Christmas Food: Mini Fruit Cakes

There's some perennial joke about fruit cake. . .that there is really only one and people keep re-gifting it to each other.  In a way, I kinda believe it.  I remember seeing the red tin at Christmas, no doubt sent by some friend or relative on the mainland.  I remember how the only one who would touch it was AE.  I thought it was disgusting to see all the fruits stuck together with the dark brown cake.  I much preferred the "local" version of fruit cake, which was less fruit and more cake, good cake.

Mom made fruit cake every year.  While her fruit cake was better than the fruit cake that came in the tin, I preferred some other people's fruit cake, where the cake part was more like pound cake.  Mom also used walnuts.  I h8 walnuts!  I love pecans.

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Mini Fruit Cakes

     8 oz cream cheese, softened

     1 c butter, softened

     1 1/2 c sugar

     4 eggs

     1 1/2 tbsp vanilla

     2 1/4 c cake flour

     1 1/2 t baking powder

     1 c glace fruit cake mix

     1/2 c chopped nuts

     1/4 c dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 regular muffin cups with paper liners.  Remove 1 tbsp flour and toss with fruit cake mix, nuts, and cranberries.  Set aside.  Stir together remaining flour and baking powder.  Set aside.  Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well.  Add vanilla and mix well.  Add flour mixture.  Add fruit/nut mixture.  Using a #20 disher, divide batter evenly among prepared cups (about 2/3 full).  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

There's some perennial joke about fruit cake. . .that there is really only one and people keep re-gifting it to each other.  In a way, I kinda believe it.  I remember seeing the red tin at Christmas, no doubt sent by some friend or relative on the mainland.  I remember how the only one who would touch it was AE.  I thought it was disgusting to see all the fruits stuck together with the dark brown cake.  I much preferred the "local" version of fruit cake, which was less fruit and more cake, good cake.

Mom made fruit cake every year.  While her fruit cake was better than the fruit cake that came in the tin, I preferred some other people's fruit cake, where the cake part was more like pound cake.  Mom also used walnuts.  I h8 walnuts!  I love pecans.

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Mini Fruit Cakes

     8 oz cream cheese, softened

     1 c butter, softened

     1 1/2 c sugar

     4 eggs

     1 1/2 tbsp vanilla

     2 1/4 c cake flour

     1 1/2 t baking powder

     1 c glace fruit cake mix

     1/2 c chopped nuts

     1/4 c dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 regular muffin cups with paper liners.  Remove 1 tbsp flour and toss with fruit cake mix, nuts, and cranberries.  Set aside.  Stir together remaining flour and baking powder.  Set aside.  Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well.  Add vanilla and mix well.  Add flour mixture.  Add fruit/nut mixture.  Using a #20 disher, divide batter evenly among prepared cups (about 2/3 full).  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.