The Ghosts of Christmas Past – OLD WORLD FRUIT CAKE AND MINCEMEAT PIE

Outcasts

When you think about Christmas foods, what do you think of first, probably not fruitcake and mincemeat pie or maybe you do, I don’t know.
I feel like fruitcake gets a bad rap. It’s the outcast of Christmas. People who don’t like it hate it and those who do spend their time defending it. Fruitcake dates back thousands of years (I agree some of it tastes like it’s that old) and used to be placed in the tombs of Pharaohs in ancient Egypt. I grew up hating it, maybe because the fruit in it were those little red and green cubes (I don’t even know what that is, pineapple?), it was usually homemade, wrapped in foil and kept in the pantry in the cool, dark basement. A few years ago I decided to give it another chance. I researched a recipe (Recipe Source) that sounded good and then modified it with fruit that I liked. I could eat this cake any time of year and actually enjoy it.

Mincemeat

And then there’s mincemeat. I remember my mother saying she didn’t make it because no one liked it but I really don’t remember ever having it at all. Tim, on the other hand, used to have it every year and loved it. So the other day, after having a conversation about why it’s called mincemeat if there’s no meat in it, he decided that we should make a good old-fashioned mincemeat pie (as we know it). Mincemeat, according to What’s Cooking America (see website for a full history) was actually developed as a way of preserving meat without salting or smoking in England over 500 years ago, it was mostly meat with spices and some fruit. Over the years the meat was reduced, more fruit and spices were added until we ended up with the mincemeat of today. Some still contain a bit of meat but the one we made was all fruit. A dense, flavourful fruit mixture with Christmasy spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and, cloves) encased in a flaky pie crust.

To all our friends, family and FB/Twitter fans, who supported us during the past year thank you, we’re very grateful. We wish you all a healthy and happy Holiday season and new year. All the best,
Nat & Tim

Old world fruit cake

OLD WORLD FRUIT CAKE

2014-09-25 18:02:45

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup butter, melted
2. 1/4 cup rum or brandy
3. 2 eggs
4. 3/4 cup black coffee (cold)
5. 1/2 cup brown sugar
6. 1 cup flour
7. 1/2 tsp salt
8. 1/4 tsp baking soda
9. 1/4 tsp baking powder
10. 1/2 tsp allspice
11. 1/2 tsp cinnamon
12. 1/2 tsp cloves
13. 1/2 tsp mace (optional)
14. 1 cup raisins
15. 1 cup dates, chopped
16. 4 Tbsp butter
17. 1/2 cup rum
18. 1/2 cup sugar

Instructions

1. Mix melted butter, eggs, rum and coffee together.
2. Add brown sugar and mix well.
3. Add rest of dry ingredients and place in a buttered loaf pan.
4. Bake at 300 F for 2 hours or until done (it will separate from the sides of the pan).
5. Make glaze when almost completely baked.
6. Melt (do not boil) butter.
7. Add rum and sugar.
8. Stir by hand.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and pour half of the glaze over it.
10. Let it cool 25 minutes, then turn it over and pour the remaining glaze on the other side.
11. Do not use glass pan.
12. Use whatever dried fruit you like.
13. This year I bought two scoopfuls of bulk mixed dried fruit and it worked well.

A Cook Not Mad - Food and Travel Blog https://www.acooknotmad.com/

Mincemeat tartlet

MINCEMEAT PIE

2014-09-25 18:06:42

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

Ingredients

1. 6 granny smith apples, peeled and grated
2. 2 cups each raisins, golden sultanas and currants
3. 1 grapefruit, quartered and seeded
4. 2 tangerines, quartered an seeded
5. 1 lemon, quartered and seeded
6. 2 cups apple cider
7. 3/4 cup butter
8. 2 cups brown sugar
9. 1 cup candied fruit, chopped
10. 1/2 cup dark rum
11. 1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground
12. 1 tsp each nutmeg, ground cloves, allspice
13. 1 tsp vanilla extract
14. pinch of salt

Instructions

1. In a food processor pulse the grapefruit, lemon, and tangerines until coarsely chopped the same size as a raisin.
2. In a large heavy bottom pot, melt the butter and then add the chopped citrus.
3. Continue adding all of the rest of the ingredients except the rum and bring to a very gentle simmer for about 2 hours.
4. When done it should be thick not wet.
5. Remove it from the heat and stir in the rum.
6. When cool let it mature in the fridge for a couple of days before making your tarts or pie.
7. It freezes well too.
8. Use 2 times pâte brisée recipe for bottom and top crust or about 20 tartlets.

A Cook Not Mad - Food and Travel Blog https://www.acooknotmad.com/