CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE

My Grandma used to make her own fruitcake, but eventually she was the first to admit that the effort was no longer worth it, as the price was low enough and availability easy enough to just buy it.

Years later, I was training at a local hospital and one of the nurses's brought in a fruitcake that I liked enough to get the recipe. It's tricky sometimes to find mincemeat out of season, but it lasts all year if you find it around Christmas time, and I was lucky enough to find a jar in January this year.  It's a rare millenial that recognizes it as the spicy mixture of my youth. Maybe it's compounded by the bilingual comprehension and confusion, as mincemeat doesn't exist in French (note: "fruits hachés fins").  This recipe is simple enough, and makes a bundt tin round, so it's easy to share. It is easy to find the recipe, listed as Eagle Brand "Fabulous Fruitcake".



Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 jar (750 ml) mincemeat
1 can (300 ml) sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chopped mixed glacé fruit
1 cup chopped walnuts
optional (to decorate): Whole glacé cherries

Directions

  1 :  Stir together flour and baking soda; set aside.
  2 :  Combine eggs, mincemeat, sweetened condensed milk, chopped fruit and nuts. Add dry ingredients; mix well.
  3 :  Divide batter between two greased 9 x 5" (1.5 L) loaf pans or one round bundt pan.
  4 :  Bake in preheated 300ºF (150ºC) oven for 1 hour and 20-25 minutes or 1 hour and 50 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.
  5 :  Turn out pans; cool completely. Garnish with glacé cherries.

A winter treat with a fresh cappucino.