Ice Cream Fruitcake Recipes

ICE CREAM FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Mix glacé fruit, raisins and brandy in a small bowl, cover and let sit overnight. You can also microwave on medium for 1 min, instead of letting sit overnight.
• Place ice cream in a large bowl and cut into 8 pieces. Let stand at room temperature and occasionally mash with a large spoon, until soft enough to stir.
• In a food processor, pulse cookies until they are fine crumbs. Place crumbs in a medium sized bowl and stir in butter till evenly moist.
• Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Once Ice cream is soft enough to stir, add in the glacé mixture, frozen raspberries and pecans.
• Spoon ice cream mixture over crust in springform pan. Smooth down.
• Cover top with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.
• To serve, remove ring from springform pan and let stand 10 minutes and arrange fresh raspberries on top before slicing.

THE BEST FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Combine the raisins, currants, apricots, figs, prunes, dates, walnuts, pecans, orange zest, lemon zest, candied ginger, pumpkin pie spice and cloves in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add 1 cup of the brandy, orange liqueur and molasses and stir to coat. Cover and set aside to macerate overnight. (Alternatively, cover the bowl and microwave 2 minutes, or until very hot. Leave covered and let sit until almost all the liquid has been absorbed into the fruit and nuts, about 2 hours.)
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Spray two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and line each with 2 pieces of parchment, one lengthwise and one crosswise, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each side. Spray the parchment with cooking spray.
• Sprinkle 1/2 cup flour over the soaked fruit mixture and toss to coat. Whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
• Cream the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium-low and beat in the flour mixture until the batter is blended and smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until all the fruit is coated in batter.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared pans, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans, the tops spring back slightly when pressed and a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack and brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons brandy. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 15 minutes. Carefully remove each cake from its pan using the parchment overhang and place on the rack to cool completely.
• To store, wrap each loaf tightly in plastic and then foil. The wrapped fruitcakes can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 3 months.

ISLAND FRUITCAKE WITH CINNAMON-RUM CREAM CHEESE ICING

Steps:

• For the fruitcake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two 10-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
• In a mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, whip together the oil, granulated sugar and eggs until the mixture lightens in color. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure nothing is stuck. Fold in the coconut, pecans, dates, bananas and pineapples, being careful to avoid over-mixing. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Cool the cakes.
• For the icing: In a medium bowl using an electric hand mixer, mix the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla seeds and rum to taste, and mix until smooth.
• Place one of the cakes on a serving plate and use half of the icing to cover the top. Place the second cake on top and cover the top with the remaining icing. Sprinkle toasted coconut flakes over the cake to serve.

ICE BOX FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the pecans, raisins, walnuts, cherries, condensed milk and vanilla wafers. Dough will be very thick, you will need to use your hands.
• Form dough into a ring shape on top of a dinner plate. Wrap in many layers of plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil. Allow to age in the refrigerator for at least a week. The flavors will have a chance to blend and all of the milk will be absorbed into the cake.