The Christmas Fruitcake

Hey, it has been quiet here. I've been cooking and baking like a maniac since the weather has turned: a few weeks ago, I made 12-qts. each of beef and chicken stock, which I've since used to make pot roast and assorted soups. And then there's the baking. What have you two been up to in the kitchen. Patti, I have a good idea what you've been doing ....

Now I am pulling ingredients together for a Christmas fruitcake, which I plan to serve for holiday dessert to my lucky family. You do know I am being utterly facetious? They are probably reading this and thinking, "Oh sweet Lord, please let us get a better invite for the holidays so we don't have to suffer through a cake that tastes like sawdust, Jujubes, and booze." The last time I made a cake that included fruit, it ended up being tossed to my father's crows. The cake sat like a tombstone in his backyard, because even the crows wouldn't eat it. One of my brothers reported that a bird had actually shit on it. Truthfully, the cake did suck pretty bad.

This new adventure comes courtesy of Laurie Colwin's last essay in Home Cooking, in which she rapturously describes something called Black Cake: "Black cake, like truffles and vintage Burgundy, is deep, complicated and intense. It has taste and aftertaste. It demands to be eaten in a slow, meditative way. The texture is complicated, too -- dense and light at the same time." I can't resist a cake that makes me think.

I'm not using Colwin's recipe. I did a bit of research on some of my favorite online communities (gGullet, KA's Baking Circle) and read a few complaints about the cake turning out inedible. Instead, I'm using a recipe someone at The Baking Circle tweaked and tweaked until he reached Black Cake perfection. As I start creating the cake, I'll post bits of the recipe.

Today, my order of candied fruits from King Arthur Flour arrived: containers each of citron, orange, and lemon peel, and another container glace cherries. Then I stopped over at Whole Foods this afternoon and bought my prunes, dates, raisins, and currants. The Kosher wine's waiting in the pantry, but a bit more rum must be procured before the fruits can start a'soaking.

Let the adventure begin!