White fruitcakes omit molasses and generally use lighter colored dried fruits than traditional dark fruitcakes. My failure with this recipe (from “The Crabtree & Evelyn Cookbook”) has nothing to do with its composition and everything to do with my skills.
1 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried pears
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried figs
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried pineapple
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped citron
1 cup dark rum
2 cups whole hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
7 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons orange flower water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a mixing bowl, combine the dried fruit and peel with 2/3 cup of rum and set fruit aside to macerate several hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. When ready to assemble fruitcake, add hazelnuts to macerating fruit.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift flour with baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar, and beat in the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition, until mixture becomes very light and fluffy. Add lemon zest, nutmeg, flower water, vanilla and flour mixture, and beat until well blended. Stir in fruit, hazelnuts and macerating mixture.
In a very clean large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry peaks form. Stir about one-fourth of whites into fruitcake batter to lighten, then gently fold in remaining whites. (The batter will be heavy, so it may be easiest to fold in whites with your hands.)
Spoon batter into a 10-inch tube pan that has been buttered, lined with buttered parchment paper and floured. Smooth top of batter with a spatula. Bake in center of oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until cake is a rich golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Using a small knife, loosen edges of cake and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
In a bowl, soak in remaining 1/3 cup of rum a square of cheesecloth large enough to completely wrap cake. Spread the rum-soaked cheesecloth on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Place cake in center and wrap tightly with the cheesecloth and then with the foil. Put in a cool dry place to mellow for at least 3 days. To serve, remove from the wrappings and slice very thinly. Makes about 24 thin slices.
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