An Edible Fruit Cake

            I’ve never been able to understand the attraction of the traditional fruitcake. Hard, shiny, colored bits of stuff with all the flavor of plastic, baked into a virtually inedible brick. Yet somehow, people used to go out of their way to give these as gifts. To be fair to fruitcake bakers and connoisseurs, my experience has been limited to the cellophane-wrapped grocery store variety. A good, homemade, brandy-infused version is probably delicious.

            This alternative came from a cookbook we made in fourth grade. It was my teacher’s recipe, one she remembered from her childhood. Nothing like the classic, it’s not a cake that travels well. It won’t replace the gift-ability, but if you want to eat your fruitcake, it’s a good choice. An excellent, if somewhat sweet, breakfast cake it actually becomes moister upon standing. For the richest flavor, I use a “very cherry” fruit cocktail in heavy syrup, although any variety will work.

            I’ve made this cake at non-holiday times, using diced canned peaches instead of fruit cocktail, and substituting half-and-half for the eggnog.

            My husband thinks I make this each year just for him, but we all love it.

Fruit Cocktail Cake

Heat oven to 325°

Mix:

1½ cups sugar

2 cups flour

2 tsp. soda

¼ tsp. salt

Add:

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 can fruit cocktail with juice

½ cup dried cranberries, optional

Mix well and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 325° for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Topping:

2/3 cup sugar

1 cube butter

½ cup eggnog or half-and-half

1 cup shredded coconut

Bring sugar, butter & milk to boil and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in coconut. Spread on warm cake. Cool completely before serving.