What To Do With Leftover Fruitcake

What To Do With Leftover Fruitcake

• Sprinkle thick slices generously with rum or brandy, and let stand for a few minutes before sautéing in a little butter. Add a spoonful of rum or brandy to the pan, and flame (carefully away from your face) by touching a lighted match to the warmed spirits in the pan. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
• Soak broken pieces of fruitcake in milk until softened but not mushy. Then place in a buttered baking dish and cover with a mixture of 2 eggs, well beaten with 1 cup of milk. (Increase the quantity of the custard, as necessary, so the fruitcake is completely covered.) Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 45 minutes, or until firmly set.
• For a fruitcake hasty pudding, break the stale cake into small chunks, place into dessert dishes, and add hot (but not boiling) milk just to cover. Let stand a few minutes, until the cake absorbs the milk, and serve with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.
• For sinfully rich after-dinner chocolates, cut fruitcake into small, neat cubes with a sharp knife. Place them close together in a container, and sprinkle generously with brandy. Store, covered tightly, until the alcohol ages and loses its sharpness (there’s no way to tell except by sampling one periodically). Lift out the cubes carefully – they will have softened a bit – and set them on a rack over waxed paper. Pour melted semisweet chocolate over them and allow the coating to cool. Trim rough edges and re-melt excess chocolate. Turn covered cake cubes over and carefully spoon chocolate over the bottom of each one to seal. Store in a cool place, but do not refrigerate.

We hope you enjoy your holiday season (and leftovers!).