For the Love of Fruitcake!

Let’s talk fruitcake, seriously?  If you are an American, you are probably rolling your eyes. If you are from nearly anywhere else in the world, your mouth may be watering from memories of this delicious holiday treat or dense and sweet wedding cake. Fruitcake is a very popular dessert throughout  across the globe, but here in the good old U S of A, the humble fruitcake gets a bit of a “bad Santa” rap.

Johnny Carson joked that there was only one single fruitcake in the whole entire world, and people just kept passing it around as a gift. In Manitou Springs, Colorado there is a yearly fruitcake toss for crying out loud. We’ve even been known to call dear aunt Betsy a “fruit cake” now and then. Well, I think it’s high time to restore the historic fruitcake’s reputation with my family recipe! This one I promise won’t be re-gifted or left for “ring-toss” because it’s just too good!

Enjoy and Happy Holidays! May your time with family and friends be blessed!

Raw Apple Fruit Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 ½ cup veg oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups coconut
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped pecans
3 cup chopped apples
(granny smith or another cooking apple)
2 cup chopped orange slice candy

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.   Grease a Bundt cake pan or fruit cake pan and set aside.

In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, cream together sugar and oil.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Combine flour, cinnamon, salt and soda in separate bowl.  Hand stir gradually to egg mixture.  It will be thick like cookie dough.  Stir in apples first, thin coconut, dates and nuts.  Add chopped candy last and fold in thoroughly.  Batter is extremely thick.  Pour into a greased and floured pan.

Bake for 1 ½ hours or until brown and knife inserted comes clean.

*Note: This can also be baked in small loaf pans for gifts.

Tip:
Use a floured sharp knife when cutting sticky orange slice candy.  Candy should be cut up to bite size pieces.  You can also decorate the top of the cake with candy cherries and make candy leafs.