Vintage Hotels’ Niagara Icewine Fruitcake Recipe

This fruitcake recipe compliments of Pastry Chef Clyde Pereira of  Inn On The Twenty Restaurant at Inn On The Twenty will have your guests in delight over just how delicious this classic Christmas dessert can be. When made with fresh ingredients, from scratch, infused with Niagara Icewine, a fruitcake can be a delicious holiday treat!

Niagara Icewine Fruitcake

Compliments of Pastry Chef Clyde Pereira from Inn On The Twenty Restaurant at Inn On The Twenty

Yields 8 inch cake

Ingredients:

8 oz Butter
8 oz Brown sugar
4 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
10 oz All purpose flour
2 tsp Baking soda
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp All spice
1 tsp Cinnamon 
1/3 tsp Nutmeg
8 oz Sultana raisins
8 oz dried Currants
4 oz mixed Citrus peel
2 oz chopped glazed Cherries
1 oz chopped Cashew nuts
1 oz slivered Almonds
2 cup Niagara Icewine
1 tbsp Browning (optional)

Method:

1. In a large bowl or bin mix together all the dried fruit (sultanas, dried currants, citrus peel, glazed cherries, cashew nuts and almonds). Add the Icewine to the fruit and let it soak for a minimum of 48 hours. Chef’s tip – the longer you let the fruit soak the more flavourful your cake will be! 
2. When you are ready to make the cake drain the fruit and collect any excess alcohol in a sauce pan. Put the sauce pan on medium heat and bring to a boil. Simmer until alcohol has reduced to a syrup consistency. Be careful as to not burn it.
3. Grease an 8 Inch round cake tin and line it with parchment paper on the bottom and the sides.
4. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Do not worry if the mixture looks a little curdled.
6. Add vanilla and the cooled reduced Icewine syrup. Add optional browning caramel color if a darker fruit cake is desired.
7. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice.
8. Add a quarter of the flour mixture to the soaked dry fruits and mix until they are coated in flour.
9. Add the rest of the flour in 3 additions to the cake mixture and mix gently.
10. Add the fruit and nut mixture in a single addition to the cake batter and mix, being careful not to over mix the batter.
11. Pour mix into cake tin and bake in a 325˚ F oven for approximately 1.5 – 2 hours (checking every 30 minutes to ensure doneness)
12. Cake is baked when a toothpick or knife inserted in the cake comes out clean.
13. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, brush cake generously with Icewine.
14. Let the cake cool completely before demoulding from the tin.
15. Once cool decorate cake with marzipan and fondant.

Tips:

1. For a more traditional cake, icewine can be substituted for rum or brandy. You could also use a late harvest wine or fortified wine such as Sherry or Port.
2. To enhance the flavor of the cake, bake the cake a week ahead when needed. Once cake has cooled brush it again with desired alcohol and wrap in cling wrap or foil and store in a cool place. Brush the cake with alcohol everyday for the rest of the week and wrap and store after each brushing.
3. Substitute any of the dried fruit and nuts for any of your choice. For example you could substitute cashew nuts for pecans or walnuts. Or glazed cherries for candied pineapple or dried apricots.
4. You could also bake this cake in a square cake tin or in bread pans so as to be able to get nice slices of it.