It is the season for fruitcake!
Here's a superb tweak on the traditional recipe:
Use dried local fruits and cut the cake into bite-sized bars.
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup mixed dried fruits
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 cup chopped nuts (we used walnuts and cashews)
Procedures:
1 Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2 Sift together flour, salt, ground cinnamon, and baking powder. Divide in half.
3 Dredge dried fruits in half of the flour mixture.
4 In a bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add honey, then stir in remaining flour mixture. Fold in dried fruits and nuts.
5 Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool before slicing into bars.
Wrapping tip: We used dried mangoes, coconut, bananas, and pineapples in this recipe. To give as gifts, first wrap bars in aluminum foil then in colored cellophane.
