Another great cake
The coconut you choose is important. Unsweetened is critical but you can use flaked or shredded. I prefer flaked—it’s a texture thing. Avoid the superfine type because it dries out the crumb of the cake.
The milk of human kindness can curdle this time of year. Shopping, cleaning, preparing for company and, of course, baking all take their toll. Today’s cake requires a little time and patience and it’s not cheap, but having it ready when you want to impress will do wonders for your disposition this holiday season.
Light Fruit and Coconut Holiday Bundt Cake
One of my jobs as a young girl was chopping fruit for my mother’s cake-baking campaign. I call it that because she made 20 or 30 each year, bestowing them on lucky friends and relatives and donating many for the bake table at the fall sale.
It would take hours. I didn’t know how much faster a sharp knife would be so the tool of choice was kitchen scissors. And was I in trouble if the pieces weren’t uniform.
A solid cutting board and my best knife make shorter work of the fruit chopping but it still takes time, so I usually start preparing a day in advance. You want all pieces about the size of a plump raisin. Substitute any mixture you like but don’t exceed the overall amount of 4 cups.
The butter must be soft but you can’t use melted. My house was so cold the morning I made this cake I cut the butter into smallish cubes and microwaved it on high in three five-second bursts then quickly beat it with the sugar to stop any melting.
If you prefer not to use alcohol, substitute orange juice for the brandy. You must soften the apricots, though, so don’t skip that step.
The coconut you choose is important. Unsweetened is critical but you can use flaked or shredded. I prefer flaked—it’s a texture thing. Avoid the super-fine type because it dries out the crumb of the cake.
I used candied pineapple in heavy syrup so I didn’t soften it in liquid, but I did drain it well.
You must sift the flour before you measure it for this recipe. I often just whisk dry ingredients together rather than sifting but not for a great fruitcake.
If you can’t find extra-fine sugar use regular granulated but don’t skip the resting step after you add the eggs to the batter to make sure it is fully dissolved. The batter is not stiff, at least not until you get the pile of fruit, coconut and pecans in there.
Buttering and flouring the bundt pan are important to prevent sticking—make sure there are no bare patches, even if your pan is non-stick. 2-1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
1 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt 2 cups dried apricots, chopped ¼ cup brandy 2 cups candied pineapple in syrup, chopped 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut 1 cup pecans, chopped 6 tbsp. orange juice (approximate measure) ½ cup soft unsalted butter, no other 7/8 cup extra-fine granulated sugar (1 cup less 2 tbsp.) 4 eggs 1 tbsp. vanilla
Set aside the 2 tbsp. of flour to toss with the fruit. Sift remaining flour, level off the measure and discard any over the 2-1/2 cups—sifting can increase the volume.
Sift flour again with baking powder and salt and set aside.
Combine chopped apricots and brandy, or ¼ cup orange juice if you are substituting for the alcohol. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave 2 minutes on high. Give the mixture a good stir, cover again and allow to cool completely to room temperature. When the apricots are cold drain the remaining liquid into a measuring cup and place the fruit on paper towels.
Drain the chopped pineapple, adding any syrup you collect to the apricot liquid in the measuring cup. Add the pineapple to the apricots on the paper towels and blot everything as dry as possible. Place fruit in a large mixing bowl and toss with coconut, pecans and the reserved 2 tbsp. flour. Set aside.
Add orange juice to the measuring cup with the drained syrups to get ½ cup total liquid. You may need a little more or less than 6 tbsp., depending on how much brandy the apricots absorbed and how juicy the pineapple was. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture looks curdled don’t worry, as soon as you make the first addition of dry ingredients it will be fine. Let the batter rest 10 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the orange juice mixture, starting and ending with dry. Use three additions of dry and two of wet in total. Stir in floured fruit, coconut and nut mixture.
Spoon into greased and floured bundt pan, pressing it gently to eliminate air pockets, and level the top. Bake at 300 degrees F 1 hour or until the top is golden and a tester in the middle comes out clean. I tried a version with more coconut and it took much longer to bake. Cool 20 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic and store for up to a week in the fridge or frozen for up to three months.