Dried Winter Fruit Cakelets

I’ve never counted how many cookbooks I own, but I do know that with many, I make one or two recipes and unfortunately, never revisit them for years because some other newcomer has captured my attention. I’ve got my tried and true cookbooks that I wouldn’t neglect for the world, but then there are some I’ve pushed to the back shelf over the years, including many that are written in Italian. Truth be told, it can be tedious to transcribe the quantities into the American measuring system when they’re written in metric. But the results are frequently worth the effort, like these little dried fruit “cakelets.” They’re from a cookbook called “Fantasie Da Forno” that I picked up in a Milan bookstore  years ago.

Winter is the perfect time for this recipe made with dried fruits. You can make it in small disposable paper cake pans, like these that I bought at a discount store, or make one larger cake in a round pan. There is a certain charm to these miniature cakelets though, and they are just the right serving for one person.

The small amount of cornmeal in the recipe gives the cake a darker look, but adds a bit of flavor and texture. If you want to eliminate the cornmeal, just substitute an equal amount of white all-purpose flour.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

From the Italian cookbook “Fantasie da forno”

Dried Winter Fruit Cakelets

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons butter, softened (100 gr. di burro ammorbidito)
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten (2 uova sbatute)
• 1/3 cup (50 grams) flour
• 1 teaspoon (un cucchiaino di lievito) baking powder
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornmeal (100 gr. di farina di mais)
• 1 1/2 cups mixed dried fruit (225 gr. frutta secca mister
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, or other nuts (25 gr. di pinoli)
• grated rind of a lemon (la scorza grattugiata di 1 limone)
• 2 tablespoons milk (2 cucchiai di latte)
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice (4 cucchiai di succo di limone)

Instructions

1. Grease a 7″ or 8″ round pan (or use several small baking paper cake holders).
2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixer.
3. Add the beaten eggs, one a time, mixing each one thoroughly.
4. Add the flour, baking powder and cornmeal and mix until incorporated.
5. Add the dried fruits and nuts, the lemon peel, the lemon juice, and lastly the milk.
6. Spread the mixture into the pan and bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for one hour, but if using the mini pans, check after 30 minutes.
7. Test with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean.
8. Remove from the oven, let it cool, then dust with powdered sugar.

3.5.3251