I know fruit cakes are not the most popular dessert around the holiday's Texas but it’s definitely the most spoken about when it comes to this peculiar taste. Growing up I was never a fan of fruitcake and would be lying if I said I was until my aunt made her famous Texas-style fruitcake that I had to share with all of Central Texas.

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NOT YOUR ORDINARY FRUIT CAKE

Granted it does still have the traditional ingredients of fruit cake, but hers comes with a little cake-like splash of brandy which truly changes the taste of this own popular holiday dessert here is the Texan holiday fruitcake recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups chopped dried prunes (6 oz), chopped
1 1/4 cups chopped dates (6 oz), chopped
1 1/2 cups dark raisins (8 oz)
1 1/4 cups golden raisins (6 oz)
1 1/4 cups currants (6 oz)
¾ cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup molasses
½ cup coffee liqueur, or ½ cup strong black coffee
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
1 cup chopped glace cherries
1 cup candied citrus peel
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (7 oz), roughly chopped
2 tsp allspice
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp cocoa
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
½ cup ground hazelnuts or almonds
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda

2 Cups of cheap brandy

Instructions

In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat and add the raisins, dates, prunes, currents, brown sugar, molasses, spices, coffee liqueur (or coffee), and the orange zest and juice.
Bring to a gentle boil and very slowly simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for 30-45 minutes.
When cool stir in the beaten eggs.
Sift together, flour, cocoa, baking powder, brandy, and baking soda.
Add the ground nuts and fold through the boiled mixture. Fold in cherries, citrus peel, and pecans. Pour into prepared baking pan. You can decorate the top with additional pecan halves and cherries.
Bake at 300 degrees F for 1 ½ to 2 hours depending upon the size of your pan. Mine took the full two hours in a 10-inch spring form pan. The cake should feel firm to the touch at the center and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. The cake should be cooled completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing it.
At this point, you can poke small holes in the top and bottom of the cake with a fork and pour on 4 ounces of dark rum or your favorite whiskey, half on the top, wait ten minutes, then flip it over and pour the remaining half on the bottom.
Soak several layers of cheesecloth in additional rum if you like and wrap completely around the cake, then cover with several layers of plastic wrap and store in a COOL place.
When serving, you can add a layer of marzipan or if you have decorated the top with fruit and nuts, brush with a simple glaze of equal parts water and sugar boiled together for about 10-15 minutes.

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