Our partner's recipe: Marie-Josée's fruit cake

Marie-Josée Légaré, Account Executive at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, likes to enjoy this delicious fruit cake with a cup of tea after a visit to the German Christmas Market, located right next to City Hall. This area of Old Québec is decorated each year according to the seasons and celebrations. The holiday season makes the area especially magical during December.

Ingredients

1 cup Thompson raisins
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup dried plums
1 cup grated apples
Zest of one lemon or candied lemon
Zest of one orange or candied orange
⅔ cup Québec ice cider + extra Québec ice cider
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. freshly grated cinnamon
½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ cup ground almonds

Preparation

Preheat oven to 250 °F.
In a large bowl, combine fruits (Thompson raisins, golden raisins, apricots, plums, grated apples), zest (or candied fruit) and ⅔ cup ice cider. Cover and let stand overnight.
Stir ¼ cup of flour into the mixture.
Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine the remaining flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside.
In another bowl, beat butter with sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time. Stir in vanilla, then gradually add ground almonds and dried fruit mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
Pour into pan and smooth surface. Place a shallow dish half-filled with boiling water on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake cake on the middle rack for about 3 hours or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Wrap cake in cheesecloth and moisten with ice cider. Wrap with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Moisten cheesecloth every 2 weeks. The cake should be moistened at least 3 times. When finished, the cake can be kept in the freezer for several months.