Recipe: Fruitcake Hater's Fruitcake

Fruitcake Hater's Fruitcake

For the cake:
3 oranges
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 currants
1/2 dried apricots, chopped
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped walnuts

For the icing:
10 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 tbsp. powdered sugar
dried fruit

Preheat oven to 325F.

Butter and flour a 10" tube pan. Grate 2 tbsp zest
from oranges. Squeeze oranges to make 1 cup juice. Set aside.

In medium saucepan, combine dried fruits and 2/3 cup orange juice.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Drain well, set aside.

In large mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add orange zest and vanilla, beat well. Alternately add combined dry ingredients and buttermilk to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in walnuts and fruit. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in a 325F oven about 1 hr. 15 min. or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 min. Remove to wire rack,
cool completely. Freeze now and frost later, or do both as below.

For icing, beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add 1/3 cup orange juice, beat will. Spread icing on cake, garnish with dried fruit.

Cake can be made 5 days ahead; cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature 30 min. before serving.

To freeze, wrap tightly in freezer wrap, heavy-duty aluminum foil or plastic freezer safe bags. Freeze up to 2 months. Bring to room temperature 45 min. before serving.