Pecan Fruitcake

 
I have my own fruitcake recipe that I've created over many years of tweaking, but it involves a lot of ingredients and bother, which I just wasn't up to.  Fruitcake should be started months in advance, so if I was going to get it made, I needed something relatively simple.  As the saying goes, done is better than perfect.  I was happy to try something different, especially since I have the recipes from Truman Capote's famous cousin, the Fruitcake Lady.  (This, however, is not the recipe of Capote's A Christmas Memory fame, made by another of his relatives, Nanny Faulk, better known as Cousin Sook.) 

I made these loaves at the end of September, then let them mellow in a cool room until December, occasionally dousing them with brandy.  For two moderate loaves, here's what I used:

2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup dried apricots, softened in boiling water, drained, and cut into small pieces
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup golden raisins
1 slice chopped, candied pineapple (or 1/3 cup of candied tidbits)
grated rind of 1 lemon
grated rind of 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a bowl, cream butter well and gradually add sugar, beating the mixture until it is smooth.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between.  Stir in the flour mixture thoroughly, then the fruit, nuts, and rind until well distributed.  Grease one 9” x 5” loaf pan lined with parchment and oiled.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake in a slow oven at 325^o F for about 3 hours.  Allow to cool briefly, then remove from the pan, peel off the parchment paper, and cool completely on a rack.  Store in an airtight container and allow to mellow for several months.  From time to time, soak a cheesecloth in brandy or wine and wrap around the cake.

I divided the batter in half and baked it in two, 7 x 3-inch pans, which I greased, lined with parchment, then greased again.  I baked them for an hour and 45 minutes; they seemed overdone, very firm, so they might have been better removed after 90 minutes.

Candied pineapple
1 12-oz can of pineapple tidbits
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
drizzle of corn syrup

Drain pineapple bits and add enough water to the juice to make two cups.  Over medium heat, dissolve sugar into juice mixture; add pineapple bits, salt, and syrup and stir to combine.  Boil for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to a low boil and cook for 30-45 minutes, checking often.  When pineapple is translucent, strain and lay out pieces on a silicone mat to dry.  Reserve syrup for another use.

 

 

Conclusion:  I'd been pretty excited about this and had waited with great anticipation.  Perhaps that's why I ended up disappointed.  It was tasty, just not what I'd been expecting.  It wasn't as rich and buttery as I'd thought it would be, and I couldn't even taste the brandy.  Overbaking might be partly to blame.

Recipe:  Pecan Fruitcake via Fruitcake:  Memories of Truman Capote and Cousin Sook by Marie Rudisill