Pumpkin Fruitcake

I know a lot of folks don't like fruitcake. I don't either, actually, especially not the typical dyed cherry-filled abomination. But my Dad loves the stuff - plastic fruits and all - so I gave him rather fabulous home-made fruitcakes for the past two Christmasses in a row. He got one for his birthday this year, too, but it was a fruitcake in name only. A pumpkin bread studded with dried fruits and nuts, this moist creation was also a big hit.

Pumpkin Fruitcake, adapted from this recipe

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 2/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3/4 cup roasted unsalted nuts of your choice, chopped into rough chunks
3/4 cup dried fruits including figs, apricots, sour cherries, cranberries, raisins, chopped into rough chunks

Preheat oven to 350°.

In one bowl, cream butter and sugar. In another bowl combine eggs, water and pumpkin. Add butter mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir together dry ingredients in a third bowl. Add about one-third of the dry ingredients at a time to pumpkin mixture, stirring well after each addition. Mix in nuts and dried fruits. Bake bread in greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out with only a few dry crumbs attached.

Photo: © Poisson d'Avril/SoFood/Corbis 
Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.