Hazelnut Coconut Fruitcake (Newfoundland)

canadian-newfoundland-hazelnutcoconutfruitcake This delectable fruitcake is what happens at my house when I decide to clean out the baking cupboard after Christmas baking.

1½ cups butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. pure coconut extract
½ tsp. pure almond extract, optional
3 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached + ¼ cup to dredge the fruit
1½ tsp. baking powder
1 cup evaporated milk, undiluted
2 cups glacé cherries, red and green
1 cup glacé pineapple, chopped
1 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped, toasted
¾ cup glacé mixed citrus peel
1 cup dried coconut, fine cut
1½ cups light or golden raisins

Cream together the butter and sugar well.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until light and fluffy.

Beat in the vanilla, coconut and pure almond extracts.

Sift together the flour and baking powder.

Fold dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with the evaporated milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. As a general rule, I add the dry ingredients in 3 portions and the milk in 2 portions.

Toss all of the dried fruit with the ¼ cup of flour and fold into the batter well along with the chopped nuts and the dried coconut.

Bake in greased and floured spring form pan, tube pan or loaf pans lined with parchment paper. Bake at 300°F (150°C/130°C fan, Gas Mark 2) for 1½-2½ hours depending upon the size of your pan. (See NOTE below.)

Baking and Cooling:
Baking times vary greatly on this recipe so rely on the toothpick test to ensure that it is properly baked. When a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, its done. Be careful not to go past this stage or the cake will be dry.

Let the cake cool in the pan/s for an hour before transferring it, right side up, to a wire rack to cool completely.

At this point, when cooled, you can poke small holes in the top and bottom of the cake with a fork and pour on 4 - 8 oz of light rum, coconut rum or brandy; half on the top, wait ten minutes, then flip it over and pour the remaining half on the bottom.

Soak several layers of cheesecloth in additional rum or brandy if you like and wrap completely around the cake, then cover with several layers of plastic wrap and store in a COOL place for a couple of weeks at least.

Makes 50.

Cook’s Notes:

There is a total of 2½ pounds of nuts and dried or glacé fruit in this recipe. You can substitute other dried fruits of your choice to make up that total amount if you like.
Baking time is going to depend on the size and shape of pan that you use. I used a 10” spring form pan which takes the longest at about 2½ hours. A large tube or funnel pan should take about a half hour or more less than that because of the shape. Watch it carefully after the first 1½ hours of baking time and take it out of the oven only when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out completely clean.