Mom's Fruit Cake

I am pretty sure that everyone has their own rendition of mom's cake that holds a special place in their hearts.  For my family, this would be my mom's fruit cake and sugee cake, usually made for Chinese New Year (CNY).

This coming CNY, I have been tasked by my mom in undertaking the two cakes.  Suffice to say, I am honoured.  But at the same time, I saw this as a baking challenge, as I had to not only pass my mom's taste test (my mom's a great baker, by the way), but serve other family members who are super critical about their food.  Through my more than 10 years of being an investment banker, I have successfully structured and implemented multi-million dollar deals, so it's really funny to be stressed up by a fruit cake.

The result ? I may not have mastered it exactly like my mom but since no one is complaining, I think I am close enough.  Phew. I am so excited that I can make the same cake for my family and friends just like my mom did, and this is one tradition I plan on carrying over for the CNYs to come.  Next up, the sugee cake.

For fear of being admonished by my mom or any of her hardcore fruit cake followers, I followed her recipe religiously.  Ok, ok, almost.  I couldn't resist adapting it here and there to give it my personal touch.  Now, do you have your Mom's special cakes that you wish to share ?

You will need:

230 g unsalted butter
200 g light brown sugar
5 large eggs
Juice and zest of one orange
Zest of one lemon
1 tsp golden syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
100 g blanched almonds, chopped
500 g mixed fruits
100 g of an assortment of raisins, sultanas, currants and dried cranberries
340 g all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
3 tbsp brandy for brushing the cake

Preparation:

Butter, or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray, two 11 x 21 cm loaf pans. Line the bottom of the pans with buttered parchment paper. Also line the sides of the pans with a strip of buttered parchment paper that extends about 2 inches above the pans. Preheat oven to 150 deg C.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the orange juice, vanilla, syrup and zests, and then fold in the chopped nuts and all the dried fruits. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon powder and fold this into the cake batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours or until a long skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.  Unmold the cake, remove the parchment paper and turn it right side up. 

When cooled completely, poke holes on the surface of the cake with a skewer and brush all over with a little brandy. Wrap the cake thoroughly in aluminum foil and place in the refridgerator.  Brush the cake periodically (once a week, if required) with brandy until CNY. This cake will keep for weeks in the refridgerator or it can be frozen until the next CNY !