Here’s a recipe I came across on EzineArticles for homemade mini fruit cakes. That’s something I hadn’t come across before so I thought I’d re-publish the recipe here. The idea of little, individual fruit cakes is quite appealing so I think I may well give them a try!

Mini Fruit Cake Recipe

During the holiday season, I like to spend an afternoon making some delicious homemade mini fruit cakes. Making and serving these delectable goodies has been around for centuries. You will usually see them served around the holiday season or at wedding celebrations.

You will find that various cultures will have a different twist on the traditional recipe, however, the following recipe is done in the American tradition. When I make this fruit cake, I bake them in a muffin tin or in mini loaf pans. If desired, you can certainly bake them in a regular loaf pan or round cake pan.

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups eggnog

1 1/2 cups mixed candied fruits

1 1/2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

additional eggnog

(optional) candied cherry halves

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the granulated sugar with the softened butter until it’s light and creamy. Beat in both eggs until combined. In another bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Slowly stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture and then beat in the eggnog until all ingredients are well combined. Fold in the chopped candied fruits. If the mixture is stiff, stir by hand.

Lightly spray your muffin or mini loaf pans with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Spoon the batter into your desired pans. Place pans into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until they are done and the centers test clean with a toothpick. Remove from the pans and let cool on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioner’s sugar, nutmeg and ground cinnamon. Add in enough eggnog to make the mixture of drizzling consistency. Drizzle the glazed over the cooled fruit cakes.

If desired, top the fruit cakes with candied cherry halves for garnishing and store them in an airtight storage container.

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys cooking and baking for her friends and family, especially during the holiday season. You can visit Shelly online at http://www.workathomebusinessoptions.com or her recipe blog at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for additional free recipes.

Author: Shelly Hill
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

My mom’s breadmaker is suitable for cakes but I don’t have many recipes for it. Can somebody help me with some easy recipes for a breadmaking machine – preferably a rich fruit cake recipe.

My mother used to make a really nice boiled fruit cake that I have never managed to find the recipe for. I think that her recipe used to contain some crushed pineapple. Has anyone got a boiled cake recipe with pineapple in it?

This banana and walnut loaf is very easy to make and great to serve with a refreshing cup of coffee. It’s a great way to use up those over-ripe bananas, and if you fancy a change why not experiment with chopped almonds, or mixed nuts?

Ingredients

5oz…5/8 cup sugar
2oz…1/4 cup butter or margarine, plus enough for greasing the tin
3 eggs
4 bananas, mashed
8oz…2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
6 oz…1 cup chopped walnuts

One 9 inch loaf tin, greased

————————————————————————————————————-

banana and walnut

Preheat the oven to moderate 350 deg F, 180 deg C, Gas mark 4

Use a medium size mixing bowl to beat together the sugar, fat and eggs with a wooden spoon until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Gently beat in the bananas which have already been mashed, and then sift the flour, baking powder, salt and soda into the mixture and beat well. Stir in the chopped walnuts.

The mixture is poured into the greased loaf tin and baked for one hour until a stick or skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

When cooked, allow to cool for a few minutes before turning the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Cut this moist loaf cake into thick slices and serve with a fresh cup of coffee. Delicious!

Apricot and ginger loaf cake is another variation on the classic fruit loaf. Baked in a square tin it can be easily sliced and eaten as it is, or spread with a little butter if you prefer. Soaking the fruit in tea the night before really brings out the flavours and makes a fruit loaf you will just want more of!

What’s more, ginger also has it’s medical uses. Research has concluded that ginger is an effective treatment for nausea caused by motion sickness or other illness. It also contains many antioxidants. Although effective against all forms of nausea, many health professionals do not recommend taking ginger for morning sickness commonly associated with pregnancy.

Enough of the health benefits – back to the recipe!

Ingredients

3/4 pint..425ml warm brewed tea
6oz…180g sugar
8oz…240g dried mixed fruit
8oz….240g dried apricots
2 tbs marmalade
1 egg, beaten
1lb…480g self raising flour
1 heaped tbs baking powder
2-3 teaspoons ground ginger

A greased and lined (greaseproof or waxed paper) 8in/20cm square cake tin (pan).

———————————————————————————————————————

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C, 350 deg F, Gas Mark 4.

Chop the apricots and put them in a bowl with the dried fruit and sugar. Pour over the tea, stir well, and leave to soak for several hours, preferably overnight if you want your apricot and ginger loaf cake to be really moist and full of flavour.

After soaking, add the beaten egg and marmalade to the fruit mixture and mix well. Sieve the flour, baking powder and ginger together and gently fold into the fruit mixture. The mixture should be just wet enough to drop from a wooden spoon when tapped on the side of the bowl. Add a few drops of water if it’s too dry, or sprinkle in a little flour if it’s too moist.

Spoon the mixture from the bowl into the prepared, greased and lined, tin which is placed in the middle of the oven for about 1 1/4 hours. As always, check the loaf just before the end of the cooking time by pushing a skewer, or similar, into the middle of the loaf. It will come out dry and virtually clean when the loaf is cooked.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before turning the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool.

Like many fruit cakes this apricot and ginger loaf cake will get better if it’s kept a while. So try to put it away in an airtight container for at least a day before eating. But if you want some straight away, then nobody can blame you!

Enjoy it with or without some butter or margarine, depending on how you like it.