Hawaiian Fruitcake

Yeah, fruitcake. Now before some of you start bashing, take heart. Yes, it has quite the reputation for lasting for... well, quite awhile (thank the healthy dousing in spirits for that one, which gave it a nice long shelf life before the time of preserving). But it is such a classic holiday treat, one that originally had the token of a good-luck charm for spring harvests later, and actually can (and does!) taste rather good.

This is another goodie that I made before the holidays, and perhaps fitting that I'm posting it now, given the storied shelf-life of fruitcake. I didn't want to throw together just any old fruitcake this year, though. I wanted to make something a little bit exciting, you know? So enter this little gem, a recipe for Hawaiian fruitcake.

Chockful of shaved coconut and some new-to-fruitcake dried fruits (pineapple and cherries anyone?), this recipe gives a whole new life to the boring old fruitcake of the past. I omitted the rum when I made mine (knowing that I and another fellow pregnant chum of mine would be eating them), but feel free to let the rum flow with yours! It'll help it keep longer, ya know...

Hawaiian Fruitcake

(adapted from recipe by Audrey Langenhop, pastry arts instructor at YTI Career Institute, Lancaster, Penn.)

Ingredients:

Fruit mixture:

1½ c. golden raisins

1 c. unsweetened shaved coconut

1½ c. chopped dried pineapple

1 c. chopped dried apricots

1 c. candied lemon peel

2 c. dried tart cherries

¾ c. light or dark rum (if you prefer not to use alcohol you may substitute orange juice, as I did)

Cake Batter:

2 sticks softened butter (1 c.)

1¾ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. honey

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

5 eggs

3¾ c. all-purpose flour

1 c. whole milk
2 c. chopped macadamia nuts

Combine the fruits in a large bowl. Add the rum (or juice), cover, refrigerate, and allow to steep 6-24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Grease and flour two 8½-by-4½-inch loaf pans.

Beat the butter, sugar and honey until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time. Sift together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt.

Carefully add one half of the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture. Mix well. Add half the milk and continue to mix. Scrape the bowl. Repeat with the final half of the dry ingredients and milk, blending well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Stir in the undrained fruit mixture as well as the macadamia nuts.

Pour the batter into the two prepared pans, filling each ¾ full.

Place the pans into the preheated oven. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove the cakes from the oven and immediately brush with additional rum (if desired). Allow the cakes to cool completely before removing them from the loaf pans. Wrap air tight and store for a minimum of 24 hours prior to serving.

This fruitcake may be brushed with rum weekly and stored at room temperature for four to six weeks. If you prefer, you may wrap the fruitcake and store it in the freezer for several months.