Reviewed: Dec. 30, 2001

I thought this was the best fruitcake I've eaten. I was specifically looking for a recipe that called for real dried fruit, no candied stuff. My daughter-in-law and I made 3 of them a month ago. We waited a month to eat any. It is so moist and very spicey. I brushed on a little brandy every other day for about the first 10 days after baking, then just left it wrapped. Even family members who questioned why we would make a fruitcake liked this one. Wonderful!

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102 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

BEV

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Springfield, Ohio, USA

Living In: London, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 14, 2002

It is delicious. I gave them away as Christmas presents and received great compliments. I'll be baking it again for Chinese New Year. This time, I'll start earlier so that it will have at least 1 month of resting time and maybe more brandy.

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43 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

EUNICEGOH

Reviewed: Dec. 17, 2004

This is an awesomely good recipe. I have never been fond of the candied fruit cake my mother makes. I used the brandy to soak into the dried fruit (simply because I can't stand to not change a recipe) and then doubled it and used loaf pans. I made a mistake - I used three but really four need to be used. My children love this and my mother has asked for the recipe.

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26 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Kathleen Brady

Reviewed: Nov. 6, 2005

This is a great recipe! It's like no other fruitcake that I've ever tasted. Everyone should try this! It's wonderful!

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22 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

rsteppr

Reviewed: Dec. 8, 2005

This is a delicious cake but I found I had to cook it much longer than an hour. Did anyone else have a problem with timing?

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39 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Jean

Reviewed: Dec. 23, 2005

This is THE perfect fruitcake recipie. The only changes i made were to double the amount of brandy and used it to soak the fruits for 24 hours before making the cake. Good cake texture and not too much fruit. The cake mixture, using four eggs, filled an eight inch round tin and took THREE AND A HALF HOURS to bake at the stated temperature. Thanks for sharing.

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105 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Amanda Johnson

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: London, Greater London, England, U.K.

Reviewed: Dec. 12, 2006

I love this recipe. I did change a few things, I added choc. chips and dried cherries instead of raisins. And I used rum. I also put the cake in small loaf pans instead of a bundt pan. I think the baking time is off as it took more than 2 hours instead of the 1 recommended. I got rave reviews from fruitcake lovers and from non-lovers too.

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24 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

kelli

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2006

I went to make this cake 3 1/2 weeks before Christmas and discovered I only had one egg. I used egg substitute and a little nut oil instead. As such, I don't think I can rate this cake fairly considering a fruitcake has so many ingredients it is vitally important to follow the recipe exactly. That being said, I did make this cake and because I didn't have enough eggs it was slightly crumbly. I should have left the cake to cool in the pan as once it was cool it was alot easier to remove. ***TIP: To line the bottom of a round cake pan with non-stick paper, turn your pan upside down and measure a square of paper so that it hangs over the edges by an inch. Then fold that square in half exactly and then in half again. Now fold it into half again so that it is in a triangle shape. Put the point of the triangle in the center of your upside down pan and then with kitchen scissors cut the excess paper that hangs over the edge in a curve. When you unfold the paper it will be in a circle that fits exactly into the pan.*** I did have excess batter and used another pan so I could taste it. It is very rich and heavy. Just like a fruitcake should be. I have never had nuts in a fruitcake and don't know if I really like them in there. It took THREE AND A HALF HOURS to bake at the stated temperature. It is now in the fridge and covered with alfoil in a cake container sprinkled with a mix of frangelico (hazelnut liquor) and brandy and bourbon every 2 - 3 day. I will update after Xmas.

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Reviewer:

AUSSIEMUM1

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2006

Excellent! I soaked my fruits and nuts in brandy for a week in advance and aged the cakes longer (more brandy applied less frequently). Like everyone else, mine took about 3 hours to bake, and longer wouldn't have hurt. I think a lot depends on whether your image of fruitcake is dry or wet.

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28 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

AWO

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Seattle, Washington, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 23, 2006

Great fruitcake. I soaked my dried fruit mix in rum and I used rum instead of brandy. I also cooked the cake for 3 hours. I made it twice. The second time I added one cup applesauce because I had read it makes the cake moister. Big mistake the cakes did not turn out well at all. Thank you for sharing.

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31 users found this review helpful