I had a jar of maraschino cherries that I wanted to use up, so I found this recipe in my scrapbook. It reminded me of the fruitcakes that my dad makes every year around Christmas time.
I'm not sure about the origins of the recipe, I don't know who Lorna is or where the recipe came from, but it looks like it came with food packaging or advertising. It has some South African terms so I'm assuming I found this while still in SA.
What's in it?
The usual cake ingedients: flour, sugar etc....
Dried fruit: raisins (giant and yellow),currants, mixed peel, dates
maraschino cherries
nuts
brandy
spices: nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, ground ginger
topped with a brandy syrup
The Result
The cake took a few days to make and will only be ready to devour in a few weeks. I soaked the fruit in a brandy syrup on Wednesday night, baked the cake on Thursday and topped the cake in brandy syrup today. It could've been done in one day, but I had company and ran out of brandy.
A fruitcake should mature for at least 2 weeks and preferably longer so that the flavours can deepen. I will inspect the cake in two weeks and add more brandy syrup to keep it moist. It was baked in greaseproof (wax) paper and is then tightly wrapped in foil and stored in an airtight container. This cake can store for six months or even longer.
I have a number of occassions over the next few months which could benefit from a good fruit cake, but since I'll be visiting my parents in December, I'll leave the Christmas cake to the master. Anyway who wants to lug a fruit cake across the Atlantic AND deal with the boys, not me.
I can only remark that the cake looks good, but I will show the cake interior and describe the rich, boozy taste in Part 2...whenever that may be.
Now, what can I make with the maraschino liquor leftover in the jar...a drink perhaps...some bubbly added? If I can't enjoy the cake right away, I'll get my boozy fix elsewhere.
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