In December 2019, my wife and I hosted a Christmas brunch at which this fruitcake was served. It was a huge hit, and particularly favored by accomplished chef and HRSMS member, Yves Pochard. Yves worked at Norfolk Southern Railroad for 30 years serving four Chairman of the Boards as Executive Chef. A master chef raved about my fruitcake! He even called for everyone’s attention so that he could make an announcement, which was that the fruitcake was outstanding.
I was very honored, but as you may have guessed, it is not truly “my” fruitcake. It is just the slightest variation from one printed in Cooking Light magazine. Sadly, Yves passed less than a month later, and I won’t get to serve this to him again. Instead, I am posting this recipe, renamed in his honor.
Ingredients
- Shortening or lard
- 1 cup (4-1/4 ounces / 120 g) flour + 1/2 teaspoon flour + 1-1/2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup raisins
- 2/3 cup chopped dates
- 1/2 cup chopped pistachios (or other nut, if you prefer)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots
- 1/2 cup finely chopped dried figs
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (if using salted butter, reduce salt to 1/4 teaspoon)
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup dark rum (such as Meyers’s), divided
- 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°
- Lightly coat an 8″x4″ loaf pan with shortening or lard. Dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Set aside.
- Combine raisins, dates, pistachios, apricots, figs, and 1-1/2 tablespoons of flour in a medium-sized bowl. Toss well to coat, separating chunks of fruit that are stuck together.
- In a small bowl, combine 4-1/2 ounces of flour (128g, approximately 1 cup), baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Stir with a whisk.
- Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in sugar, half of the rum (1/4 cup), and orange rind. Let cool slightly and add the eggs. Letting it cool prevents the eggs from cooking in the hot butter.
- Add the flour mixture to the pan.
- Gradually fold in the fruit mixture.
- Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Cover with foil, arched like a tent. Arching the foil will avoid batter sticking to it should it rise above the rim of the pan.
- Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Take out of oven and remove foil.
- Pierce the top of the cake many times with a toothpick and then brush with the remaining rum. Cool almost completely on a wire rack. Remove from pan while still slightly warm, to avoid sticking. Continue cooling on the wire rack.
- When completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Important! Refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving. This will allow the rum and other flavors to distribute and for the texture to firm up.
- Ship a slice or two to the webmaster.