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Quick & EasyBy Beverly Barbour
Great cakes for the holidaysSugarplums have been replaced. Well, I'm not certain what sugarplums actually are, or were, but the holidays do call for some desserts that we just don't make at any other time of the year. Fruitcake used to be defined in many minds as hard, dry, heavy collections of dried fruits that nobody liked and weren't good for you. They also had to be made months ahead of the holidays and bottle fed frequently with alcohol. Today's fruit cakes are moist, full of delicious dried fruits and some are even chocolate. They also can be baked in pans of varying size or shape, even as bite-size cupcakes. Change is not all bad. But if the idea of fruit cake still leaves you cold, you will definitely want to try a delicious whipped cream cake sprinkled with crushed candy canes. The very look of it spells "Christmas." Tiny Fruitcakes with Chocolate Bake these in tiny muffin cups or regular muffin cups. Paper liners make them easier to remove from the pans. You can pack them in airtight containers and freeze for up to 1 month. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350 F. Place liners in miniature muffin cups. Sift together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda; set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Pour into mixing bowl and seat aside to cool for about 5 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, stirring until blended. Stir in flour mixture, then the nuts, cherries, orange peel and chocolate chips. Fill each paper-lined muffin cup three-quarters full. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, or until the cakes are no longer very shiny on top and, when top is lightly pressed, the cake feels soft yet not liquid. (Cakes deflate just a bit at end of baking.) Don't over-bake. Place pans on wire racks and cool 5 minutes. Carefully remove cakes to racks to fully cool. Just before serving, lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar or melt a bit of apricot jam or current jelly and brush tops. Makes 3 to 3 1/2 dozen. Red and White Christmas Cake An angel food cake iced with whipped cream and crushed candy can be a very quick and easy holiday surprise especially if you use a store-bought angel food cake. The very fine candy "dust" left over from crushing candy is delicious sprinkled on chocolate or vanilla ice cream, or stirred into hot cocoa. You can make any layer cake look festive this way. Toss on the crushed candy just before serving as the moisture from the whipped cream makes candy begin to melt after half an hour. Cake: 1 cup sifted cake flour
Icing: 8 ounces (1/2 pound) peppermint candy canes
Cake: Preheat oven to 325 F. Sift together flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Sift again and set aside. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup sugar and the vanilla and almond extracts. Continue beating until egg whites are firm but not dry. Sift one-third of the flour-sugar mixture onto the egg whites and with a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture into the egg whites. Add remaining flour in 2 batches, folding after each addition. Turn batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan and bake until browned and firm to the touch, 50 to 60 minutes. Invert cake pan on a cooling rack for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a long, thin, sharp knife between cake and pan to loosen, and remove cake. Put candy canes in a large sealable plastic bag. Crush them into small pieces with a meat pounder, rolling pin, or the bottom of a frying pan. Sift crushed candy with mesh strainer to remove the candy "dust." Set crushed candy aside. Icing: Do this shortly before serving, so that candy doesn't melt into cream. Beat cream with remaining 1/4 cup sugar until soft peaks form. Frost cake with whipped cream using a spatula to form swirls and peaks. Sprinkle frosted cake with crushed candy canes. To get candy on the sides, hold your hand about 1-inch from cake and gently toss candy at the sides. Makes 8 to 10 servings. New Fangled Moist Dried Fruit and Nut Cake This dense fruit and nut cake is a bit like a sweet quick bread. Excellent for dessert dressed up with lemon sauce, hard sauce or whipped cream. Equally as good served with a wedge of cheese or for breakfast. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Place oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 300 F. Spray 1 loaf pan or 2 small loaf pans, or line bottom and sides with parchment paper. Whisk flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt to combine. Add any kind of brown sugar, dried fruit and nuts; mix well using your fingers. In small bowl, beat eggs with vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well with spoon or hands until all fruits and nuts are coated with batter. Scrape into prepared pans. Bake until top is deep golden brown and the batter clinging to the fruit seems set, about 1 hour and 10 minutes for small loaves, 10 to 15 minutes longer for large loaf. Loosely cover with foil if cake appears to be browning too much. Cool on a rack. When no longer warm, remove cake from pan. Wrap airtight in foil or plastic wrap. Cake will keep 3 months in refrigerator and it freezes well. Serve cut into thin slices with a sharp knife. Makes 1 large loaf or 2 small ones. No more door stoppers only show stoppers.
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