Making fruitcake with Mama

I recently watched Trisha Yearwood’s Food Network Ugly Christmas Sweater episode and it reminded me of the many times Mama (Fay Lankford) visited me in Virginia for Thanksgiving. She always asked to see any new cookbooks I had and then spent hours paging through them looking for new recipes. Once she found something that looked interesting, we’d turn on the Christmas music and head into the kitchen. Of course, singing was involved while we cooked.

This fruitcake recipe was one we made several times, although I can’t be sure if she found it in one of my cookbooks or had already discovered it at home and wanted to share it with me. After all, we both had some of the same cookbooks. Whatever the case, her handwritten notes dated November 25, 2001 are written beside this recipe in my cookbook so I know we made it together. This recipe comes from the 2000 Taste of Home Annual Recipes cookbook.

Miniature Fruitcakes

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped dates
3/4 cup chopped mixed, candied fruit (about 4 ounces)
2 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Halved candied cherries

In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Combine egg yolks and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Fill greased and floured muffin cups two-thirds full. Cover the muffin tin tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake at 275° for 1 hour. Uncover; top each fruitcake with cherries. Bake 5 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of each cup; remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 dozen.

Below is a photo with Mama’s handwritten notes.

It appears she made the adjustment to use the mini-muffin tins which would be nice for a party or gift giving.

Although Mama didn’t include anything in her notes, we would have changed this recipe. I never had walnuts in the house but always had pecans at Thanksgiving time. She also didn’t care for citron so we would have just used candied cherries and pineapple instead of the fruit mix sold in stores. Mama even made a gluten free version for my brother-in-law and nieces. My sister Vanessa remembers the fruits being expensive for Mama’s budget, but she refused to let Vanessa pay for them. Vanessa said Mama was determined to let them taste a good fruitcake. So instead, Vanessa said she’d sneak cash into Mama’s fanny pack. My guess is Mama knew that though—she always knew what was in her fanny pack. I can see her holding the money up when she found it, shaking her head, grinning all the while. The photo at the top is Mama cutting up candied fruit at Vanessa's house. 

My immediate family wouldn’t consider this an heirloom recipe, but I’m sure Vanessa does. It brings back sweet memories for me so I know I do!

Mama as she arrived on her last trip to Virginia