Wintercake by Lynne Rae Perkins is a heartwarming story about two woodland friends who set out to make a wintercake. When Thomas discovers that he has lost the dried fruit needed for his special Winter’s Eve cake, his friend Lucy decides to investigate. Lucy thinks she has found the thief who stole Thomas’s fruits but soon realizes she is mistaken. Thomas and Lucy’s adventure leads to a new friend and a new Winter’s Eve tradition. I especially like how the story of Wintercake confronts the fact that we all sometimes make assumptions that we may need to rethink. When Lucy realizes that the animal she thought was a thief was actually trying to help, she feels foolish, but tries to make amends and do better. The idea that we all sometimes jump to conclusions and need to carefully examine our assumptions is such an important topic and this book would be a great start to that conversation with younger kids. Wintercake is a festive, warm, and inviting read for the holiday season or all winter long!
When I set out to recreate Thomas’s special wintercake, I was skeptical. Fruitcake is an especially fraught category of dessert with people having strong opinions and most of them pretty negative! I myself don’t love fruitcake as much as, say, a chocolate cake, but I set out to make a fruitcake that was worthy of Thomas’s famous Winter’s Eve creation! The book describes wintercake as “golden brown, with bits of color, like jewels” sprinkled throughout, and the pictures show a delectable, snowy-white icing on top. It took me a few attempts to get this just right but below is my recipe for a golden brown, fruit studded, snowy-icing topped cake that I think Thomas would be proud of. I started with a coffee-cake like batter than is lighter than a traditional fruitcake, added chopped dried fruits that are not as sweet as traditional candied fruit, and topped it off with a thick, white icing made with orange juice to give a tangy finish.
Wintercake
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and butter a 9-inch round cake pan before lining the pan with parchment. Place the mixed, dried fruit and citrus in a medium pan and cover with the freshly squeezed orange juice. Bring the juice to a simmer over medium-low heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, pour the juice and fruit into a heat-proof bowl and refrigerate until needed.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, whip together the softened butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the extracts and mix another few seconds to combine.
In a separate, large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and spices until well-combined. With the stand mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture until it is all added and moistened. Turn the mixer up to high and continue to beat the batter for 2 more minutes, until well-mixed.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and gently fold the slivered almonds, plumped, dried fruit, and the orange juice that is with the fruit, into the batter with a rubber spatula until the fruit and nuts are well-distributed. Scrape the cake batter into the prepared spring form pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before removing it from the pan and continue to cool on a cooling rack. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before icing.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and melted butter. Add the orange juice, 1 Tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition, until a thick but spreadable icing forms. The icing should not be so thin that it just soaks into the cake, but not too thick to spread easily. Add extra powdered sugar as needed to thicken the icing, or extra orange juice to thin it out. Once icing is the right consistency, use an offset spatula or rubber spatula to spread it over the cake, allowing some icing to drip off the sides a bit. Sprinkle extra dried fruit, slivered almonds, or sprinkles on top of the icing, if desired.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and butter a 9-inch round cake pan before lining the pan with parchment. Place the mixed, dried fruit and citrus in a medium pan and cover with the freshly squeezed orange juice. Bring the juice to a simmer over medium-low heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, pour the juice and fruit into a heat-proof bowl and refrigerate until needed.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, whip together the softened butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the extracts and mix another few seconds to combine.
In a separate, large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and spices until well-combined. With the stand mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture until it is all added and moistened. Turn the mixer up to high and continue to beat the batter for 2 more minutes, until well-mixed.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and gently fold the slivered almonds, plumped, dried fruit, and the orange juice that is with the fruit, into the batter with a rubber spatula until the fruit and nuts are well-distributed. Scrape the cake batter into the prepared spring form pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before removing it from the pan and continue to cool on a cooling rack. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before icing.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and melted butter. Add the orange juice, 1 Tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition, until a thick but spreadable icing forms. The icing should not be so thin that it just soaks into the cake, but not too thick to spread easily. Add extra powdered sugar as needed to thicken the icing, or extra orange juice to thin it out. Once icing is the right consistency, use an offset spatula or rubber spatula to spread it over the cake, allowing some icing to drip off the sides a bit. Sprinkle extra dried fruit, slivered almonds, or sprinkles on top of the icing, if desired.
