Dark Christmas Cake
For a nostalgic holiday throwback, add this boozy fruitcake to your must-bake list. It’s a super make-ahead dessert.
For a nostalgic holiday throwback, add this boozy fruitcake to your must-bake list. It’s a super make-ahead dessert.
Fruitcake lovers will enjoy the dense, chewy texture that comes from the combination of dried fruit and marzipan. Soaking the cranberries in rum softens them and gives the bars extra zing.
Dried apricots, golden raisins and crunchy pecans update and lighten fruitcake without sacrificing any of its traditional charms. Make this stylish moist cake in a large loaf pan for a special occasion and in smaller ones to give away or unwrap and slice as needed throughout the festive season.
It all began with a recipe involving a calf's foot filling (the less said, the better), but Eccles cakes are now one of Britain's most famous sweet treats.
Probably more famous than the town from which it comes, the Eccles cake began its rise to popularity in the 1790s in what is now part of Greater Manchester, where bakers James Birch and his apprentice-turned-rival William Bradburn battled for supremacy in the apparently fiercely competitive fruitcake market.
These small round patties of flaky pastry with a currant filling are not to be confused with similar-looking Chorley cakes (less sweet) or Banbury cakes (more oval). Today Eccles cakes hold a special place in the nation's heart, which not even their unappetizing nickname -- "dead fly pies" -- can diminish.
Use this basic shortbread dough to create four delicious variations,
