Holiday Fruitcake Loaf

Course: Brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Christmas, English, North American

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 1

Servings: slices

Calories: 285kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

Serve this Holiday Fruitcake Loaf with a cup of hot tea at your year-end bookclub meeting, with your fellow card sharp at this week's cribbage game, or enjoy a slice alone in your living room with a good book on a lazy, snowy Sunday afternoon. Prepared with dried and candied fruit which has been soaked in strong tea, this loaf is moist and delicious!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup mixed peel
1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into quarters
1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1 cup candied red and green cherries, cut into halves
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup tea, very strong and hot
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 large eggs

Instructions

Add the mixed peel, apricots, and cranberries to a mixing bowl. Add the softened butter, salt, baking soda, and brown sugar. Set aside.
Prepare one cup of strong, hot tea. Pour it into the bowl with the chopped dried fruit. Use a spoon to stir to combine. Set that aside to cool for fifteen minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.
In a separate, small bowl, whisk the two eggs. Set aside.
Once the dried fruit and tea mixture has cooled for fifteen minutes, stir in the vanilla extract.
Pour the tea mixture into the bowl with the flour. Add in the whisked eggs and chopped red and green cherries. With a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients together to form a batter. Set aside.
Lightly coat a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Depending on the size of your loaf pan, you might have more batter than you need. Do not fill the loaf pan more than 3/4 full with the batter. This recipe will require at least a 6-cup loaf pan.
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 55 minutes or until your loaf is baked through. Be sure to test to see if the loaf is baked by inserting a clean wooden toothpick into the center of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, the loaf is done and can be removed from the oven. Otherwise, bake for five minutes longer and perform the toothpick test again.
Once baked, remove from the oven and place onto a wire cooling rack. Allow the loaf to rest for fifteen minutes before turning it out of the loaf pan. Continue to cool on the cooling rack.

Nutrition