Making Fruitcake with Rosie

I love traditions.

We always make fruitcakes the last home game in September. Then brush them with rum until they are good and soaked, and repeating often until Thanksgiving when they are judged ready to sell.

Usually the "making" part takes longer, but this year I had Rosie to help, and we made our entire quota of 58 loaves in one take.

The process actually started last week when all the dried and candied fruit went into a big bin and two handles of rum were poured over the top so the fruit could macerate. This softens the fruit, an extremely important step.

Our fruit mixture consists of candied peel (imported from Switzerland), dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried papaya chunks, dried pear pieces, dried pineapple and glaceed cherries.

Here's Rosie's recipe for fruitcake (all measurement are in pounds and ounces unless otherwise noted).

Rosie's Fruitcake

• 40-0 macerated dried and candied fruit
• 5-0 pecan halves
• 7-8 butter
• 8-14 granulated sugar
• 6-0 whole eggs
• 13-12 all purpose flour
• 6 tbsp. nutmeg
• 3 tbsp. baking powder
• Simple syrup (as needed)
• Rum (as needed)

1. Cream butter and sugar in 60-quart Hobart Legacy Mixer (use the paddle attachment) on speed 2, about 3 minutes.


2. Add eggs and continue mixing at speed 1 about 2 minutes.


3. Add dry ingredients at one time and stir until incorporated, then mix 2 minutes at speed 1.


4. Add fruit and nuts and stir until incorporated.


5. Scale loaves (we measured 1-10 into corrugated paper loaf pans 7" x 3" x 2").


6. Bake at 325 until done (ours took about an hour).


7. Brush LIBERALLY with mixture of 1 part rum and 1 part simple syrup. Repeat this step every other day for the first week. Then make a mixture of 3 parts rum and 1 part simple syrup, and brush twice weekly for about 5 or 6 weeks. Package for sale.

Makes 58 fruitcakes.