It's been a few years since Oz and I made Kentucky bourbon fruitcake. The fruitcake is awesome, but a huge amount of work. It takes two people two days (well, one day really, but it seems like two) to prepare and then it has to cure for a month, so the delayed gratification is onerous. I started the process last night by putting one and a quarter cups of golden raisins, one pound of Craisins (the recipe really calls for candied cherries, but cranberries have more flavor), and one and a quarter cups of Wild Turkey in a bowl to macerate until Sunday when we'll have a chance to bake the cake.
By this evening the fruit has soaked up most of the bourbon. All day I've been taking the cover off the dish to stir the fruit and enjoy the smell. I've been able to resist snacking on the fruit. I show it to Oz when he comes over.
"That looks dry," he says.
"It's not dry. It's soaked up a lot of the bourbon, but there's still some left. Smell it." I take the cover off and proffer the dish.
"Okay. But it's still dry. Look at those on top, they look like raisins."
"They are raisins."
"You're letting it all evaporate. Here." Oz takes the dish, replaces the cover and shakes it a little to demonstrate how little liquid is left. "I think you need to dump another cup of bourbon in there."
"No. You can't add a bunch more liquid and have it come out right. This is baking, not cooking. If we were making Raisin-Bourbon Stew, then, sure you could do that."
277 words | November 26, 2004 10:23 PM | Kitchen