A few years ago we tested out a bunch of vintage quick fruit cake recipes for the blog. This was the best of the bunch; quick, easy and good to eat right away. Andit’s even better after it isbeen wrapped in some alcohol-spiked cheesecloth. Enjoy!
This year for our Christmas baking we decided to throw all caution to the wind and to venture into the land of doorstops and vibrantly-colored, nuclear fruit.
That’s right. This year it’s fruit cake for all!
What’s funny is that during the mid-century, fruit cake was already considered a “grandma’s dessert” and the butt of many a joke. So we thought it would be interesting to test out a couple of recipes from magazine ads of the time to see what the interpretations of “hip” or “quick” fruit cakes of the day would be.
But we had to have a place to start, so we picked this classic Wesson Oil fruit cake recipe from an ad in a 1953 Better Homes & Gardens magazine.
AuthorRetroRuth
From Wesson Oil Test Kitchen
Recipe Test
1 cup oil
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
4 Eggs
3 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cloves
1 cup pineapple, apple or orange juice
1 cup chopped candied pineapple
1 cup thinly sliced citron
1 ½ cups whole candied cherries
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried figs
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 cups coarsely chopped mixed nuts
1
Mix together oil, brown sugar and eggs in a bowl. Vigorously beat with a spoon or electric mixer for two minutes.
2
Sift together 2 cups of flour and rest of dry ingredients. Stir into oil mixture alternately with the juice.
3
Sift remaining cup of flour over combined fruits and nuts. Pour batter over fruit and mix.
4
Line 2 greased loaf pans with paper. Pour batter into pans. Place a pan of water on the lower rack of the oven.
5
Bake cakes for 2½ to 3 hours in a slow oven (275 degrees). *Mine took 2½ hours to bake*
6
Cool on racks without removing the paper. When cool, remove paper and seal in a covered container in a cool place to ripen.
CategoryBread and Rolls, Cake, Christmas, Desserts, Fruit, Fruit, Quick Bread, Raisins, Cooking MethodBakeTags#allspice, #applejuice, #bakingpowder, #brownsugar, #candiedcherries, #candiedpineapple, #cinnamon, #citron, #cloves, #driedfigs, #egg, #flour, #mixednuts, #oil, #orangejuice, #pineapplejuice, #raisins, #salt, #walnuts
Ingredients
1 cup oil
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
4 Eggs
3 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cloves
1 cup pineapple, apple or orange juice
1 cup chopped candied pineapple
1 cup thinly sliced citron
1 ½ cups whole candied cherries
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried figs
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 cups coarsely chopped mixed nuts
Directions
1
Mix together oil, brown sugar and eggs in a bowl. Vigorously beat with a spoon or electric mixer for two minutes.
2
Sift together 2 cups of flour and rest of dry ingredients. Stir into oil mixture alternately with the juice.
3
Sift remaining cup of flour over combined fruits and nuts. Pour batter over fruit and mix.
4
Line 2 greased loaf pans with paper. Pour batter into pans. Place a pan of water on the lower rack of the oven.
5
Bake cakes for 2½ to 3 hours in a slow oven (275 degrees). *Mine took 2½ hours to bake*
6
Cool on racks without removing the paper. When cool, remove paper and seal in a covered container in a cool place to ripen.
Wesson’s Famous Fruit Cake
We mostly picked this because of the “famous” in the name. I assumed this meant that this recipe had been around for some time!
This was a really easy cake to put together. Actually, it wasn’t so much as a cake as a quick bread, like banana bread.
It even looks like banana bread batter! Except for the red and green cherries.
The biggest difference between this and banana bread was the incredibly long cooking time, similar to the long cooking time in our previous adventures into fruit cake (pork cake!).
But all-in-all, this bread came together quickly, smelled good while baking and looked pretty festive.
I don’t even mind the cherries that much!
“This is good. Tastes like a fruit and nut cake.”
The Verdict: Good
From The Testing Notes:
Good fruit and nut flavor. Not too moist, but not dry either. Cake itself is good, but not very spicy. Would benefit from extra spices and some rum or brandy! Good overall-would be very tasty as a breakfast bread.
FAQs
Canada. The fruitcake is commonly eaten during the Christmas season in Canada. Rarely is it seen during other times of the year. The Canadian fruitcake is similar in style to the UK version.
What type of cake is traditionally eaten at Christmas time? ›
Christmas cake is a type of cake, often fruitcake, served at Christmas time in many countries.
How do you eat Christmas fruit cake? ›
Slathered with a bit of butter or paired with a slice of very sharp cheddar, this makes an excellent midday treat. Fruitcake also gets a second life crumbled over ice cream. We love the chewy bites paired with the melting ice cream. The ice cream also helps mellow the intense flavor of the fruitcake.
How to age a Christmas fruit cake? ›
Let cake cool completely before brushing with rum and wrapping in cheesecloth, followed by plastic wrap and tin foil, then storing in a sealed plastic bag in a cool, dry area. Remove wrapping and brush cake top and sides with rum once a week. Let cake “age” for at least 3-4 weeks before cutting and serving.
What is the difference between a Christmas cake and a fruit cake? ›
Christmas cakes are also commonly made with pudding while a fruit cake uses butter, however there are Christmas cake recipes that do contain butter. The traditional Scottish Christmas cake, also known as the Whisky Dundee, is very popular. It is a light crumbly cake with currants, raisins, cherries and Scotch whisky.
Why was fruitcake outlawed? ›
Fruitcakes were so rich, they were considered sinful and were outlawed in Europe in the early 18th century. Restrictions eased later in the century.
What do British call fruitcakes? ›
Did you know that the of eating fruitcake around the holidays stemmed from Great Britain? The traditional Christmas dessert isn't at all similar to the candied peel and citron cakes you might think of when “fruitcake” is mentioned. Called Christmas cake or plum cake in Great Britain, the dessert dates to Roman times!
What alcohol is good for fruit cake? ›
Other good choices of booze include brandy, rum, or whiskey. Feel free to use one or a mix of these to best complement your fruitcake. Once you've chosen the liquor, bake the cake, poke holes throughout the whole thing, and pour a few tablespoons of the alcohol over it. Or, you can brush the cake with the alcohol.
What do you serve with Christmas fruit cake? ›
Traditionally, fruit cakes were considered too rich to be served alongside condiments like butter and cream. But by embracing the fruit cake-cheese pairing, culinary traditions in Yorkshire have proved this wrong.
What do you eat with Christmas fruit cake? ›
Simple flavours of ice cream like vanilla or even chocolate offer a complimentary taste to fruit cakes. If the fruit cake is a little spicy like our Cinnamon Pippin, a lemon ice cream will help cleanse the palette. Or why not embrace the “Yorkshire thing” completely and serve with a Wensleydale Ice Cream!
Put fruitcake in the refrigerator for an hour to firm up, then, using a sharp serrated knife, cut fruitcake into 1 inch cubes and place on a platter. Serve with aged sharp cheddar or softened brie. A fine red wine, champagne, or aperitif best complements the rich, moist fruitcake.
Should fruitcake be refrigerated? ›
For best quality, a fruit cake that is tightly wrapped with aluminum foil or saran warp can be stored for up to 1 month in a cool, dark pantry, 6 months in the refrigerator, and 12 months in a freezer. Check often for signs of spoilage, and if mold or off-odors develop, discard the cake.
Can you eat a year old fruit cake? ›
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these seemingly indestructible pastries typically stay fresh for six months in the pantry and up to a year when refrigerated. But anecdotally we know that they can last for decades; some of the oldest have been preserved for more than a century.
How long do you let fruitcake age? ›
Fruitcake aficionados will tell you that the best fruit cakes are matured – or “seasoned” in fruitcake lingo – for at least three months before they are cut. Seasoning not only improves the flavor of the fruitcake, but it makes it easier to slice.
What country is known for fruit cake? ›
Italy actually boasts claim to a few distinct varieties of fruitcake. The most well-known is perhaps the Panettone. Panettone, which hails from Milan, Italy, is typically served around Christmas time (noticing a pattern there?).
Where did Christmas fruit cake originated? ›
The Roman fruitcake was a mash of barley, honey, wine and dried fruit, often pomegranate seeds. What you might recognize as a modern-style fruitcake – a moist, leavened dessert studded with fruits and nuts – was probably first baked in the early Middle Ages in Europe.
Do people eat fruit cake on Christmas? ›
Why is fruitcake eaten at Christmas? It's hard to determine exactly when fruitcake became associated with the holidays; however, it is believed that it started it happened during the 18th and 19th centuries when the cost of the ingredients was too expensive for most households to afford.
Is fruit cake a Christmas tradition? ›
The modern fruitcake was created as a way to deal with the abundance of sugar-laced fruit and, by the early 19th century, the typical recipe was full of citrus peel, pineapples, plums, dates, pears, and cherries.by the late 1800s, the fruitcake was gifted in decorative tins, becoming a holiday staple with Christmas and ...
AuthorRetroRuth
