Today's Case:

Japanese Fruit Cake

Re: Japanese Fruit Cake
From: Betsy
Date: 12/2/2023, 12:32 PM
To: Phaedrus 

On 12/1/2023 6:37 PM, Betsy wrote:

Japanese Fruit cake. Was it iced with white icing would love the entire recipe.

Hello Betsy,

I hope that you don't mean an authentic recipe for Rich's Bake Shop's Japanese Fruit Cake, because I have been looking for that one for years, unsuccessfully. A former Rich's Bake Shop Holiday Manager told me that none of the cakes were actually baked in the Rich's stores. They were baked by Danco Bakery Distributors and delivered frozen to Rich's. That doesn't make them any less tasty, but it makes it practically impossible to get any authentic recipes for Rich's Bakeshop cakes.

However, there are "Japanese Fruit Cake" recipes that are available. The Southern Living Magazine's recipe is below and there are others here: 12-20-2004

Also, see: Rich's Coconut Cake

Phaed

https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/japanese-fruitcake-recipe

Japanese Fruit Cake

Ingredients
Cake

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup raisins
Pecan halves, for topping

Lemon-Coconut Frosting

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water, divided
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 medium coconut, grated (about 3 1/2 cups)

Directions
Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of an 
electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately 
with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix after each addition. 
Stir in vanilla.

Pour one-third of batter into a greased and floured 9-inch round cake pan. 
Stir cinnamon and next 3 ingredients into remaining batter; pour into 2 
greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350˚ for 20 to 25 
minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 
Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on 
wire racks.

Prepare the Lemon-Coconut Frosting: Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup water; 
set aside. Bring remaining 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. 
Stir in sugar, lemon rind, and lemon juice. Return to a boil, and cook to soft 
ball stage (236˚), stirring often. Gradually stir in cornstarch mixture; 
cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and 
bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in coconut. Cool. Stir frosting just before 
spreading on cake.

Spread Lemon-Coconut Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake, 
stacking white layer between spiced layers. Garnish, if desired.