Any recipes that the Food52 team could share for the iconic Fruitcake?

bb, I have spent 1/2 hr looking for this recipe on 52; plse link! and th you.

aj, i haven't drunk whiskey except irish whiskey in an Irish Coffee, which I love. I once tasted kentucky whiskey(bourbon?) and found it very acrid. Do you think that factor might pose a problem for me liking this; should i use brandy(which I use in pate and love) instead?thx.

You should Irish whiskey - no reason in the world not to, if you prefer its taste. I'm not a big fan of either (Irish or Kentucky), but I love this cake. The sweetness of the fruit and of the cake itself cancel out any harshness in the booze. ;o)

That should be, "you should use Irish whiskey." ;o)

LBF and AJ, different bourbons and whiskies taste differently. I'm no expert (I tend to go with how pretty the bottle is ;) -- Some are smooth and some rough, some have a touch of sweetness. A good liquor shop owner can usually guide you. I use Eagle Rare bourbon for serving and occasionally cooking, it is smooth and a little sweet...same with scotch whiskies. Some are finer than others. The "challenge" is to find a smooth product at a good price point.

LBF -- go with brandy. It will have the same boozy effect on the cake, while minimizing the risk of putting in a whiskey or bourbon you do not like. Depending on the choice, Scotch whiskey can have a hint (or more) of smokiness, and I also find bourbon flavor too be too strong for a fruit cake. I like to have Scotch whiskey in my glass, but I prefer brandy in my cake :)

ajames,
I read all your posts with an overriding sense of awe and admiration. I have NEVER encountered a woman who cooks as much as you do. It's astounding really. Your family and friends, the recipients of your energy and talents- they are some LUCKY CAMPERS. I just wondered though......say, your son married me . Even if he were already married, I could be the unfortunate woman that he married and then divorced after a day, and so you would think of me as that unfortunate ex-daughter in law, on the far-away coast of MA., ....and then you could send me the regular family care-packages to brighten my spirits.............. :-}

As does Pierre Herme's pain d'epices. Also good with foie gras and, for the rest of us, chopped liver.

ooh, that would be FABULOUS!, Can't wait!

Here it is! https://food52.com/blog/15230-light-this-christmas-pudding-on-fire-on-purpose

thank you Le Bec Fin & nancy essig.. Alton Brown's recipe seems to be easy enough for a novice 'fruitcaker' like me, think I'll start with that one. I have large stock of home made chai spice infused vodka that I'm planning to soak the dried fruits in.

thank you Le Bec Fin & nancy essig.. Alton Brown's recipe seems to be easy enough for a novice 'fruitcaker' like me, think I'll start with that one. I have large stock of home made chai spice infused vodka that I'm planning to soak the dried fruits in.

o.k. panfusine,now that you have me focused on this fruit cake thing(see, it's all your fault!!), here are some other ideas! here are alton brown's ingredients:
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup currants
1/2 cup sun dried cranberries
1/2 cup sun dried blueberries
1/2 cup sun dried cherries
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
Zest of one lemon, chopped coarsely
Zest of one orange, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
1 cup gold rum
1 cup sugar
5 ounces unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)
1 cup unfiltered apple juice
4 whole cloves, ground
6 allspice berries, ground
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup toasted pecans, broken

and here's what I might tweak, based on my own taste for dark complex flavors and upping textures!:
--use dark brown sugar and molasses instead of white sugar
--use prunes and/or dark mission figs instead of apricots
--sub some of the golden raisins with candied lemon and orange zests(which I happen to have around)
-- sub strong coffee or OJ for the apple juice
--instead of all white flour, use white whole wheat and rye flours; adding in some toasted wheat germ
(Am I cheeky or what?!)

I made the Alton Brown version just yesterday! It is really, really good, right out of the over, even without any time for it to soak up brandy

the technicolor quite frankly scares me. I'm hoping to stick to more of the natural colored ingredients as far as possible (if it excludes HFCS, all the better)

I posted the recipe...look for Real Fruit Fruitcake. I marinated the fruit in red wine and orange juice, but the original recipe used rum and cider, with Calvados as a backup. Now you have me wondering if I should make it this year...I have all these lovely mini loaf pans for gifting...!

w girl, here is the link to your intriguing recipe.
https://food52.com/recipes/39515-real-fruit-fruitcake

Now, gloves off: There are things about your recipe that I love, but a few make me hesitate. Is this a DENSE fruit cake or more an applesauce cake with spiked fruit in it?
I Love that you use red wine and OJ, and the textured and more- healthy-than-usual dry components . But the grated apple and the apple juice, and the large amount of flour- make me ask my question. If it is more cake-like, do you think it could work cutting down the flour etc components that form the cake batter, so that there is less of the batter and more of the fruit and nuts? Hope you don't mind my question, as I do really admire your recipe!

Sorry, LE BEC FIN, my tablet doesn't offer the option for me to reply beneath your comment (looks like the site is set up to only offer three replies to a sub thread).
The cake has very little batter compared to the amount of fruits and nuts....8 cups of Fruits/nuts to 3 1/2 c flours, for 3 loaves, so it is dense. I found the apple and applesauce add moisture but not the sponge texture of a typical applesauce cake. When I make it, I am always surprised by how little batter there is. Looking at the Alton Brown recipe, with has 4c fruit to 1 3/4 c flour, I'd say the textures would be similar...actually Alton's cake would have a bit more batter.

queen, thx for the brandy suggestion. very helpful and will do.
And , I have to gripe about a DRAG in the world of fav recipes. So many of us create wonderful things and go on to hope others will discover our recipe on 52, but the darn recipe calls for an ingredient that just isn't easily available (we don't have in our pantry and don't have access to a store that sells the critical ingredient and inspiration can be so fleeting [and all the ramifications for that fact]). I HATE THAT. And some of my recipes are like that, as yours with that darned sri lankan chutney! Maybe in the next generation or three, Technology will come up with our own personal amazon system where we push a button, and a jar of whatever appears on our kitchen counter! Ah, I might consider cryovac'ing myself for THAT day!!!

Ha, ha, ha -- LBF -- I know the feeling. But the fact is -- we live in the world where everything is just a mouse-click away... I am not so sure anymore if that's a good thing or not, because there is something to be said for craving the foods from faraway places... But I am digressing, here is the mouse-click for the Sri Lankan chutneys http://www.lankandelight.com/cake-baking-ingredients/