Nothing is as wonderful as a piece of delicious Christmas Fruitcake. While this cake gets a bad reputation for being a horrible gift at the holidays, it is 100% goodness when done properly.

The key with a fruitcake is to not overcook the cake and to use plenty of rum. The chewy goodness inside, being all the colorful fruit, helps to keep the cake moist when being stored. Here is a wonderful recipe that is sure to be a holiday hit in your home and as a gift to others.

Ingredients

1/8 cup green or red dried candied cherries

1/8 cup dried mango

1/4 cup cranberries (dehydrated)

1/4 cup currants dried

2 tbsp. candied citron finely chopped

1/4 c. rum (dark variety better)

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. brown sugar (firmly pack)

2 eggs

1/2 c. flour

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 c. dark molasses

2 tbsp. whole milk

1/4 c. pecans chopped

1/4 c. rum, divided

Directions

1. You want to soap all of the fruit in rum for at least one day. Take the fruit and place it in a covered dish and sit on a counter in rum. Do not refrigerate, you want to keep this at room temperature.
2. Set oven temperature to 325 degrees F, the low temperature helps seal in the moisture. This recipe will fill a 6×3-inch round. Butter and line with parchment paper for easy removal from the pan.
3. Whisk together butter and brown sugar until frothy. Beat in both eggs. Cream the following ingredients: cinnamon, soda, salt and flour. Slowly incorporate the dry mix into the wet mix. Add fruit that has soaked and stir completely. Pour mixture into the buttered pan.
4. Allow to cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes if removing it from the pan. Heavily sprinkle the remaining tbsp. Of rum on top of the cake.
5. Moisten cheesecloth with rum. Take the cheesecloth and wrap it around the cake and then wrap in parchment paper. Put any remaining rum on top of the cake by sprinkling. This cake can be stored for up to 8 weeks in an airtight tin. If keeping longer than 8 weeks, periodically splash with more rum on the top to retain its moisture.