ruitcake lovers, unite! We know you're out there; you're the ones who buy up all the
candied cherries and
"fruitcake fruits" during the holidays.
On the other hand, there are those of you who don't like fruitcake. Or THINK you don't like
fruitcake. If you count yourself in that camp, consider this: maybe it's not the cake that
turns you off, but the fruit. Fruitcake is traditionally made with citron and candied peel,
both of which have a somewhat bitter flavor. When I make fruitcake, I substitute my
favorite dried fruits:
cherries,
dates,
apples,
cranberries...ever so much
tastier, in my opinion, than the traditional fruits.
hen baking fruitcake, it's often difficult to tell when it's done all the way through;
you want to preserve its natural moistness, yet at the same time make sure it's thoroughly baked.
Here's what I do: When I think it's done, I use the tip of a sharp knife to poke a hole into the
very center of the cake. If it appears done right down to the center, out it comes. If it still
seems unbaked in the middle, I put it back in the oven, tenting with aluminum foil if necessary,
to keep it from browning too much. I keep checking this way till the cake is done. And when it
is, I pull it out, plop a candied cherry in the hole I've made, and no one's the wiser!
here are many ways to prepare in advance for making your holiday cutout cookies.
You can make the rollout dough, shape it into a disk, wrap in
plastic and freeze.
Or make the dough, roll it out, and freeze it between 2 pieces of
parchment paper, the
whole wrapped in plastic: this way, it's ready for any young helpers you have to cut out their
own shapes. Simply remove the rolled-out dough from the freezer, unwrap, and place it on a
rolling mat or floured
work surface to thaw. You can also make the cookies, bake them, and freeze, wrapped in plastic.
When it's time to decorate, thaw by removing them from the freezer and letting them rest
at room temperature, uncovered, for half an hour or so.
