For generations of Americans, making fun of fruitcake has been a holiday tradition. Even Sabrina Carpenter can’t help but pile on. ‘Fruitcake makes me sick,’ pop star intones in song about herself new Christmas album it’s precisely called Fruit cake.

But a Canadian pastry chef and master curator would like us to reconsider our assumptions. Camilla Wynne is the author of a new cookbook called Nature’s sweets. It’s an ode to the pleasures of candiing fruits – and even the occasional vegetable – and cooking with them.

Wynne said she completely understands why fruitcake has such a bad reputation.

/ Appetite by Random House

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Appetite by Random House

“I think it’s because there’s a lot of terrible candied fruit out there, unfortunately,” she said. “Bright red or bright green candied cherries, and the problem with those, of course, is that they have no taste. It’s fair that they get a bad reputation, but they’re not representative candied fruits in general.”

Fruitcake is fantastic, Wynne says, if you use great fruit, especially fruit that you confit yourself. Still, the idea of ​​candying fruit at home seems daunting, to say the least, at least to this NPR reporter (and enthusiastic home baker). “Oh, I hate that you’re bullied!” Wynne responded to the hesitation: “That’s the last thing I want. (But) people are. I understand that.”

Wynne insisted that candying fruit is no more difficult than boiling eggs. The technique basically involves briefly simmering fruit in sugar water for a few days.

“I’m candiing a bunch of whole figs right now,” she said. “Every day it’s just a matter of watering your plants. They have to simmer for 10 minutes, so when I’m getting ready to make dinner, I turn them on and set the timer.”

These candied figs are used succulently in Wynne’s Florentine tart recipe, along with candied cherries and orange zest. Even for a fruitcake skeptic, the cake recipes from Nature’s sweets looks delicious. Her tropical terrazzo cake (recipe below) uses coconut milk, lime juice and a range of candied tropical fruits. The cookbook also includes many non-fruitcake recipes, such as Caramel Corn with Candied Ginger and Strawberry Sugar Cookies with Candied Jalapenos.

“You also get all that jalapeno syrup with it, and it makes a really good base for margaritas if you like that sort of thing,” Wynne noted with relish.

During the pandemic lockdown, she added, many home cooks turned to baking bread. Candiing your own fruit is similar, she says. It brings a sense of skill upgrading and quiet contemplation to the kitchen at a time marked by violence and institutional unrest across the world.

“Relax, de-stress, and connect to beauty,” Wynne suggested. “The world is a little crazy.”

And what’s better with nuts than candied fruit?

Tropical Terrazzo Cake

By Camilla Wynne

“They stopped to breathe in the steam rising from the oven and took extra helpings of sliced ​​pound cake to reveal a terrazzo pattern of preserved lemon and glazed fruit,” writes John Birdsall in one of my food biographies favorite, The man who ate too much. The idea for this sturdy pound cake studded with chunks of candied tropical fruit and glazed with tangy lime syrup came from this single line in this biography of the James Beard icon. The book is full of literary descriptions like this that draw you right into the action, making it a pleasure to read. Most importantly, the book doesn’t downplay its weirdness. I recommend reading it while you enjoy a slice of this cake. Use a variety of candied tropical (or tropical-adjacent) fruits, keeping in mind that it can always be a mix of homemade and store-bought fruits. I usually use pineapple, kiwi, papaya, lemon, ginger and prickly pear.

For 16 people

For the cake

230 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature (very soft)

533 g (2⅔ cups) sugar

1½ teaspoons salt

The zest of 1 lime

6 eggs, at room temperature

420 g (3 cups) all-purpose flour

250 ml (1 cup) whole coconut milk

500 g (2 cups) mixed candied fruit, drained and chopped (½ to 1 inch pieces), reserving syrup

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Generously grease and heavily flour a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan and refrigerate the pan until it is time to fill.

To make the cake, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, salt and lime zest until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.

With the mixer running on low speed, add a third of the flour then half of the coconut milk. Alternate until all the flour and coconut milk are incorporated.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium-high for 30 seconds to make sure everything is well mixed. Add the chopped candied fruit.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Give the pan a hard tap on the counter to help settle the batter. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the syrup.

For the syrup

125 ml (½ cup) candied fruit

syrup (see note)

60 ml (¼ cup) lime juice

2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)

NOTE You can use any candied fruit syrup for this recipe or use the reserved syrup from the cake method. To make the syrup, in a small saucepan, combine the syrup and lime juice. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and stir in rum, if using.

To assemble, carefully unmold the cake. Use all the syrup to brush the cake all over the top and sides. Cool completely. The cake will keep well wrapped at room temperature for at least 5 days.

Excerpt from Nature’s Candy by Camilla Wynne. Copyright © 2024 Camilla Wynne. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced in agreement with the publisher. All rights reserved.

Edited for radio and web by Meghan Sullivan, produced for radio by Chloe Weinermade for the web by Beth Novey

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