Fruitcake Bars

Happy New Year to all my foodie friends! Am sure the year must have started on a sweet note and hope it continues through the year!


The season has been pretty hecticthankfully!!!!!!!(didnt get time to nag ..wink wink..)Besides baking loads of Christmas cakes and gingerbread cookies I did some special baking this time for the family and this Fruitcake was the first one of the season.

By the way,Christmas cake was a wild combination ,if I may say so,of Florentine as a top crust and boiled fruit, as orders exceeded beyond my expectations or rather my preparation!!The idea may not be a common one but it surely brings down the calories because the butter used is one fourth !!!So one can enjoy some "guiltfree" cake.And its quite moist!

This fruitcake has all wintery ingredients-dates,apricots,unfortunately,this year it
has been rather warm here.But to enjoy good things you can ignore the weather.What say??


The fruitcake is quite versatile,can be used to snack upon since its quite filling and healthy with nuts and dates which my kids did,or as a dessert to nibble on after a meal,which I did!

This recipe has been taken from David Lebovitz's website.

6 tablespoons (50 g) flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (80 g) packed,brown sugar
2 cups walnuts, almonds,(200 g), toasted and coarsely chopped.Can use either or a mix of both.
1½ cups (170 g) dates, pitted and quartered(used both dark and red dates)

1 cup (170 g) dried apricot halves or cranberries to cut down the sweetness. I even used candied ginger
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan across the bottom and up the sides with two sheets of aluminum foil, making a big criss-cross with the sides overhanging.

2. Preheat the oven to 325F (160C) and position the rack in the center of the oven.

3. In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the brown sugar, walnuts, dates, and apricots. Use your fingers to mix the fruit, separate any pieces sticking together.

4. Beat the egg and vanilla in a small bowl, then mix it with the fruit and nut mixture until everything’s coated with the batter. Spread the mixture in the baking pan and press gently to even it out.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top of the bars are golden brown and has pulled away just-slightly from the sides of the pan. Cool the bars in the pan, then lift out.

6. To cut the cooled bars, use a heavy sharp knife, for ensuring neat, clean slices