Tweaked Fruitcake (or Christmas Cake if you may call it)

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Well, well. One has to do something what's on hand. As I always say, hunger is the mother of kitchen inventions. It is not only the hunger or that physical pang that I refer here but that wish to create something because it satisfies your creativity or your real desire for good food that any commercial products can easily give but can't provide. One of them is is Christmas Cake. I LOVE nuts and berries that when I travelled in China and in Thailand as well as Cambodia and Singapore, I brought home dried fruits and nuts to match my teas. But since online shopping makes it easier now to find them, I have a constant supply. So I'm turning them into Christmas Cake. Well, I used my Syrah Red Wine here, thus a big tweak from the traditional recipe which calls for rum.


 Preparations:
Cashew Nuts
Cranberries
Almonds, whole or slivered
Raisins
Apricot, sliced
Goji berries
Mix all nuts and dried fruits in a jar and add Syrah Wine or any red wine (I plan to se sangria in the future) though original recipe calls for rum. I steeped them for more than a week and add some more wine if the nuts and dried fruits absorb them quickly. No need to refrigerate. Feel free to add more nuts and dried berries. Just take in mind that I only se 2 cups per recipe of 8-in round pan.  

Bake Day:

2 1/2 C All purpose Flour
1t cinnamon powder
1t ginger powder
(Clove, star anise, cinnamon stick can be blended first into powder form before use. Allspice may also be used.)
1 C brown sugar (I want to try coco sugar next time)
2 C prepared steeped nuts and fruits
1C dairy milk (I will try nutty milk next time)
2T Apple Cider Vinegar
2t baking soda
1t baking powder
Dry Nuts and fruits for garnishings

Preheat oven at 180C for 20 minutes
In a bowl, sift flour and add spices and the steeped nuts and fruits. Quickly and gently mix until no dry ingredient is left. 

In another bowl, put milk and ACV. Add baking soda. Th milk will curdle and that's good. Add baking powder and mix quickly. Let stand for 30 seconds.

Whisk in the second mixture to the first mixture. Gently and quickly mix them both well.

Pour in the greased or non-stick or matted 8-in round pan. Garnish with nuts and fruits on top. Place in pre-heated oven. Set for 40 minutes. I'm using a 21L electric oven, smaller than my gas range so I think 35minutes will not leave the bottom of my cake too brown. Just use the toothpick method to check whether the cake is done.


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