Taste: Annotated Recipe: Fruitcake
No, really. People do eat fruitcake. McMillan’s Bakery in Westmont sells more than 700 pounds of the Christmas classic every year. Perhaps it’s because the bakery’s 40-year-old family recipe combines the traditional sweet, liquor-soaked fruits with a light batter that belies the dense stereotype of holiday punch lines.
1 c. red glacé cherries
1 c. green glacé cherries
1 c. glacé pineapple wedges
1 c. golden raisins
1 ¼ c. Grand Marnier
½ c. salted butter
¾ c. granulated sugar
1 c. cake flour
⅛ tsp. baking powder
Pinch table salt
½ c. whole milk
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
1 c. whole pecans, toasted
Drain glacé fruit, and soak fruit and raisins in Grand Marnier in a covered container at room temperature for four days, turning the container over daily. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Prepare a 10-inch-round springform pan by lining it with parchment paper. Using an electric hand or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter-sugar mixture and mix for two minutes, until no lumps remain. While mixing, add milk and eggs slowly and continue mixing for two minutes, until batter is smooth. Drain Grand Marnier-soaked fruit, and fold fruit and pecans into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature in pan on a wire rack, about two hours.
