Fruitcake Wreath proves better fruit makes better fruitcake

Rose Levy Beranbaum thinks she knows why so many people despise fruitcake.

It isn't the cake.

"I think it's because people use such crummy, dried, candied fruit," she says.

The author of "The Cake Bible," Beranbaum came to this discovery while working on her most recent book, "Rose's Heavenly Cakes" (Wiley, $39.95). The food stylist shooting photos of her Fruitcake Wreath wanted to use less-expensive fruit for the illustration. Beranbaum soaked the fruits in Myers rum and put them into the cake.

One taste was enough.

"I thought it was beyond vile."

Fifteen years ago, she stumbled onto a French maker of glaceed fruit and brought some back after a trip to Europe. After macerating them in cognac, she pulverized them and used them in a recipe she adapted from the French Culinary Institute.

"If you use the ordinary, candied glaceed fruit, you're going to have too much sweetness," she says. "You can't disguise that with alcohol."

A key to her Fruitcake Wreath's success: an abundance of pecans and walnuts, which give a warm flavor to the cake. She also peels the walnuts to avoid the bitterness in the peel of the nut from being absorbed into the batter.

"The nuts make the cake taste wonderful," she says.

FRUITCAKE WREATH

Serves: 14 to 16
Baking time: 60 to 70 minutes

Rose says: This version of fruitcake was inspired by one that was given to me for Christmas a few years ago by the French Culinary Institute. It changed my thinking about glacéed fruit. I discovered that high-quality glacéed fruit, particularly orange and lemon peel, when soaked in dark rum is absolutely delicious, providing the ideal vehicle for absorbing a large quantity of the rum.

In addition to the glacéed fruit, what makes this fruitcake especially delicious is that it is studded with an enormous quantity of walnuts and pecans. The cake is delicious to eat the day after baking, but with periodic sprinkling with rum after baking, it can hold for months and months at room temperature, mellowing and deepening in complexity of flavor. For a party presentation, decorate with marzipan candles, using sliced almonds as flames

PLAN AHEAD

Soak the fruit at least 1 week ahead. Bake the cake at least 12 hours ahead.

TO MAKE THE GLACEED FRUIT FILLING

Makes about 4 cups

• 1½ cups (7.5 ounces) glacéed mixed fruit, preferably lemon and orange peel
• 1½ cups (7 ounces) golden raisins
• 1 cup (5.3 ounces) glacéed red cherries
• ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) dark rum

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

• Quart-size canning jar
• One 10-cup wreath mold, coated with baking spray with flour
• Cheesecloth, if planning to store the cake for several weeks or longer

MAKE THE GLACÉED FRUIT FILLING

In the jar, combine the glacéed mixed fruit, raisins, glacéed cherries, and rum. Screw the cap on tightly and lay down the jar on one of its sides. Allow it to sit for a week, turning it one-quarter turn every day or so. By the end of the week, almost all the rum will have been absorbed into the fruit. The fruit keeps indefinitely.

BATTER

• 4 cups pecan halves
• 2 cups walnut halves
• 2½ sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup, firmly packed dark brown sugar, preferably Muscovado
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (sifted into the cup and leveled off)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 4 cups Glacéed Fruit Filling (about 23.5 ounces)
• ½ cup dark rum, optional (4 fluid ounces)

Preheat the oven 20 minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 if using a dark pan).

Toast the pecans and walnuts by spreading them evenly on a large sheet pan and baking for about 7 minutes to enhance their flavor. Stir once or twice to ensure even toasting and avoid overbrowning. Cool completely.

In a microwavable container or in a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the butter, stirring constantly, just until it starts to soften into a creamy consistency. Remove it from the heat. If it is hot, pour it into another container and stir until it is no more than warm.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the brown sugar and melted butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until well combined. With the mixer on, add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 15 seconds after each addition. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter and beat on low speed until evenly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the macerated fruit, along with any liquid remaining in the jar, and mix on low speed for about 1 minute. Add the pecans and walnuts and mix for 5 to 10 seconds, or until thoroughly combined. Using a silicone spatula, scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface evenly with a small off set spatula. The batter will come almost to the top of the pan.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should just barely begin to shrink from the sides of the pan. An instant-read thermometer will register about 190 degrees.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. While it is cooling, brush the top evenly with half the rum, if using. Set a serving plate on top of the cake and invert the cake onto the plate. Brush the top and sides of the cake with the remaining rum. Cool completely. Allow it to sit for a minimum of 12 hours so that it is firm enough to cut. It cuts best and crumbles least when well chilled.

Note: You can also use two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans or two 10-cup fluted tube pans, filling each with half the batter. Baking time will be between 65 and 75 minutes in the loaf pans and between 45 and 55 minutes in the fluted tube pans. (Don't be tempted to pour all the batter into one 10-cup fluted tube pan as it is much deeper than the 10-cup wreath pan, and this dense batter will not bake evenly. You can, however, use two 6-cup fluted tube pans. The batter will rise a little past the tops of the pans.) Rotate the loaf pans and tent loosely with foil after the first 45 minutes of baking.

Special unmolding instructions for long storage: If you are planning to store the cake for several weeks, months or even years, you will need to drape it in rum-soaked cheesecloth, wrap it in plastic wrap, and then in heavy-duty aluminum foil. It will require a total of 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) rum. You will also need a 12-inch cardboard round as a base to support it. Brush the baked cake with ¼ cup rum and allow it to cool completely in the pan. Cut a double layer of cheesecloth large enough to wrap the entire cake, two 36-inch-long strips of plastic wrap, and one 36 by 18-inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Before unmolding the cake, soak the cheesecloth with 1/3 to ½ cup rum and drape it over the cake. Then crisscross the plastic wrap over the cheesecloth, allowing it to extend over the sides. Place the cardboard round on top, invert the cake on it, and set the cake on the aluminum foil. Brush the top and sides with the remaining rum. Bring up the sides of the cheesecloth and drape it over the top of the cake. Bring up the strips of plastic wrap to encase the entire cake. Finally, bring up the sides of the aluminum foil, wrapping the cake tightly. Every 3 months, open the aluminum foil and plastic wrap and sprinkle another ¼ cup rum over the cheesecloth before resealing it.