SPICED RUM FRUITCAKE

SPICED RUM FRUITCAKE image

Categories Cake Fruit Dessert Bake Christmas

Yield 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 21

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Ingredients

For the fruit
3/4 cup dark rum
4 oz. dried apricots, chopped into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces (3/4 cup lightly packed)
3 oz. dried apples, chopped into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces (1 cup lightly packed)
3 oz. currants or dark raisins (3/4 cup lightly packed)
1/2 tsp. freshly grated orange zest
For the batter
5 oz. (10 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pan
5 oz. (1 cup plus 1 Tbs.) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar (preferably muscovado)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. table salt
3-1/2 oz. crystallized ginger, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
Dark rum, as needed for brushing

Steps:

Soak the fruit Put rum, dried fruit, and orange zest in 2qt saucepan, cover, and warm over med heat until hot, 2 to 3 min. Remove from heat and let cool. Refrigerate for a min of 24 hours and up to 3 days. Before making the cake, bring the fruit to room temp and drain, reserving any liquid for basting. (If the fruit was very dry, it may have absorbed all the liquid.) Make the cake Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Butter an 8-1/2x4-1/2" metal loaf pan. Line the pan with 2 strips of parchment in opposite directions, leaving an overhang for easy removal of cake. In a med bowl, whisk flour with cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars on med-high speed until fluffy and no lumps of brown sugar remain, 1-2 min, stopping to scrape the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl and mixing for 30-60 seconds after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and salt. Add 2 T of the flour mixture to the bowl and beat briefly. Reserve 2 T of flour mixture and add the rest to the batter; beat on low speed for 10 seconds to incorporate the flour and then on med-high for 1 min.Combine the crystallized ginger with the drained fruit. Scrape the batter into the center of the bowl. Put the marinated fruit on top of the batter and then sprinkle the reserved flour evenly over the fruit. Using a rubber spatula, fold the fruit into the batter until it's evenly distributed. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, pressing it in to eliminate air pockets and smoothing the top to make it level See ABOVE