White House Fruitcake
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes, plus overnight refrigeration
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 115-ounce package raisins
- 2cups golden raisins
- 1cup currants
- 10ounces mixed candied fruits
- 16-ounce mixture of glazed pears, peaches, apricots, figs and dates, cut up
- ⅓cup candied pineapple
- 1cup chopped pecans
- 4ounces slivered almonds
- ½cup bourbon or Port
- ¼cup brandy
- ½pound butter
- ⅓cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ¼cup granulated sugar
- 2tablespoons honey
- 1⅓cup sifted all-purpose flour
- Grated rind of 2 lemons
- ¼teaspoon almond extract
- ¼teaspoon vanilla
- 5eggs
- 1cup sifted cake flour
- ½teaspoon salt
- ¼teaspoon baking powder
- ¼teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼teaspoon cinnamon
- 112-ounce jar apricot preserves
- ½cup rum
- 6 to 8tablespoons bourbon
- 1pound confectioners' sugar
- 2tablespoons softened butter
Nutritional analysis per serving (32 servings)
397 calories; 12 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 52 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 71 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Combine the raisins, currants, candied fruits, glazed fruits, candied pineapple, pecans and almonds with the bourbon and brandy in a large bowl. Refrigerate overnight, or if possible, for two days.
- Step 2
Beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, honey, one-third cup of all-purpose flour, grated lemon rind, almond and vanilla extracts until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Step 3
Sift together one cup of all-purpose flour, one cup of cake flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon together. Add to the batter and beat until well mixed. Combine batter with the fruit and nut mixture, mixing well.
- Step 4
Grease three 8½-by-4½-by-2½-inch pans. Line the bottoms and sides with aluminum foil; grease the foil. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, smoothing tops.
- Step 5
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until the centers spring back when lightly pressed. If tops are browning too fast, cover lightly with buttered foil.
- Step 6
While the cakes are baking, bring the apricot preserves to a hard boil and boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to reduce.
- Step 7
Remove the cakes from the oven and while they are still hot, sprinkle with the rum. Then brush with the hot apricot jam.
- Step 8
Mix enough bourbon with confectioners' sugar and butter to make a frosting that is thin enough to spread on top of the apricot jam while the cakes are still warm.
- Step 9
Cool cakes in pans on wire rack. Allow frosting to dry. Remove cakes from pans; peel off foil. Cool completely. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Cake should be sliced chilled.
Private Notes
Comments
Followed the recipe exactly from start to finish -- this fruitcake is really tasty; plus, it gets better after a couple of days of just sitting around being wrapped up. Highly recommended!
This was my first time making fruitcake, so I didn’t know the difference between glazed and candied fruit. Appears there is no difference. The 6-ounce combination of glazed apricots, peaches, dates, and figs. Are those glazed dates and glazed figs? If so, I couldn’t find them. I also couldn’t find glazed peaches. Is the implication we should make our own? Also, the instructions should warn us that the recipe makes very little batter and so the dried fruit should be cut into very small pieces.
Made for a "fruitcake club" which loved it. Followed recipe exactly, except for post-bake "sprinkle rum", because extra alcohol was unwanted.
Batter was wonderfully lemony. Cake is wall2wall fruit & nuts. The apricot jam glaze was good layer of flavor as was bourbon icing.
Made 1.5 recipe batches (3 full size loaf pans) which was perfect 4 club plus a few extra friends, a solid "taste" for me & full loaf for family. All in all, great traditional loaf.
Did not have time to do this in December so made it in dry January, lol. I used 6 mini loaf pans. Did not bother lining them with aluminum foil; just buttered them well and the loaves popped out easily enough after they cooled. I then poured rum into each pan, enough to cover the bottom and then plopped the loaves back into the pan. The rum gets displaced up the sides and soaks into each cake on the bottom and the sides and doesn’t disturb the wonderful jam and icing on top. Terrific recipe!
Make your life easy! And simpler! Skip all that day-glo candied fruit stuff and just buy 2 @2lb each pre- chopped up dried fruit (I used both Traina and Berrilys brands) from online store (you know who). Organic is great but it's an ugly brown. I mix that with the prettier but not organic dried fruit and it's fine. Saves the pain in the butt chopping of all that sticky dried fruit! Soak it all as soon as you can, in giant jar(s) or bowl(s) with hard liquor of your choice, the sooner the better. Usually I start just after Thanksgiving. This year I couldn't do the fruitcake as usual , only putting it all together mere days before Christmas. Lemme tell you, it still tastes GREAT! Yes it will be better if it sits and mellows but I couldn't wait. Still yummy at just a day after baking and soaking in whiskey. Don't worry about it! I've been making fruitcakes for myself and to give away for many years. Once the naysayers get this recipe without the weird candied fruit, you'll have many loyal converts. This recipe makes 2 regular loaves as well as a few smaller "taste testers". I've already had to strongarm myself and ate TWO of those little loaves by Christmas morning. I did not suffer... I'm making more with the extra soaked fruit to enjoy in January and beyond, if I can hold off. Make your own version, use about 3.5 - 4 lb/6 cups dried fruit per this recipe of whatever you like. So long as you presoak it in your fave liquor you will love it! Be creative, have fun with it and enjoy!
After making this recipe (as a guide not a rule for many many years now I'll share my answers to several questions here. I've always "aged" my fruitcakes out, no fridge, and no one's died yet. Plus it's handier to freshen the liquor every few days, a few sprinkles at a time, so it doesn't dry out. I think the alcohol plus the high sugar in the dried fruits inhibits any bacteria growth. You don't put raisins etc in the fridge right? Yes the cake has butter, eggs, but it's cooked and soaked with liquor. If making with apple juice vs liquor I'd then refrigerate it. I keep the fruitcakes somewhere handy but out of my way, wrapped in cheesecloth to hold the liquor and not get crumbly (no jam or icing yet). Put back in their pans, cover, or in ziplocks. This helps to catch any extra booze (which will soak in later) and inhibit drying out. Turn and add more liquor, whatever's around, every few days or so. Gets messy unwrapping and rewrapping after a while but that's where taste testing comes in...wink. Edible right away of course but mellows beautifully over the weeks. Try to make it after Thanksgiving to be ready at Christmas. Little loaf pans make for excellent gifts, decorated last minute with icing and some green and red dried fruits for the season. Enjoy!