English "Dried Fruit" Cake (not "fruitcake") - ButterYum

Today Rose's Alpha Bakers share our 2nd selection as we bake our way through The Baking Bible. As a reminder, the recipes are not being shared, but I'll share my commentary about the recipe, followed by a full photo tutorial.

This week's selection - English Dried Fruit Cake. Note I said "fruit cake" and not "fruitcake." This fruit cake contains dried fruit rather than glacèed fruit and candied citron (both of which I detest). It also contains fresh apples, pecans, and if you choose, Rum.

Special equipment needed - Nothing too out of the ordinary here, just a simple 9x13-inch rectangular cake pan or two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans.

How does it taste - Better than I expected. This fruit cake was pleasingly moist and tasty, and it stayed fresh for days. I didn't use the optional rum, but doing so would have extended its shelf life even further. The suggested dried fruits to use were apples, prunes, apricots, and pears. I used prunes, apricots, and raisins. I omitted the pecans because I didn't have any in the house. I cut my fruitcake into 48 small squares - one square is packed full of flavor and was just enough to satisfy my taste for something sweet.

How does it look - Honestly, it looks very plain-jane, but don't let that stop you from trying it.

Skill level required - Super easy. Mix everything together by hand, pour into prepared cake pan, and bake. That's it.

Were the directions clear - Yes.

What would I do differently next time - I might like to try omitting the dried apricots and adding dried pears, and I'd be interested in knowing how the cake tastes with the addition of rum. Actually, it might be nice to use rum to soak the dried fruit.

Next up - The Ischler. An Austrian almond sandwich cookie with apricot and chocolate.

Okay, here's my photo tutorial.

Whisk the dry ingredients together.

Zest an orange - I like to use a microplane for this.

Weigh the eggs with a digital scale.

Cook the butter and sugars together for a minute until it looks like this.

Remove from heat and stir in the diced apples.

Stir the soaked fruit into the flour mixture.

Stir until all the fruit is coated.

Now add the apple mixture.

Oops, my bowl was close to overflowing so I switched to a bigger one.

This is an extra step I like to take whenever I make a cake that's 9 inches or larger. I use a cake heating core - it's a little extra insurance to ensure the cake bakes fully in the center.