A Fruitcake You Can Eat!
ADVICE FOR THE FOODLORN
by Brendan Lemon
Unlike most people, I actually like holiday fruitcake. Of course, a lot of the store-bought stuff is gross, but freshly made fruitcake (like freshly made anything) can be delicious. Do you have a favorite fruitcake recipe?
–Martin Merton, Nashville
What most people loathe about fruitcake is its sheer gummy heaviness. Several years ago I came up with a much lighter textured fruitcake that gets its fluffy heft from grated peeled zucchini.
Fruited Zucchini Bread
Served warm with soft cream cheese, these loaves make an eminently satisfying teatime snack, but the bread also goes surprisingly well served at any number of meals. Warmed, it makes a succulent bed for a scoop of sour cream ice cream.
3 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup peanut oil
2 1/2 cups grated, peeled, raw zucchini (about 2 medium-large zucchini)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried currants
1 cup golden raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, with a hand-blender, beat the eggs until foamy. Stir in sugar, oil, zucchini, and vanilla and mix well.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add to the egg mixture. Stir in the fruit, blending well. Pour into two 9 x 5 x 3’’ (roughly) loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans and cool them on a rack.
Yield: 2 loaves
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