Granny's Fruitcake

In the days before malls, once Thanksgiving had passed, Christmas would appear almost overnight.  We knew this because a heavy box with a huge tin would arrive.  Inside, wrapped in foil, was brandy-soaked cheesecloth containing Granny's fruitcake.  This fruitcake was very moist, dark, and heavy.  There was only enough cake to hold the fruit together.  Mom and I could not wait to eat a bite, but a bite was all anyone could eat!  It's very rich. 

Freshly Baked Fruitcake Loaf

When Granny passed, the era of fruitcake went with her.  Mom did not make them - perhaps it is because they were so closely associated with Granny.  I also think other factors were involved.  First, fruitcake has a huge list of ingredients.  Secondly, it is expensive to make.  Third, one should start fruitcake in mid-October.  (Some people make them years in advance!)  Last of all, it needs 100 proof apple brandy.  (Just try to find the stuff!)

The thought to make fruitcakes would hit Mom about mid-December.  I guess she never thought to make them for the following year.  One year, she made a cookie called "fruitcake bites."  They were not bad, but they are a far-cry from Granny's fruitcake.  In retrospect, it was amusing to watch Mom dribble brandy on them!

This recipe has three different hand-annotations.  The misspelled words I believe are mine!

I'm sure that Mom knew how to make fruitcake, but I believe that, like me, she had not ever made them on her own.  Unlike me, I do think she made them with Granny a lot when she was younger.  Once, I helped to make them when I was in college and Granny was in Lafayette in October.  By "help," I used my hands to mix everything under the supervision of Granny while Mom lined pans.

Why I decided to make fruitcake this year bewilders me.  I just wanted to have it this year for Christmas.  So, in October, I started to collect ingredients.   It was obviously late in the year when I actually made the fruitcakes.  To be honest, the job suddenly felt overwhelming due to lack of clear directions.  For example, I decided that candied pineapple should be used, but I was not certain when I started.  I could not find it grated, so ended up cutting it up the best that I could.  (I'm still not 100% certain about the pineapple, but know it would not have been fresh and I believe that canned pineapple would mold.)  I decided this past weekend to simply go for it.  

These two pictures are the extent of the directions.

I started with the fruits and nuts.  They needed chopped.  As I chopped and chopped, I realized that my largest mixing bowl would not be big enough.  A quick flashback reminded me that we mixed everything in Mom's huge roasting pan.  I have an enameled dish pan that I've used in prepping veggies for canning, so that is what I used.  When purchasing ingredients, I was unsure what kind of nuts to use.  Granny bought mixed nuts in bulk, and we spent hours cracking and picking nuts until we had 2 pounds of nutmeats.

I ended up using a mix of pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, and Brazil nuts.  I also remember that Granny did not use green candied cherries.  The dates and figs that she used came in a small, wrapped packages and felt more wet than what I found.  Granny used dark raisins only whereas I had a raisin medley on hand.  Once everything is chopped, I mixed the nuts and fruits until all was evenly distributed.

Dried Fruit and Nuts mixed.

The wet ingredients and the flour filled my largest mixing bowl.  I should have made sure that the butter was softened, before adding sugar, spices, butter, jelly, molasses, brandy and buttermilk.  Mix it well.  Then mix in the six eggs.

Making the batter base.

 Next, add the flour in two batches and mix until smooth.  I do remember that Granny never wanted to "work the flour too much."

Adding flour to the batter.

Then add the batter to the fruit and nut mixture and mix by hand until everything is coated.  The recipe says to line pans with wax paper and "double-strength brown paper."  I honestly remember using brown paper grocery bags!  I do not have a pan as big as Granny's fruitcake pan.  Plus, I wanted to make smaller fruitcakes as gifts.  So I used disposable, brown-paper loaf pans.  I baked at the suggested 225 degrees Fahrenheit.  With the smaller size, I kept testing the cakes and may have gotten them a bit overdone.  These baked for just under 3 hours.  There are 12 fruitcakes in total.

Amoebic-shaped Fruitcakes

After they cooled, I removed them from the paper loaf-pans and placed them on brandy-soaked cheesecloth.  Using a basting brush, I coated them with brandy.  (For the 12 cakes, I milked the dregs of an entire pint of brandy.  And I will need more to "feed" them every 3 or 4 days as they "age.")  I could have used much more brandy here.  (If I make these again, I will use more cheesecloth and fifth of brandy instead of a pint.)

Adding more brandy to the fruitcakes.

Once they were coated in brandy, I wrapped them tightly in foil.  I will flip them every day until the third or fourth day when I coat them with more brandy. 

I know the recipe used here came from Grandma Dora.  She loved dried fruits and had a huge round table with glass balls in eagle talons that sat in the corner of her dining room.  (Mary Jane, Granny's older sister, got that table and gave it to her son.)  At Christmastime, Grandma Dora always received a platter of dried fruit from her nephew Charlie Fuller.  The platter came with a "holiday" prong.  Mom always thought it was quite elegant.  Sometimes, I wonder if Grandma Dora did not make fruitcakes to use the leftover dried fruit.

All in all, the fruitcakes were very time consuming, but were not difficult to make.  If they are yummy, I will definitely reconsider why I never made these for Mom.  I would have loved to have surprised her with one.

[11/27/2014 Update: These little fruitcakes and gulped down more than a fifth of brandy at this point.]

[1/1/2015 Update: A friend teased that she was arrested for DUIF (Driving under the influence of Fruitcake.)  I'll make them a bit earlier next time!]