During the holiday season, I like to spend the afternoon making some delicious homemade mini fruit cakes. Making and serving these delicious items has been around for centuries. You will usually see them served around the holiday season or at wedding celebrations.
You will find that various cultures will have different touches on traditional recipes, however, the following recipes are carried out in the American tradition. When I make this fruit cake, I bake it in a muffin tin or mini bread pan. If you want, you can certainly bake it in a regular bread pan or a round cake pan.
Fruit Cake Recipe
1 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of butter, soft
2 eggs
3 cups of all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
2 cups of eggnog
1 1/2 cups mixed candied fruit
1 1/2 cup sifted sugar
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
additional eggnog
(optional) half portion of candied cherries
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, shake the sugar with soft butter until soft and creamy. Beat in both eggs until mixed. In another bowl, stir in the flour and baking powder. Gently stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture and then shake in the eggnog until all the ingredients are well combined. Fold the chopped candied fruit. If the mixture is stiff, mix with your hands.
Spray a few muffins or mini pans with non-stick vegetable spray. Spoon the mixture into the pan you want.
Place pans into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until they are done and the centers test clean with a toothpick. Remove from the pans and let cool on a wire rack.
In a small bowl, combine the confectioner’s sugar, nutmeg and ground cinnamon. Add in enough eggnog to make the mixture of drizzling consistency. Drizzle the glazed over the cooled fruit cakes.
If desired, top the fruit cakes with candied cherry halves for garnishing and store them in an airtight storage container.
