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By Request
Betty Shimabukuro
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New forms of fruitcake in demand
I have before me two requests for non-fruitcake fruitcakes. I'm not sure what the logic is, but many people will disavow all affection for traditional dark, liquor-laden fruity fruitcakes, but profess some fondness for cake with a bit of candied fruit and nuts.
Irene Sakamoto asked for a fruit cake "that is buttery and without the usual quantity of candied fruits."
Helen Masui and Diane Arakawa, meanwhile, actually bake their own fruitcakes, but asked about a fruitcake bar cookie they used to buy at Flamingo Coffee Shop.
"It was similar to a fruitcake with candied fruit in it, had a slightly spicy taste and a chewy texture," Arakawa e-mailed. "It was rectangle-shaped and they cut it apart diagonally. We've tried to look for similar recipes but have had no luck recreating this cookie."
I don't have either exact recipe, but I do have something to offer both these bakers.
First, these Fruitcake Bars come courtesy of Jean Watanabe Hee and her latest cookbook, "Best of the Best Hawai'i Recipes" (Mutual Publishing, $14.95). The book is a collection of the best of Hee's "best-of" books -- best desserts, pupus, main dishes, etc.
Her recipe involves a shortbread crust, topped with a fruity mixture. It's more like a cookie than a cake and doesn't have the spice notes that Masui and Arakawa are looking for -- so if anyone out there has that Flamingo recipe, please share.
Fruitcake Bars
» Crust:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
» Topping:
1/2 cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped candied fruit
1 cup chopped nuts
Powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine crust ingredients and press into lightly greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake 10 minutes, until light brown.
To make topping: Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
Mix sugar with eggs and vanilla. Toss fruit and nuts in flour and add to egg mixture. Pour over baked crust and return to oven 20 to 25 minutes.
Cut into bars when still warm; sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Nutritional information unavailable.
OK, so that was only half the story, but I've run out of space. For the buttery non-fruitcake fruitcake, turn the page.
Meanwhile, if you have the Flamingo recipe or something similar, get in touch. There's a cookbook reward in it for you.
Fruitcake goes light on candied fruit
Irene Sakamoto's request is for a fruitcake similar to one she tasted as a child, one that was light on the candied fruit.
"I know, why call it a fruitcake then," she e-mailed. "When I was young and my mother used to receive fruitcakes, which only she appreciated, I remember trying one that was buttery with nuts and very little fruit."
It's hard to know exactly what she's looking for, but I think this might come close. It's a lighter fruitcake in color and texture, being more like a pound cake than what you'd normally think of as fruitcake.
The recipe comes from my mother-in-law, Beatrice Perez, and is a required, requested item at the holidays. She makes them in mass quantities.
Christmas Cake
8-ounce package cream cheese
1 cup margarine
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2-1/4 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cups maraschino cherries, well-drained and cut in half
1 cup chopped nuts
» Frosting:
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons evaporated milk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 1 tube pan.
Thoroughly blend cream cheese, margarine, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Gradually add 2 cups of the flour.
Combine remaining 1/4 cup flour with cherries and nuts. Fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately.
To make frosting: Combine sugar and milk and mix until smooth.
Glaze cake with frosting while still hot and decorate with more cherries and nuts.
For 2 loaf pans, make 1-1/2 recipes.
Nutritional information unavailable.
Send queries along with name and phone number to: "By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. Or send e-mail to
bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com