Brandied Pineapple Cream Cheese Fruitcake

Brandied Pineapple Cream Cheese Fruitcake Brandied Pineapple Cream Cheese Fruitcake - a moist rich fruitcake in a recipe size that makes up to 3 loaf sized cakes 1 cup water 1 cup sultana raisins ¼ cup sugar 1 cup currents 2 cups fresh golden pineapple, diced small (about ¼ inch) 2 cups glace cherries, cut in quarters 2 cups mixed glace citrus peel or mixed glace fruit 1¼ cups butter 1¼ cup sugar 2 tbsp vanilla extract 8 ounces cream cheese (1 cup) 6 eggs 4 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder ½ cup brandy In a medium saucepan combine the water, raisins, ¼ cup sugar and currants and simmer very gently for 20 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, transfer to a large bowl then add the pineapple, glace cherries and glace citrus peel. Mix together well. Cream together the butter 1¼ cups sugar, vanilla extract and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the 6 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Fold about ⅔ of the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. Fold in the fruit mixture, followed by the remaining dry ingredients. Mix just until the flour is incorporated. Do not over mix. When you get the cake batter into the pan, you can decorate the top with glace pineapple rings or other glace fruits if you like. Bake in a greased and floured tube pan or a 12 inch spring form pan or about three loaf pans at 325 degrees F for about an hour and a half or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.(one 10 inch springform pan plus one loaf pan can also be used.) Baking times may vary on this recipe depending upon the amount of moisture contained in the fruit mixture. The loaf pans should take about an hour, larger pans can take 1½ hours or a bit more. The toothpick test is your best indicator that the cake is baked so watch it carefully and continue to test until fully baked. Because of the long baking time, I usually buffer the heat on the pan by wrapping the side and bottom in several layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. This helps the cake to bake more evenly. Let cool in the pan for at about a half hour then brush on the ¼ cup brandy. Turn onto a wire rack and brush the bottom with another ¼ cup brandy. When completely cooled, use a wooden skewer to pierce the cake several times and brush the entire cake with another cup of brandy. Immediately wrap the cake in several layers of plastic wrap and store it in a cool dry place for a couple of days at least before you plan to serve it. Best stored in an airtight container or cake tin.