Makes one 10-inch/25 cm cake
GLEAMING WITH ROYAL BLUE, RED, AND GOLD, ONE OF MY FAVORITE BITS OF Christmas frippery are the old tins from Hostess holiday fruitcakes past, with their signature cameo in the center of each lid. Maybe you’ve seen these now-vintage tins in your grandmother’s house, holding sewing supplies or any number of odds and ends. But for me, seeing them as a kid meant holiday baking was about to begin, with the tins at the ready to store all of the delicious results. I’m convinced Christmas cookies taste better after being stored in one.
The Hostess brand, still known for Twinkies, Wonder Bread, and the like, also built a reputation for its Christmas fruitcakes way back in the day, as far back as the 1920s. When the Continental Baking Company bought Indianapolis-based Taggart Baking Company in 1925, it got the Hostess brand in the deal. Continental operated an enormous commercial bakery in Chicago, which employed one of my great-grandmothers for a time, and continued the fruitcake tradition for decades, usually sold in those aforementioned tins.
The fruitcake that came in them was the furthest thing from the heavy, boozy brown bricks that have become a Christmas punchline. Hostess’s holiday fruitcake was a “white fruitcake,” more like a buttery pound cake packed with nuts and candied fruit, and infinitely tastier. This recipe is my ode to that cake, and those oh-so-beautiful tins.
Nonstick cooking spray for pan
1½ cups/180 g golden raisins
3 tablespoons/42 g bourbon or dark rum
6 ounces/170 g candied cherries, halved
4 ounces/113 g candied orange peel, chopped into ¼-inch/6 mm bits
4 ounces/113 g candied pineapple, chopped into ¼-inch/6 mm bits
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon/264 g unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, divided
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 large eggs, separated
1 cup/200 g granulated sugar, divided
1 cup/225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon pure almond extract
⅔ cup/160 g heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
4 ounces/113 g pecan halves, toasted and broken into ½-inch/1.25 cm pieces
Position an oven rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 325°F/170°C. Spray a 10-inch/25 cm tube pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine the raisins and bourbon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Set aside to soak for at least 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, toss all the candied fruit bits with 1 tablespoon of the flour to separate the pieces.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the remaining flour and the baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites to soft peaks on medium-high speed. Slowly add ½ cup/100 g of the sugar, and beat until the meringue reaches stiff peaks. Transfer to a clean bowl and set aside.
Fit the bowl back on the mixer (no need to clean it) and change to the paddle attachment. Beat together the butter, remaining ½ cup/100 g of sugar, and the vanilla and almond extract on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time. Slowly pour in the cream. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and stir in about half of the flour mixture. Stir about a third of the meringue into the batter to lighten it up. Then, gently fold in the remaining meringue. Stir in the soaked raisins and any remaining liquid, candied fruit, and nuts. Fold in the remaining flour mixture. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth evenly.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 1 hour—don’t overbake. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, and let cool completely. This cake keeps for up to a week, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container.