Fruit Cake

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By popular demand, here is the wholesome fruit cake recipe with which I grew up. Enjoy and make one to ring in the new year if you like. This one is moist, not too sweet, and keeps for a month. It’s packed with vitamins, minerals and protein and can help prevent the cold and flu when eaten in small slivers.


FRUIT CAKE

You will need:

  •  1 cup dried apples, chopped

  • 1 cup raisins, chopped

  • 1 cup dried apricots, chopped

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened dried figs, chopped

  • 1/2 cup apple juice sweetened dried cranberries, chopped

  • 1/4 cup prunes, chopped

  • 1 cup orange juice

  • 1 cup almond or quinoa flour

  • 1/2 cup tapioca flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon each: cinnamon and ginger

  • 1/4 teaspoon each: allspice and nutmeg

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 4 eggs

  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

  • 1 cup almonds, walnuts or pecans, chopped

24 hours before baking the fruit cake, soak all of the dried fruit in the orange juice.

The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Oil two loaf pans or one 10 inch springform pan with a bit of olive oil.

In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, salt and spices. Add the olive oil and honey and keep mixing. Grate in the lemon and orange zest. Mix well.

Beat in the eggs.

Add the nuts and the soaked dried fruit with its liquid and mix one more time to make sure that all the ingredients are equally incorporated.

If the batter is too wet, add more flour. If it seems too dry, add a bit more orange juice. Depending on the size of your dried fruit, you may need to adjust a bit.

Separate the batter between the two loaf pans or smooth it into one 10 inch springform pan. Feel free to decorate the top with additional chopped nuts if you like.

Bake for an hour and thirty minutes.

Allow to cool overnight before wrapping in parchment paper and then in foil. Fruit cake will keep this way for up to a month. The cake is delicious just one day after baking and the flavors continue to improve as it ages.

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