Boiled Fruit Cake

I have always wondered why fruit cake gets the bad rap..there seems to be even a tradition where this fruit cake gets passed around from family to family. Unlike many, I genuinely like fruit cake with the omission of pecans.

So why do fruit cakes have a tarnished reputation? Is it the overwhelming smell of spices or the saturation of fruit peels or its dry texture? Whatever the answer may be, I am of the opinion that if a moderate amount of the "much maligned" spices and peels are used and if the ingredients are given a TLC then they should turn out wonderful. So I tested out my theory on New year's eve. Yeah, baked one as a dessert for New year's lunch and believe it or not, I had to save a chunk from my family to take a picture for this blog post. The fruit cake wasn't dry or cloyed with "bleh" ingredients..In fact it turned out to be a well-respected cake that can be made all year round. FYI, This Boiled fruit cake recipe doesn't have alcohol and doesn't involve a lengthy process. The base recipe was from Joy Of Baking and the glaze was a poor adaptation of Katie Lee's Buttermilk Glaze. Most of you know I am not much of a glaze/Icing fan.

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Stick(8 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
• 1 Cup Candied and Chopped Mixed Peel
• 1-1/8 Cups Craisins + Golden Raisins + Dark Raisins mixture
• 2 Cups Dark Brown Sugar, packed
• 2 Cups Hot Water
• 3/4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon 
• 1 Tsp All-Spice
  
• 1-1/4 Tsp Ground Ginger
• 3 Large eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

For the Glaze:(I halved the amount to cut a few calories. Recipe by Celeb Chef & Author Katie Lee)

• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Procedure:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a 10" Bundt pan with a little butter and dust with little flour. Set aside.
• Mix the hot water, sugar, butter, ground spices and craisins-raisins mixture.

• Now put the pan on the stove and bring to a boil for five minutes. Switch off the stove and cool it for at-least 15 minutes. It should be lukewarm.

• Sift the flour, salt and baking soda together.
• Add the flour mixture to the lukewarm sugar-dry fruit mixture in small batches and incorporate.
• Add the lightly beaten eggs, vanilla extract to the above mixture and stir in the chopped candied peel.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared bundt pan.

• Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

• Invert it to a cooling rack/plate and cool completely.Cover and store for at-least a day prior to serving.

• Glazing the cake(entirely optional): In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a low boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved(2-3 minutes). Prick the cake with a toothpick on the top and pour over the cake. Collect drippings and spoon over the cake again.
• Cut and serve.