Chocolate-Cherry Fruitcake

Submitted by FLUFFSTER

"This is a delicious, decadent fruitcake that is, in my opinion a tasty change from the old tried and true variety. I hope you will try it and enjoy it as much as my family does. These cakes will last, well-wrapped, for about a week. If you want a really boozy cake, you can brush with additional liquor every few days before serving. They can be frozen, altho if you choose that route, don't add liquor to them. You can rewarm them once they're thawed out and add it later. Amounts will vary depending on how large you serve. Source: David Lebovitz from the Food Network."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Yields: 2 loaf pans

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups dried cherries, well chopped
• 1⁄4 1/4 cup whiskey or 1/4 cup Amaretto, plus
• 6 6 tablespoons whiskey or 6 tablespoons Amaretto
• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process or natural)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature (salted or unsalted)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2⁄3 cup buttermilk (regular or low-fat) or 2/3 cup plain yogurt (regular or low-fat)
• 1 cup walnuts, pecans or 1 cup almonds, toasted and finely chopped
• 3⁄4 cup chocolate chips

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180C.).
2. A day or so before you make the cake, toss the cherries in 1/4 cup liquor. Cover, and let macerate (soak up the liquor).
3. To bake the cakes, grease two 9-inch(23cm)loaf pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper and dust with cocoa powder.
4. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
5. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or by hand,.
6. beat the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Stir together the eggs and yolk with the vanilla, then dribble them in while beating.
7. Mix in one-third of the flour/cocoa mixture, then half of the buttermilk or yogurt. Then mix in another third of the dry ingredients, then the rest of the yogurt or buttermilk. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients, and gently stir in the nuts, chocolate chips and cherries.(which should have absorbed all the liquid. If not, add that as well.).
8. Divide and smooth the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes, or unril a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand on the counter-top for about 15 minutes.
9. With a skewer, poke about 50 holes in the cake and spoon 3 tablespoons of liquor over each cake. Let cool.

Reviews

[UseItUpCook]

What a disaster! There is something wrong with this recipe. I followed the recipe to the letter. The cakes overflowed the pans like molten lava (thank goodness I had them on a parchment covered baking sheet.) They would not set, even after baking them 20 additional minutes. Finally I took them out and let them cool. They are a pile of gooey mess and wet crumbs. They would not slice, nor could I get them out of the pans. I'm going to try it again, increasing the flour and eliminating the baking soda so they won't "erupt". I was hoping to find my "lost" recipe for chocolate cherry fruitcake; this obviously is not it!!! Beware of this one...

 

[EURrosa1]

I made it for Christmas last year and it is DELICIOUS! This is one of the best chocolate cakes in my opinion.