Fruitcake – The Holiday F-Word

Which holiday dessert has a bad rap? You know the one found in countless jokes and comedic situations. It is made fun of in movies, TV shows, and all over the internet. Even hearing or reading the word brings up a negative reaction for most people. I participated in a foodie twitter chat recently and as soon as the word was tweeted it sparked a conversation. Most all the tweets/comments reflected the general not so good feelings toward this one dessert: Fruitcake

The negative feelings are justified by store-bought fruitcake. Those bricks are filled with mystery ingredients of all colors, unpleasant textures, and indescribable flavors. Blech. Just looking at one makes me cringe. Some people do like those fruitcake bricks and my father was one of them. My mom would buy one for him every year. He was the only one in the family to eat it.

There is such a thing as good fruitcake. Yes, it’s true. All it takes is one that is homemade using a tried and true recipe. It does not have mystery ingredients. The main ingredients are pecans, candied cherries, and pineapple preserves. How could that be anything but delicious? Just take a look:

Call it “Cherry Pecan Cake” if you do not want to use the f-word. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t. Your secret is safe with me. Give fruitcake a second chance. You never know, it may be a part of your holiday baking from now on.

3.19 from 11 votes

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Fruitcake

This holiday Fruitcake is loaded with candied cherries, pecans, and pineapple preserves. It is the fruitcake to bake for the season.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 25 minutes

Servings 12 to 16 servings

Author Renee Dobbs

Ingredients

• 1 pound candied cherries
• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 jar pineapple preserves 16 ounces
• 4 cups pecan halves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
2. Cut cherries in half and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition.
4. Add vanilla and lemon extracts and mix well.
5. Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl.
6. Add flour and mix until combined.
7. Stir in pineapple preserves, cherries, and pecans.
8. Pour into prepared tube pan. Bake for 3 hours or until a toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.
9. Cool cake completely in pan.
10. Remove cake from pan and transfer to a cake plate.

Recipe Notes

This holiday Fruitcake is loaded with candied cherries, pecans, and pineapple preserves. It is the fruitcake to bake for the season.