View Fruitcake:Baking
Pans
This year I decided to use spring form pans inside of the small loaf pans pictured above. I’m very pleased with the results. Spring form pans are very easy to work with and make a beautiful little cake. For years I used small loaf pans. These work well but I’m going with the spring forms from now on. Be advised that dark baking pans (the non-stick coating kind) tend to brown the sides more than plain metal pans. If you use them be careful that the outside doesn’t get too browned. One year I ended up keeping almost the entire batch because they were over-done on the sides (they still tasted great). Light pans may be a better option but they seem to be harder to find. My first cakes were made with the light disposable aluminum foil-like pans that work quite well. With care they can easily be reused.
In the batch I made for this demo I tried lining the spring form pan bottom with wax paper with very good results. I highly recommend using waxpaper. Although the spring form pans are non-stick the bottoms still tend to stick even when greased. Often a chunk of fruit will be on the bottom and cause sticking problems and make separating the cake from the bottom disk difficult. The extra effort of wax paper liner is well worth it, you don’t want to have big chunks of cake missing from the bottom of these beautiful cakes. Just cut the liners by tracing rings with a exacto knife or razor blade.
Hand stir the fruitcake batter a few more times turning it up from the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well mixed. Don’t forget to scrap the sides.
If using a waxpaper liner gently place the batter mixture into the center in order to not dislodge the liner. I suggest using a wooden spoon and spatula. Scoop some batter with the spoon. Place the point of the spoon with the batter attached directly on the center of the bottom disk, this will hold the paper in place while scraping the batter off into the ring. When you have the proper amount in the ring press around the edges forcefully to push the batter and fruit down to so no voids form. With so much fruit and nuts in the mix it is easy for pockets to form on the edges.
I bake on heavy aluminum commercial trays. A heavy tray will insure even heating. The construction of the spring form pans naturally creates a small space between the bottom disk and the tray giving some added protection from over browning on the bottom. I use tiles on the bottom rack in my electric oven to even-out the intense heat from the heating coils.
Bake
Baking is done in a cool oven of 300 degrees. I rotate trays after 30 minutes. In my oven total baking time is 65-70 minutes. You want the cakes baked well but not heavily browned. Large cake recipes can bake for 3 hours at 300 degrees. Long baking does help develop taste but these small cakes cook more quickly so keep an eye on them. Give them more time in 4-5 minute intervals.. a lot can happen in five minutes near the end so watch out.
Don’t they look great.. and what a smell!
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