The truth about me…

• The truth is I’m a sucker for little furry animals.
• I love, love romantic movies.
• I totally forget how to speak English when I’m nervous.
• I think in Spanish, and I pray in Spanish.
• And I love fruit cake.

If there are 100 people left on the planet who love fruit cake, I’m one of them. So here’s a recipe that is not exactly like your great-grandmother’s fruit cake, but it has all the fruitiness that one expects from a good fruit cake.

Enjoy!

Fruitcake Bars

Adapted from Martha Stewart Makes Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups golden raisins
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup dried sweet cherries
• 1 cup tart Montmorency cherries, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup currants
• 1/2 cup dark raisins
• 1 cup dried payaya, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 cup brandy or Armagnac
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tablespoon course salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 7 large eggs

In a large glass, ceramic, or plastic bowl (just make sure you use a nonreactive container), combine dried fruits, honey, and brandy; cover and macerate at room temperature 2 days or up to 2 weeks.

Preheat oven to 275° F. Generously butter and flour two 8-inch square (or round) pans; tap out excess flour. Mix flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and garam masala in a bowl.
Beat butter and sugar in a separate bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, 1 by 1, beating well after each addition, scraping down side of bowl as needed. Transfer to a large bowl. Using a flexible spatula, fold in flour-nut mixture and drained fruit mixture; stir to evenly distribute fruits and nuts.

Pour batter into prepared pans; use an offset spatula to smooth tops. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 2 hours. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool completely. (Cakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 months.)

Cool and cut using a serrated knife. Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Makes 4 dozen
A few more things…

• You can add 1 1/4 cup walnuts to this recipe.
• Also use any dried fruit you have available.
• This year I put melted white chocolate on top of the bars but you don’t have to unless you like white chocolate. It makes the bars look so pretty.  🙂