Japanese Fruit Cake

I REMEMBER MY GRANDMOTHER MAKING this lovely celebration cake each year for the holidays. As a girl I thought this was the most impressive and beautiful cake I had ever seen! After my grandmother passed away, the cake stopped appearing at our holiday gatherings.

For years, I asked family members, especially some of the older aunts, if they had the recipe. I searched through old southern cookbooks.

Last summer, because she knows my interest in heirloom recipes, Mama gave me a cookbooklet she had found in some of her aunt's belongings. The booklet was published in 1952 by a community group in Chambers County, Alabama. Imagine my delight when I turned to the cake chapter and there was the recipe for Japanese Fruit Cake!

 I have no idea why this cake has such a mysterious name. I don't believe it is remotely Japanese and it is not a fruit cake in the traditional sense. The fruits in the cake are coconut, lemon, and raisins. There are two moist and fluffy yellow layers and two spice layers with pecans, raisins, cinnamon and allspice. The cake is topped with a luscious lemony coconut glaze.

I loved making this cake!

Japanese Fruit Cake
3 cups cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. allspice
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter and flour four 8-inch cake pans.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, combine the chopped raisins, pecans, cinnamon, and allspice.

I mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar; beat with mixer to combine them well. Add eggs one and a time, beating after each addition, to make a smooth, fluffy mixture.

Stir the vanilla into the milk. Add about half the flour mixture, the half the milk, beating at low speed just until combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and milk.

Divide half the batter between 2 of the pans. Stir the raisin and spice mixture into the remaining batter. Divide this mixture between the remaining 2 pans. Set all 4 pans in the oven.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until the layers are golden brown, pulling away from the sides of the pans, and spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool the cakes on wire racks for 10 minutes, and then turn them out onto the wire racks to cool completely, top side up.

Lemon Coconut Icing
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
3 1/2 cups (approx.) frozen shredded coconut
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup water

In heavy, medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and the coconut. Bring to a boil. Adjust heat to maintain a gentle boil, and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir cornstarch into the 1/2 cup water, stir well and add to the pan, mixing to dissolve. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until thickened and clear. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature, stirring from time to time.

To assemble the cake, place a plain layer, top side down, on a cake stand, or serving plate. Poke little holes all over and spread about one fourth of the icing over the layer, spreading all the way to the edges. Place a spice layer over the icing and spread another 1/4 of the icing. Continue layering with the remaining layers and icing. Place the last spice layer, right side up and pour all the remaining icing over the layer so that some of the icing cascades down the sides of the cake. Let stand for several hours, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove cake from refrigerator about 1 hour before serving.

Sugar Plums

I AM TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO MY CHRISTMAS BAKING this year. Rather than baking one batch of cookies from start to finish one by one, I have had a few days of mixing doughs. Some are refrigerated, some frozen.

I have rolls of dough to use as slice and bake cookies. I have balls of dough which would traditionally be drop cookies. Some will be pressed into sheet pans for bar cookies. Also, my husband gave me a beautiful shortbread pan last month for my birthday, so I will be baking those too.

I feel much more productive this year and I don't have to worry if my cookies will be fresh when the time comes for sharing. We will see how this approach works when it comes to baking days.

Meanwhile, here is a no-bake goody that is actually pretty healthy.

Sugar Plums
4 cups rice krispies cereal
2 cups toasted pecans
15 oz. golden raisins
10 oz. pitted dates
3/4 cup honey
2 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Pour cereal into a large mixing bowl.

Finely chop the pecans, raisins, and dates. (Or grind in food processor if you have one).

In a small bowl, combine the honey, orange zest, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.

Pour the fruit mixture and the honey mixture into the bowl with the cereal. Mix all together with a wooden spoon. Roll into 1 1/2" balls with greased hands.

Savory and Sweet Pineapple Cheese Ball

CHEESEBALL. HAVE YOU EVER CALLED SOMEONE THAT or gasp, been called a cheeseball yourself? Silly, corny, cheesy, goofy.

I think of the Cheese Ball itself to be rather cheesy--middle brow, 1960's suburbia cocktail party,

Be that as it may, I love cheese balls. There are so many varieties and they beckon fun and creativity. Shapes can be altered, cheeses varied, decoration ideas are endless. Try forming one into a cone and roll in chopped parsley to make a Christmas tree, which can be decorated with roasted red pepper and green olives. How about one with smoked salmon, formed into a fish shape with sliced almonds for scales. Or make one with blue cheese, roll in walnuts and serve with pear slices. Try rolling your ball in smoked paprika or coarsely ground black pepper.

This is my favorite cheese ball. I adore the flavor combination of sharp cheddar cheese and pineapple. The red bell pepper and scallions add dimension and the crunch of the toasted sliced almonds gives the perfect bite.

With crackers and crudites, I could happily eat this as a meal.

Savory and Sweet Pineapple Cheese Ball
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated, room temperature
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 - 3 scallions, sliced
1 cup chopped, fresh pineapple (or canned, unsweetened)
1/4 tsp. (or more to taste) cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups toasted, sliced almonds

Beat the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bell pepper, scallions, pineapple, and cayenne until blended. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Shape into a ball; roll in sliced almonds. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Serve with crackers and crudites.

Cherry Wild Rice Salad with Mango Vinaigrette

I RECENTLY PARTICIPATED IN A GROUP DISCUSSION facilitated by a Registered Dietitian who advocates following an anti-inflammatory diet. The RD was obviously very well educated and knowledgeable. He was also relaxed and likeable in an unassuming and appealing way.

More importantly, for me,  he was a cook and gave a lot of helpful food preparation tips. He also had personal experience with many of the fantastic grocery stores and specialty markets in our area, regarding specific product availability and also pricing comparisons. And his shopping research covered stores from the discount box to the most shi-shi boutique.

The anti-inflammatory diet is based on fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, beans and legumes, healthy fats, fish and seafood (and more) while eliminating refined flours, sugars, and processed foods. It was developed by Dr. Andrew Weil, on the belief that chronic inflammation is at the root of many serious illnesses.  The diet promotes the foods which reduce inflammation while providing steady energy and plenty of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and dietary fiber. 

I really enjoyed the meeting because the study of nutrition and health has been near and dear to my heart all my life.

The secret to this wild rice salad is the dressing and the secret ingredient of the dressing is mango chutney. Which is not on the anti-inflammatory diet pyramid. Otherwise this salad as a meal perfectly fits the bill.

Over the years I have made this salad with different fruits; apples and grapes in fall, dried apricots and raisins in winter. I have used sliced almonds or walnuts rather than the toasted pecans I have used here. The original recipe came from the one-of-a-kind, and now defunct, Blue Moon Bakery in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. I savored their Wild Rice Salad so many times, always trying to analyze it so I could make it myself.

It was years later that I finally learned the secret ingredient. I wrote about it once before, here at my blog.

Wild Rice Salad with Mango Vinaigrette
8 oz. wild rice, cooked according to package directions, and cooled
1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 green onions, sliced
1 small sweet onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and sliced
1 cup pecans, toasted
1/2 bunch (approx. 1/2 cup) minced parsley

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Dress with the following dressing.


Mango Vinaigrette
1/4 cup mango chutney
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, or more to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Puree the chutney and vinegar, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Mix the dressing into the rice mixture. Adjust the vinegar, salt and pepper, to taste.

Baklava

GREAT NEWS! BAKLAVA is easy to make.

If a restaurant we choose is open all afternoon, and many are not, we often like to dine around three or four o'clock for a late lunch early dinner. It seems to fit our schedule and we are hungry then. The restaurant will be quieter and we can linger without feeling pressured to turn the table.

On a recent afternoon, at a neighborhood Greek Restaurant, we arrived at the same time a woman was delivering desserts. Pritchard Parker spotted the tall dark chocolate cake. I spied the tray of Baklava.

I hadn't eaten Baklava in years and I knew before I ordered that I was going to save room for dessert. Indeed, I loved that little morsel of buttery phyllo with sticky cinnamon scented chopped nuts.

I told my husband on the way home I was going to try my hand at Baklava. I even had a box of phyllo dough in the freezer. And nuts leftover from Christmas baking.

I looked at many recipes before proceeding. Some had too much butter and some too little. Some used bread crumbs mixed in with the nuts but I didn't like that idea. Some used too much or too little syrup.

Working with phyllo is not as difficult as some people want you to think. It is very thin and tears easily but it is also extremely forgiving. The final result matters not if some of your sheets tore; just fit the pieces in the pan and keep going.

Phyllo sheets also dry out quickly, so keep them covered with a piece of parchment then a damp towel as you work.

Some recipes also tell you to cut the phyllo leaves to fit your pan. Nay, I say. What are you going to do the the excess? Phyllo is not cheap, so just wrinkle, fold, pleat, scrunch, and make them fit--the more layers the better.

Taking concepts from different recipes, this is what I did.

Baklava
One (1 pound) box frozen phyllo dough
1 cup butter, melted
4 cups chopped nuts (I used a mixture of pecans, walnuts, almonds, pistachios)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. tangerine zest
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 large strips tangerine peel
1 cinnamon stick

Move phyllo from the freezer to the refrigerator 24 hours before you want to make the Baklava. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter.

Combine the nuts and ground cinnamon.

Open and carefully unfold the phyllo sheets. Lie flat and cover first with a sheet of parchment then a damp kitchen towel.

Using a clean (preferably new) pastry brush, butter the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish. Remove one sheet of pastry from the stack and fit into the pan. Brush with butter. Repeat until about one-fourth of the sheets have been used. Top with about one-third of the nuts. Then start layering more phyllo sheets, buttering each one. Proceed in this manner, making 4 layers of buttered phyllo and 3 layers of chopped nuts, ending with a layer of pastry. If you have an odd number of sheets in your box, layer more at the bottom of the dish to make a good foundation.

Cut through all layers into serving pieces before baking. If you want traditional diamond shapes, cut diagonally from corner to corner.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown.

Meanwhile, make the syrup: combine sugar, water, honey, vanilla, lemon juice, tangerine peel, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until slightly thickened.

Remove the Baklava from the oven and evenly pour the syrup over the top. Let set for several hours for the syrup soak into the layers before serving. Better the next day.

Lightly cover the pan with wax paper or parchment for storage; don't seal or it will become soggy.