Best White Fruit Cake 1968 Sweepstake Winner Recipes

HOLIDAY WHITE FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275°. Line bottoms of four greased 9x5-in. loaf pans with parchment; grease parchment., In a small bowl, toss candied fruit, raisins and walnuts with 1/2 cup flour. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in remaining flour. Fold in fruit mixture., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.

WHITE FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Chop pineapple, raisins, and cherries. Combine chopped fruit with currants, orange peel, and citron; soak in orange juice overnight.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Place a small pan of water in the oven. Line one 5x9 inch loaf pan and two 3x8 inch loaf pans with parchment or doubled waxed paper.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioner's sugar. Stir in beaten egg yolks. Stir in fruit, juice, and pecans. Mix in sifted flour.
• In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to peaks. Fold into batter. Fill pans 2/3 full.
• Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until golden brown, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

WHITE FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F and line loaf pans with parchment paper.
• Blend eggs, vanilla, sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl.
• Add salt, baking powder, and flour and mix.
• Mix in pineapple and juice, cherries, raisins, dried cherries, and pecans.
• Fill the tins with fruit cake batter and spread to even the surface.
• Bake at 300° for 1 1⁄2 hours. Start testing for doneness with 20 minutes left, to prevent over-cooking.

THE BEST FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Combine the raisins, currants, apricots, figs, prunes, dates, walnuts, pecans, orange zest, lemon zest, candied ginger, pumpkin pie spice and cloves in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add 1 cup of the brandy, orange liqueur and molasses and stir to coat. Cover and set aside to macerate overnight. (Alternatively, cover the bowl and microwave 2 minutes, or until very hot. Leave covered and let sit until almost all the liquid has been absorbed into the fruit and nuts, about 2 hours.)
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Spray two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and line each with 2 pieces of parchment, one lengthwise and one crosswise, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each side. Spray the parchment with cooking spray.
• Sprinkle 1/2 cup flour over the soaked fruit mixture and toss to coat. Whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
• Cream the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium-low and beat in the flour mixture until the batter is blended and smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until all the fruit is coated in batter.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared pans, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans, the tops spring back slightly when pressed and a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack and brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons brandy. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 15 minutes. Carefully remove each cake from its pan using the parchment overhang and place on the rack to cool completely.
• To store, wrap each loaf tightly in plastic and then foil. The wrapped fruitcakes can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 3 months.

WHITE FRUIT CAKE (1968 SWEEPSTAKE WINNER)

Steps:

• 1. Be sure to have all ingredients at room temperature, 70 degrees or above. NOTE: (Mr. Harley said it did not matter if you wanted to use pineapple that was not colored -- it all tasted the same.)
• 2. Use a standard size tube pan (10x4). Line with pieces of heavy brown paper, like the kind you get at the grocery store, or some other heavy paper. Set the pan on paper and draw circle around for the bottom. Also cut paper in strips as follows: 4 inches wide for the sides, one strip 5 inches wide for the tube.
• 3. Keep back a few pieces of the fruits for decorating except the dates. If you have not already prepared your fruits you may now do so.
• 4. Place all prepared fruits in a large mixing bowl or baking pan.
• 5. Now sift your flour and stir about 1/3 cup over the fruit and blend well.
• 6. Preheat oven to 225 F (slow oven)
• 7. Now grease bottom and sides including tube with butter. Cut three inch slits in top side of paper for sides, cut slits about two inches apart (so it will conform to the angle of the pan)
• 8. After pan is well greased, place paper on bottom and other greased parts and then grease the paper, too.
• 9. Now blend sugar and butter in mixing bowl. After well blended, place speed on "cream butter-sugar" and beat for 15 minutes. Don't guess at the time, watch the clock.
• 10. Now pour the creamed butter and sugar over the floured fruit and nuts stirring until well mixed.
• 11. Now place the eggs in the small mixer and beat on high speed for one minute, now stir eggs in to the mixture blending well
• 12. Then add the flour in three parts stirring well after each addition.
• 13. Now the wine, pour a little all over the batter then stir in well. You are now ready to dip the batter in your prepared baking pan. Smooth batter even over top with bottom of tablespoon. Now decorate with half cherries, small slices of red and green pineapple and "whole" half nuts.
• 14. Now place in preheated oven. Bake timing varies from 3 hours and 30 minutes to 4 hours. Use cake tester or a straw, start checking at 3 hours and thirty minutes. Check in middle of cake on both sides, when tester or straw comes out clean with no "gluie" substance cake is done.
• 15. Place on cooling rack for fifteen minutes in a cool spot, check around tube, when you can wiggle the cake loose from the tube, remove cake from pan by turning upside down on a dinner plate.
• 16. Now remove all paper and then return to cooling rack the same way you removed it (turning it back to upright for cooling). Now place in a cool place until completely cooled. (Not the refrigerator)
• 17. Now slide cake to a smooth surface for a few hours, more to get well set, or leave on cooling rack.
• 18. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in cake box, if no box, wrap in about four double sheets of newspaper and seal with tape. Let stay two weeks or more in cool place before cutting. Do not freeze until after three weeks of baking. If you desire to make two, five-pound cakes or one seven-pound and one three-pound (loaf pan) just double the recipe.
• 19. There is no harm in cutting a fruit cake after it has cooled awhile, to check for dunness. If a little gooey, preheat oven and bake for about thirty minutes or more. Be sure and replace the slice after tasting and testing the thin part.

CHRISTMAS WHITE FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Stir some flour into fruit mixture so it doesn't stick together. I use a little (like a tablespoon from the 2 1/4 cups for the cake).
• Cream the butter, sugar and eggs.
• Mix together the dry ingredients and add to the creamed ingredients.
• Stir in the fruit and nuts (I usually omit the nuts) and add more fruit to make up the volume.
• Bake in a 300oF oven for an hour, but check the cake for doneness with a wooden tooth pick to make sure it is cooked.
• My mother's only directions are: bake at 300oF for a little longer than an hour and mix together like a cake.