Holiday fruitcake

I grew up in a home with my parents always in the store (Galloway’s on Robson or Pacific Centre) and therefore always around food. The best part was when my mom would make fruitcakes for the holidays. She always prepared these with love and gifted them to family and friends (the ingredients were always from Galloway’s on Robson Street where she worked for many years). She got this recipe from a customer at the Robson street store and still uses it. My mom is 81 now and I wanted to share this amazing recipe with you all. This recipe uses orange juice instead of rum, but you can use rum if you wish. I pretty much love this cake warmed up and served with a hot cup of tea.

Ingredients:

🍒8 oz currants

🍒8 oz sultana raisins

🍒4 oz mixed peel

🍒4 oz red and green cherries, whole and broken 

🍒1/2 tsp ginger ground

🍒1/4 tsp nutmeg ground

🍒1/4 tsp cardamom ground

🍒1/4 cup orange juice

🍒10 oz white all purpose flour

🍒8 oz butter (soft)

🍒16 oz organic cane sugar

🍒4 eggs ( room temperature)

🍒1 tbsp fancy molasses

🍒3/4tsp baking powder 

🍒3/4tsp vanilla extract 

Almond paste for icing.

Directions:

🍒Remove stems from currants if any. Rinse and drain both currants and sultanas and place in a bowl. 

🍒Add mixed peel, red and green cherries, spices and orange juice.

🍒Soak fruit for 2 hours. Remove 2 tbsp of flour from 10 oz flour and then add to fruit mixture and mix well till all fruit is coated with flour and let stand for another hour.

🍒Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 10” cake pan with parchment and butter the sides as well.

🍒Cream butter in a cake mixer, add sugar slowly making sure to get a nice fluffy texture.

🍒Add eggs one at a time  and flour alternately (1 egg then 3oz of flour and repeat 3 more times)

🍒 Add molasses and add baking powder and vanilla extract and mix well. Stop mixer and fold in the fruit mixture. Mix well.

🍒Pour batter into the lined cake pan  and bake for 1 hour and turn cake pan clockwise and continue baking for another hour.

(If you want to decorate with almonds or cashews, place on top of cake mixture before putting in the oven to bake ~as shown in picture)

🍒Insert knife 🔪 into cake at 2 hours. Knife should come out clean.

🍒 Let cool and ice with almond paste if you want and enjoy with a cup of tea.