I think I fall into the category of many who shutter when they hear the word fruitcake. The stomach gets a strange feeling when someone offers a piece of this so called Christmas treat that has been wrapped in plastic and a cardboard box, has the most unnatural colors in it and has been sitting on a shelf at some store or warehouse for who knows how long.
As much as I detested fruitcake I have one family member, aka my dad, who loves it and several years ago asked for some for Christmas. There was simply no way I was going to buy one of those bricks of "cake" they sell at a stand in the mall, so I set out to find a version I could bake at home. As first glimpse of looking through recipes I was fairly disappointed to see that most people stuck with the fake candied fruit which almost glows with the food coloring that must be added to it. These recipes also called for many ingredients I don't use, won't use and frankly can't even buy at the co-op where I do almost all my shopping. However, I was determined and so kept searching. That was when I found Alton Brown's recipe for his "Free Range Fruitcake" on the Food Network. Free Range... sounds interesting... could it be... a real fruitcake recipe... why yes it is. There was no fake fruit, no hydrogenated cooking oil, no questionable ingredients at all actually.
This little jewel of a cake went over wonderfully and I can say that all of us who enjoyed it the first year I made it were fruitcake converts. This year I'm trying to incorporate more sourdough baking in my routine, as well as, whole grains and unprocessed sweeteners into as much of my baked goods as possible. One of the main reason I wanted to try this as a sourdough cake is when you make sourdough at home your starter and flour are mixed together and allowed to ferment for typically at least 8-12 hours. During this time gluten and phytic acid are broken down leaving the baked item far easier to digest and also healthier because by breaking down the phytic acid the body can far more easily absorb the vitamins and minerals in the food.
