Christmas Fruitcake with Brandy Frosting

(the last few bites of the fruitcake)

We're doing the rounds of the holiday parties, and I decided to take a chance and make a fruitcake; something I've never attempted before. Success! I adapted the recipe from this one: 21st Century Kitchen. I've included a recipe for frosting that I think would be an improvement over the Brandy Buttercream I used for the party. The frosting was nice on it's own, but I think too sweet for the richness of the fruitcake. So, I'm suggesting a cream cheese frosting, still flavored with brandy or brandy flavoring if you like, and just frost the top. Should be good :)

Base
1.5 cups apple juice
1 cup grated scrubbed carrots
1 cup raisins
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup margarine (I used non-dairy margarine which tasted great)

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cups wholewheat regular flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking soda

The important part: the fruit!
2 cups chopped pitted mixed dried fruits (chop the whole bag of dried prunes, apricots, apples, etc.)
1.5 cup chopped pitted dates
1.5 cups dried cranberries

Chop up your dried fruit and then measure what you need and set aside.

Next, in a large saucepan, bring the "base"ingredients to a boil and then simmer for about 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat. Let this mixture cool down to about room temperature while you preheat the oven to 300 degrees. (I actually had to put the base into the refrigerator for a little while to get the temp down.)

Combine the dry ingredients together, and then add the cooled down base and the dried fruit. Once well mixed, spray a bundt pan* with baking spray and pour evenly in all around. Bake for 60 minutes.

While the fruitcake is cooking, you have time to make your Brandy Cream Cheese frosting.

1/4 cups softened butter
4 oz cream cheese
Powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla (Or 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp brandy extract)

Mix all ingredients together until fluffy.

When your fruitcake has baked, let cool and then frost and enjoy! I topped it with cranberries for a festive appearance. :) Happy Holidays!