Jan's Boiled Pineapple Fruit Cake
This is what I call a white Christmas cake with dry apples, pears, and apricots. I don't like dark rice fruit cakes, so this is what I have come up with.
This is what I call a white Christmas cake with dry apples, pears, and apricots. I don't like dark rice fruit cakes, so this is what I have come up with.
- Carbohydrate 33.0696133372038 g
- Cholesterol 33.19 mg
- Fat 5.17658000004971 g
- Fiber 0.597166667513902 g
- Protein 1.98622333385728 g
- Saturated Fat 3.05130450000786 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (65g)
- Sodium 135.275500000101 mg
- Sugar 32.4724466696899 g
- Trans Fat 0.450483000016484 g
- Calories 183 calories
Step-by-step
- place sugar, pineapple undrained fruit in a bowl and cover with brandy. let sit for 24-72 hr
- then put it in to a saucepan with baing powder and butter.
- Bring to boil and boil for 3 minutes
- Remove from the heat and cool completely.
- Sift flours and mix into the cold fruit mix with well beaten eggs.
- Put the mixture into a greased and lined 8" 20 cm cake tin
- Back at 350F 35-50 mins
Standard ingredient lists omit the chemical impact of soaking dried fruit in alcohol for up to seventy-two hours, a crucial process that softens dense cell walls and hydrates dehydrated tissues before heat hits them. Dried apples, pears, and apricots absorb free liquid during this resting window, preventing the fruit from competing with the batter for moisture during baking. Combining the sugar, undrained pineapple, and brandy initiates this rehydration phase without requiring heat application initially. Allowing this mixture to sit undisturbed gives the alcohol time to penetrate the fruit fibers uniformly.
Boiling the soaked fruit mixture with butter and baking powder for three minutes breaks down pectin networks and activates the leavening agent prematurely in an alkaline environment. Cooling this cooked base completely before incorporating the eggs prevents thermal coagulation of the proteins, ensuring a smooth, cohesive batter instead of a curdled mass. Sifting the plain flour, self-raising flour, and mixed spice together aerates the dry components, distributing the spices evenly through the dense crumb structure. Beating the eggs thoroughly before folding them into the cold fruit mixture introduces mechanical aeration necessary for rising.
Baking this dense batter inside an eight-inch, twenty-centimeter lined cake tin at 350 degrees Fahrenheit requires careful monitoring around the thirty-five-minute mark. Covering the top of the tin with a brown paper bag prevents the exterior from burning before the center reaches structural integrity. Dense fruit cakes freeze exceptionally well because high sugar concentrations and alcohol content depress the freezing point and inhibit microbial growth. Wrapping the cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap followed by heavy-duty aluminum foil allows storage in a domestic freezer for up to three months without flavor degradation.
Substitutions alter the final moisture retention and structural density of the finished crumb significantly. Using commercially packaged fruit medleys provides consistent sizing, whereas hand-chopped dried pears and apples demand uniform dimensions to prevent uneven baking pockets. Fresh pineapple cannot replace canned crushed pineapple directly without altering the moisture ratios and introducing active enzymes that interfere with baking chemistry.
