter, and brown sugar until fluffy in a KitchenAid mixer.
• Beat in the eggs, on at a time.
• Add the melted chocolate, walnuts, and the marinated fruit along with the bourbon.
• Blend for a minute and add the flour, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until all is incorporated. Pack the heavy batter into a greased 10 X 4 tube pan.
• Bake in a preheated 300 deg. oven for 2 hours and 10 minutes. Remove to a rack.
• When the cake is cool enough to handle. Remove from the pan and cool on the rack.
• Place the cooled cake in a stainless steel pot iwth a lid and drizzle half of the brandy over it. Cover and allow to rest on the counter for 1 week. After 1 week, drizzle with the remaining brandy, cover and allow to rest another week.
• Slice and serve. This cake will keep for months in the refrigerator.

TRADITIONAL CANADIAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

Steps:

• Place all fruit in large bowl; add bourbon and soak for 2-4 hours
• Preheat oven to 300°F and grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans 2 1/2 inches deep or five 5 3/4 x 3 pans 2 inches deep
• Line bottoms with parchment paper; butter it (the original recipe was waxed paper)
• Cream together butter and brown sugar; beat in the eggs.
• Sift all dry ingredients; beat into butter mixture
• Add molasses and brewed black coffee or espresso to mixture; combine well
• Fold in the nuts and bourbon soaked in fruit
• Carefully pack the batter into the prepared pans almost to the top (I used an offset spatula to finish the tops of each cake)
• Place pans on centre rack of oven in a bain marie (place pans in a larger pan and pour hot water halfway up the sides); bake for 2 to 2 ½ hours, or until toothpick comes out clean (the small cakes took 50 minutes, so watch carefully after 45 minutes)
• If the tops brown too quickly, place foil over the top
• Cool 30 minutes, then remove and set on wire rack
• Wrap carefully in a triple layer of cheesecloth that has been soaked in bourbon
• Seal tightly in aluminum foil and store in a cool dry place until the holiday season
• Once a week, remove foil, and brush additional bourbon onto the cheese cloth
• The longer it is stored, the more times it is dowsed, the more pungent and flavourful it becomes.

REALLY GOOD FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Place pineapple, figs, apples, persimmons, peaches, golden raisins, cinnamon stick, bourbon, and brandy in a large bowl; stir to coat fruit in liquid. Cover and let stand at room temperature 24 hours, stirring once every 8 hours. Discard cinnamon stick.
• Preheat oven to 300°F. Spray 2 8.5x4.5-inch loaf pans with baking spray; line pans with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang on the two long sides. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside. Place butter in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat butter on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add sugar to butter and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just incorporated. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture to mixer bowl; beat on low until just combined, about 30 seconds.
• Remove mixer bowl from mixer. Fold in zests, juice, cherries, pecans, and soaked fruit mixture. Batter will be very thick. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of each fruitcake comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Place pans on a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours. Remove fruitcakes from pans. Slice to serve, or if storing, dampen cheesecloth with bourbon and wrap fruitcake tightly with cheesecloth, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator up to 1 month, changing cheesecloth once a week. To store for a short period of time (less than 1 week), wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator.

BOURBON FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Relative amounts of dried and candied fruit can be varied, but the total amount of fruit should be about 5 cups.
• Additional fruit and nuts can be added if you like lots in your fruitcake.
• Chop fruit as necessary.
• Halve the green and red candied cherries, and very coarsely chop apricots and dried pineapple.
• Very coarsely chop pecans.
• Place fruit and nuts in a large bowl, and toss well with the 1/2 cup all-purpose flour.
• Cream softened butter and sugar, using an electric mixer, until well combined.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, and set aside.
• Sift all dry ingredients, and stir until well combined.
• Stir 1/3 cup bourbon into milk in measuring cup.
• Using an electric mixer, alternately, add flour mixture and milk mixture to the creamed butter, starting and ending with flour, mixing to combine well after each addition.
• When thoroughly combined, toss flour coated fruit and nuts again, and fold into batter using a large wooden spoon or spatula.
• Place rack in middle of oven with second rack below, place a cookie sheet on the lower rack to shield loaf pans from heat.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease 5-6 mini-loaf pans (3"x5½”x2") loaf pans or a 10" tube pan (preferably with a removable bottom), and line with greased wax paper.
• If using mini-loaf pans just press 5 or 5½” wide pieces crosswise in pans; don’t worry about the pan ends.
• Fill pans just to the top or a little below with batter, dividing evenly.
• Fruitcakes will rise just a little above the top a little during baking, but they won’t overflow.
• If using mini-loaf pans, bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean, If using a tube pan, bake for about 1-1/2 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Pans should be shuffled about and turned after half of baking time has passed to ensure that fruitcake (s) bake evenly.
• When done, remove fruitcakes from oven, and set on cooling racks to cool for 10 minutes.
• Turn fruitcakes out of pans, peel off wax paper, and set on cooling racks for another 10 minutes.
• Brush loaves generously with dry sherry, and return to racks to cool completely.
• Allow to set overnight, covered, for sherry to soak in to loaves.
• Cut cheesecloth into pieces large enough wrap each loaf in a double or triple layer, and soak cheesecloth pieces in 1/2 cup bourbon.
• Wrap loaves in the cheesecloth, and sprinkle any remaining bourbon on top.
• Wrap in foil, and set in a cool place to age for 1 week.
• Carefully peel back foil, and brush or spray each loaf with remaining 1/2 cup bourbon.
• Replace foil, and allow loaves to age 1 more week before eating or giving as gifts.
• This brushing and aging process can be repeated several more times if desired, assuming that you started well before Christmas.
• This recipe can easily be doubled if your oven is large enough to handle all the pans.

CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Soak cherries, mango, cranberries, currants, and citron in 1/4 cup rum for at least 24 hours. Cover tightly, and store at room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter a 6x3-inch round pan or loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; mix into butter and sugar in three batches, alternating with molasses and milk. Stir in soaked fruit and chopped nuts. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons rum.
• Cut out one piece parchment paper and one piece cheesecloth, each large enough to wrap around the cake. Moisten cheesecloth with 1 tablespoon rum. Arrange cheesecloth on top of parchment paper, and unmold cake onto it. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with remaining rum. Wrap the cheesecloth closely to the surface of the cake, then wrap with paper. Place in an airtight tin, and age for at least 10 weeks. If storing longer, douse with additional rum for every 10 weeks of storage.

CHRISTMAS BOURBON FRUITCAKE SQUARES

Steps:

• Set oven to 350 degrees.
• In a saucepan or microwave, melt butter, pour into a 15" x 10" baking pan.
• Sprinkle with Vanilla wafer crumbs evenly on top.
• Arrange fruits and nuts evenly on top of the crumb mixture; press down gently.
• Combine the sweetened condensed milk with the Bourbon; pour evenly over top of fruit/nut mixture.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Remove from oven; cool completely.
• Cut in squares.

WHITE CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE WITH ORANGE-BOURBON GLAZE

Steps:

• To prepare the orange-bourbon glaze (do this firstly) in a small saucepan over medium heat cook the orange juice with sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved (about 2 minutes).
• Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon until combined; set aside to brush on fruitcakes.
• For the fruitcake; butter two (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans.
• In a medium bowl combine both raisins, pineapple tidbits, currants and orange juice; let stand for 35 minutes at room temperature.
• In a large bowl beat butter until creamy (about 2 minutes).
• Add in sugar and vanilla and beat for about 6 minutes (there should be no sugar granules remaining at all).
• Add in eggs and beat just until no yellow remains in the bowl.
• In a bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt; remove 1/2 cup of the flour mixture to a bowl; set aside.
• Add in the flour mixture (not the 1/2-cup) to the butter mixture beating on low speed just until completely blended.
• Add in the orange zest and lemon extract (or lemon zest if using) beat until combined.
• Drain the raisin mixture and return back to their bowl; stir in the cherries and mix to combine.
• Toss the cherry/raisin mixture with the reserved 1/2 cup flour mixture, then using a spatula fold the mixture into the batter until combined.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.
• Bake (second-lowest oven rack) at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or until the cakes test done.
• Brush the warm cakes liberally with some of the orange bourbon glaze until dissolved in the cakes.
• Cool for about 10 minutes in pans, then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
• Glaze liberally again with the bourbon glaze, then wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator for 2 days before serving, brushing with remaining glaze over the 2-day period (you might not use the complete amount of glaze, you can drizzle the remainder on the cake slices when serving!).
• Serve or freeze until ready to use.