Yes, Chef Andrew made delicious holiday fruitcake! Here is his amazing recipe!
Fruit Cake
2 cups mixed diced
glacéed fruits
2 cups golden raisins
1 cup dark raisins
1 ½ cups dried currants
½ cup halved glacéed
red cherries plus additional for garnish
½ cup chopped glacéed
angelica (available at specialty foods shops) plus additional for garnish*
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon
dark rum
1 ½ cups all-purpose
flour
½ teaspoon
double-acting baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly
grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground
ginger
2 sticks (1 cup)
unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed
brown sugar
5 large eggs
1 cup blanched ground
almonds
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup apricot jam
In a large bowl combine
well the glacéed fruits, the raisins, the currants, ½ cup of the cherries, ½
cup of the angelica, and ¾ cup of the rum and let the fruits macerate, covered,
overnight.
Line the bottom of a
well-buttered 9 1/2-inch springform pan with a round of wax paper and butter
the paper. Into a small bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder, the
salt, the nutmeg, and the ginger. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream
together the butter and the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy
and beat in 4 of the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Drain
the fruit mixture in a sieve set over the batter and beat the juices into the
batter. Pat the fruits dry between several thicknesses of paper towels and in a
bowl toss them with 1/3 cup of the flour mixture. Stir in the remaining flour
mixture into the batter, one fourth at a time, stir in the fruit mixture, the
ground almonds, and the walnuts, stirring until the mixture is just combined,
and turn the batter out into the prepared pan.
Put 2 loaf pans, each
filled with hot water, in a preheated 300°F oven and put the springform pan
between them. Bake the cake for 1 hour, brush the top with the remaining egg,
beaten lightly, and bake the cake for 1 hour more. While the cake is baking, in
a saucepan melt the apricot jam with the remaining 1 tablespoon rum over
moderate heat, bring the mixture to a boil, and strain it through a fine sieve
into a bowl, pressing hard on the solids.
Let the cake cool in
the pan on a rack for 30 minutes, remove the side of the pan, and invert the
cake onto the rack. Remove the pan bottom and the wax paper very carefully,
invert the cake onto another rack, and let it cool completely. Arrange the
additional cherries and angelica decoratively on the cake, brush the top of the
cake with some of the apricot glaze, reserving the remaining glaze for another
use, and store the cake, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil. The cake keeps,
covered, for 6 months.
*angelica can be omitted if unavailable