Fruit Cake II

Alright, I know I'm slapping my own face.  I mentioned in my earlier post I'm reluctant to try a recipe with eggs separation method.  But here I am, my 2nd fruit cake using this method :P

My initial plan was to try out Aunty A's recipe but her instruction wasn't too precise as it was via sms and everything was simplified.  She was away in Korea so I couldn't clarify my queries.  I remembered Zu sharing her recipe in a parents' forum and decided to give it a try.

Her recipe originally calls for caster sugar but I prefer dark cakes, not for taste but simply aesthetic.  I did some slight modification and replaced caster sugar with brown sugar and molasses.  I do not know how the replacement of sugars will affect the texture of the cake, thus I did not do a 100% replacement.  However, I'm not satisfied with the colour as I'll prefer it to be darker.  I'll probably use all brown sugar and molasses next time.

Glad to see that the fruits are "floating" all over the cake and not sunken at the base. However, I dislike slicing a fruit cake as the fruits tend to fall off despite having it chilled.

Can you see the cracked line in the middle of the cake?  The cake was too heavy (not the texture), definitely overloaded with fruits.

Again, another last min shopping for plastic wrappers and ribbons.  The plastic wrappers left at the shop are for cookies/cupcakes so I just double clingwrap the cakes.  There were also limited colours and sizes of ribbons.  Just make do with sky blue and pink, which can be used for any other occassions.

Fruit Cake

Recipe adapted from Zu of Quick & Easy Treats, with slight modifications

Ingredients
800g mixed fruit, wash and strain overnight (coat the fruits with some flour)**
310g self-raising flour (I used all purpose flour + baking powder + baking soda)
250g butter, softened
100g castor sugar (originally calls for 230g caster sugar but I replaced some with brown sugar and molasses)
100g brown sugar
30g molasses
6 eggs, separated
1tsp vanilla essence (I omit)
1/2 tsp salt

** I used 700g dried fruits
** I soaked the fruits in water to plump them up and strain for 2 hours instead of overnight.
** If you want to soak it with liquor, you can also do so over a few days.
** I used about 4 tbsp flour to coat the dried fruits.

Method

1. Mix all sugar in a small bowl
2. Cream butter and half of the sugar till creamy and fluffy
3. Add egg yolks, one at a time till the mixture is well blended (the mixture will not curdled if it is sufficiently mixed)
4. Add flour and salt, mix it well followed by the mixed fruits
5. In another clean bowl, beat egg whites and the other half of the sugar till stiff (don't over beat it till dry).
6. Add into the butter+fruit mixture till well mixed (you will need a very BIG mixing bowl)
7. Pour batter into3- 4 mini loaf pans (3"X6"), bake in a preheated 140C oven for 1 hour 20 mins or until a skewer stuck in the middle comes out clean.