Rita Fox’s Bourbon Fruitcake

With permission, I published this recipe 4 years ago. It's the best fruitcake you will ever eat. Rita also sells them (including by mail order) as they are a lot of work to make. Gladly will I put readers in touch with the baker upon request for next year. This year, her fruitcakes are all sold. Moreover, Rita has published an awesome family cookbook. She is also an author of romance books that you can check out under her pen name Kallypso Masters.

Rita Fox’s Bourbon Fruitcake 

Modified 12/12/23 

 

Yield: three bread-loaf pans-sized cakes or 7 mini loaves. 

 

NOTE: Allow at least 4 weeks for mini cakes and 6 weeks for bread-loaf-sized cakes to be ready, so don't wait too long to start each year! I start as soon as candied fruit is available in my store, usually in late October. 

 

You can substitute spiced rum anywhere it mentions bourbon below. 

 

Ingredients 

 

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 

2 cups granulated sugar 

6 large whole eggs 

1/2 cup bourbon (this is just for the cake recipe, not the soaking) 

4 cups pecan pieces, soaked in bourbon

8 oz. Craisins (OR yellow or dark raisins), soaked overnight in bourbon 

1 lb. candied cherries (I use 8 oz each of red and green cherries) 

8 oz. candied pineapple 

1/2 cup orange marmalade (I don’t like citron and this is not bitter) 

pecan halves and red/green whole cherries to decorate the top of cakes, optional 

 

cheesecloth (each piece needs to be at least 27 inches long for a mini cake or up to 2 yards for bread-loaf-sized cakes) 

 

1.75 liter bottle of fine Kentucky bourbon

 

Method 

At least the night before mixing and baking the cakes (can also be a week before), soak Craisins/raisins and pecans in bourbon in separate containers. (I put the pecans into a quart Mason/Ball jar and the Craisins/raisins into a pint jar.) Cover and then some with bourbon, cover with foil or plastic, and put them in the fridge until ready to mix and bake. They will plump up with the liquor, so don’t overfill the jars, but try to keep the fruit and nuts covered in bourbon. 

 

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and another rack below it on the lowest spot. Put a pan full of water on the lowest rack. This will add moisture to the oven when baking. Heavily butter pans. Set aside. (I don’t use spray because the butter adds richness to the cakes.) 

 

Sift the flour, baking powder, and nutmeg into a medium bowl. (Even if the flour says it’s presifted, I would sift.) 

 

In a separate, large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, beating with a mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. (If you have a stand mixer, use it here because it will help later in the process.) Add the eggs, one at a time, blending completely after each addition. 

 

Drain 1/2 cup of bourbon from the Craisins then pour the rest into a small or medium bowl. Drain the bourbon from the pecans into the same bowl. Add the strips of cheesecloth to soak up the liquor. Add more bourbon as needed to fully soak the strips. Set aside. (NEVER waste good Kentucky bourbon! Or spice rum if you’re using that!)

Preheat oven to 325 F. 

Add the flour mixture to the eggs in two additions, alternating with the 1/2 cup bourbon. Stir in the pecans, marmalade, Craisins/raisins, pineapple, and cherries. The batter will be very stiff, so this is why you’ll want a stand mixer at this point. But I remember my mom mixing it by hand when I was young.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pans. OPTIONAL: Decorate the top with bourbon-soaked pecan halves and red/green whole cherries.  

 

Bake until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. APPROXIMATE baking times (ovens vary; also consider altitude adjustments--be sure the tester or toothpick comes out clean in several spots not just the center): 

* bread loaf pan: 75-90 minutes 

* mini pans: 60-75 minutes 

 

If the top of the cake begins to brown substantially before the cake is set, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. When done, remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for 15-30 minutes on a wire rack. Run a knife down the sides to help loosen the cakes from the pans. If the bottoms of the cakes are still pale, you might want to return them to the oven for a little longer. 

When completely cool (can sit overnight), wrap each cake in a strip of bourbon-soaked cheesecloth until completely covered. 

 

Place the cakes in airtight, leak-free containers. I use a large Rubbermaid or Tupperware containers big enough to fit multiple cakes. 

 

Liberally, but slowly over the first two or three days (unless they’re already sitting in a lot of liquid), pour additional bourbon over the cheesecloth-wrapped cakes. Store the containers in a cool, dark place throughout the process and after they’re done. I don’t have a pantry big enough for all the cakes I bake anymore, so I cover them with beach towels and just leave them on the table or shelf space I have available. 

 

Once a day over the next two weeks, flip the cakes over so that the bourbon will run back through the cake slowly. After two weeks, be sure you don’t have any standing bourbon at the bottom of the containers any longer. You can redistribute excess liquor to another container that might need it—or use it to cook or bake something else.
When no liquid bourbon is visible any longer, you will begin to mellow the cakes. Usually at least one day during this stage, I will remove the lids to evaporate excess liquor, flipping the cakes again after 12 hours

Continue to let cakes mellow for 2-4 weeks. A week or so before you plan to serve or gift the cakes, remove the cheesecloth. (I handwash and reuse cheesecloth, or you can discard it.)

The cakes will keep for months (even a year if stored properly in a cool, dark place)! Continue to store in a cool, dry place. I wouldn’t freeze them, but you could put them in the refrigerator. I just store mine in a dark pantry inside a Rubbermaid container. 

To avoid crumbling when cutting: use a serrated knife and a sawing motion.  Avoid pushing the knife down and cut all the way to the base of the cake. Wipe the knife clean between cuts.

Enjoy!

🎄🐑🐪🔔🎄 From Rita's family cookbook 🎄🐑🐪🔔🎄 

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