Americans have a love-hate relationship with fruitcake. What comes to your mind when you think of a fruitcake, is it a rich, moist cake filled with delicious fruit and nuts”, or la dried out “doorstop”? misconceptions about fruitcakes inspire many jokes, even Johnny Carson once joked, “there’s only one fruitcake in the U.S., and it’s passed around year after year from family to family.

Maybe people today dislike fruitcake because so many of them are mass-produced using cheap, inferior ingredients. If you have eaten one of those dry, tasteless commercial fruitcakes made with bitter citron that are sold in supermarkets, its no doubt that any future fruitcake is looked upon with trepidation. Even the so called gourmet fruitcakes are full of preservatives and things like melon rinds colored to look like cherries.

A real fruitcake is sinfully rich, studded with real fruits soaked in liquors, fresh nuts, and complex spices. The ratio of fruit to batter has always been an issue for true fruitcake connoisseur. An outstanding fruitcake can be put together in less than an hour., and it will be fondly remembered long after the last crumbs have disappeared.

Commercial fruitcakes sold in supermarkets are often dry, tasteless, and made with bitter citron. Those yellow-green, candied, things called citron, a semitropical citrus fruit that looks like a huge, lumpy lemon, so its no doubt that a fruitcake is looked upon with suspicion. Even the so-called gourmet fruitcakes can be full of preservatives and things like melon rinds colored to look like cherries and these poorly made fruitcakes have given fruitcake a bad image.

Fruitcakes should be moist and delicious, a cornucopia of naturally sweet (not candied!), plump pieces of dried fruit, complex spices, sometimes nuts, but not a red or green candied thing in the lot. A real fruitcake is sinfully rich, studded with real fruits soaked in liqueurs, fresh nuts, and complex spices. The ratio of fruit to batter has always been an issue for true fruitcake connoisseur, and the best fruitcake will be at least 50 percent fruit.

The fruitcakes, as well as the other types of traditional English or Holiday style puddings work especially well with a pressure cooker. For more recipes, please see my Fancy Desserts recipe booklet, and the Dessert Sauces recipe booklet. Use a special, decorative mold, a simple tube pan or a plain pan for your fruitcake. A fruitcake with a leavening (rising) agent will need a period of time for steaming before locking the lid, fruitcakes without added leavening do not need to be steamed.

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History of Fruitcakes

Fruitcakes have been around for a long time, and history is as full of lore and rumor about their creation. Fruitcake was probably man's first high-energy snack food. The oldest reference to fruitcakes dates back to Roman times. Fruitcakes were often a means of preserving excess fruits and nuts by incorporating them into a type of cake. Not only could native fruits like plums and cherries be conserved, but served out of season or in places where fresh fruit was difficult to come by. Recipes included pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins mixed into barley mash. History is full of lore and rumor about fruitcakes. They have been around for a long time, and were a means of preserving excess fruits and nuts by incorporating them into a type of cake. Not only could native fruits like plums and cherries be conserved, but served out of season or in places where fresh fruit was difficult to come by.

The oldest reference to fruitcakes dates back to Roman times with recipes that included pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins mixed into barley mash. During the Middle Ages, sweet ingredients were added, such as honey and spices, and pilgrims carried them to the Holy Lands. In Europe in the 1700's, a ceremonial type of fruitcake was baked at the end of the nut harvest and consumed the following year to celebrate the beginning of the next harvest. In England by the end of the 18th century there were laws restricting the use of rich, plum cake, that being the generic word for dried fruit at the time, to Christmas, Easter, weddings, christenings, and funerals because they were considered so decadent. During the Victorian era (1837-1901), fruitcake was popular and Queen Victoria received a fruitcake for her birthday one year. Legend has it, she put it aside for a year as a sign of restraint, moderation, and good taste. It is still the custom in England for unmarried girls often put a slice of fruitcake under their pillow at night expecting to dream of the person they will marry.

The English tradition that came to America with the first colonists. Fruitcakes are sometimes called the Queen of Cakes”, and were always served at weddings, Thanksgiving and Christmas and other important occasions. In 1753, one of the first fruitcake recipes was recorded by Eliza Smith. She used 4 pounds of flour mixed with 4 pounds of butter, spices, 20 egg yolks, 5 pints of cream, 6 pounds of currants, candied lemon and orange peel, but only 1.5 pounds of sugar in her ”Great Cake”

In the South, slices of fruitcake were wrapped up in little packages and tucked into soldier's jackets as they left for battle during the Civil war.

In a ”A Christmas Memory”, Truman Capote, who grew up in rural Alabama during the Great Depression, recalls gathering pecans by climbing the giant trees and shaking the branches until the nuts fell to the ground. He baked fruitcakes with his cousin, Miss Sook Faulk, and delivered them via baby carriage to their neighbors. One year, they baked a fruitcake for Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas, about 50 miles south of Dallas, uses a recipe imported from Germany in the late 1800's, and became the first mail order fruitcake business when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to town in the early 1900s. Before leaving town, performers bought up fruitcakes to take on the road. The following Christmas, John Ringling called the bakery and asked if it could ship fruitcakes to him since the circus wouldn't be back in town that year. Collin Street Bakery sells 1.5 million mail-order fruitcakes every year, and over 300,000 people stop by the bakery to purchase their world renown fruitcakes.

The Japanese appreciate fruitcake with a dense texture and surfeit of colorful fruit. A popular department store offers it year-round in gift-wrapped boxes containing miniature ingots of fruitcakes wrapped in gold foil.

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THE PANS

When cooking fruitcakes in a pressure cooker, you'll need to have the correctly shaped pan that will fit inside the cooker. Because it is so dense, a fruitcake should be cooked in a special, decorative ring mold, bundt pan, or a tube pan with a hollow center to ensure the middle is evenly cooked all the way through. Make sure that the fruitcake pan will fit comfortably inside your pressure cooker, leaving 1/2 inch clearance around the sides. See the chart, Pan Sizes and Volume.

Metal pans work best because they conduct heat better and faster and may even create a light crust. Stainless steel is the first choice as it will not react with any food. Decorative copper and tinware molds are excellent for adding a decorative shape to steamed cakes. Aluminum pans may be used, but they may react to certain ingredients. If using a decorative glass, ceramic or porcelain mold you will need to increase cooking times by an additional 10 to 20 percent depending on the thickness of the container. The fruitcake needs to be covered during cooking and if your mold and comes with a lid that's great, otherwise crimp a square of aluminum foil over the top.

Which ever pan you choose for your fruitcake, be sure to that the mold and lid are generously buttered and dusted with flour. Fruitcakes, as a rule, do not use leavening agents other than eggs to rise, so the batter can fill the pans up to two-thirds full. It's best to spoon the heavy batter into the pan and then pack it firmly, leveling the top before tapping pans on the countertop to remove any trapped air bubbles. Use an elevated rack to accommodate the extra amount of water needed for longer cooking times. Use foil helper handles to lift the heavy fruitcake pan in and out of the pressure cooker.

INGREDIENTS IN FRUITCAKES

Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients; fruitcake is supposed to have a lot of good stuff in it. If most of the preparation is done in advance, a good fruitcake can be put together in less than an hour and fondly remembered long after the last crumbs have disappeared.

When making fruitcakes, add up the total amount of fruit and nuts called for in the recipe, and then make changes according to your personal preferences. Try dried apples, apricots, pears, peaches, pineapple, prunes, dates, black and golden raisins, and currants. Not creative enough? Add dried mango or papaya, or dried cherries, cranberries, or blueberries.

The dried fruits should be cut in to small pieces with kitchen shears or chopped with a knife. The chopped fruits are then soaked in fine spirits such as a good a port, sherry, Marsala, Madeira, Malmsey, Muscat, rum or brandy for 24 hours before making the cake. Don't scrimp the alcohol, use a good-quality liqueur for best results. The heat of cooking will destroy most of the alcohol while leaving the flavor.

Choose the fruits that you like, use what you have on hand, or what's most cost effective for your budget. If there are certain fruits you don't like, you can always include more or less of another kind. The ratio of fruit to batter has always been an issue for fruitcake connoisseurs. At least half the weight of the cake should be fruit, and the more fruit the better. A fruitcake with less than a 50:50 ratio, is called a Plum Cake or Dundee Cake.

Many recipes for fruitcakes call for nuts. Walnuts, and pecans are the most popular choices, although English walnuts, almonds, filberts, and hazelnuts are other good choices. However, if you plan on storing a fruitcake more than a month or two, it's best not to include any nuts within the batter because the oils in nut meats will become rancid, imparting a bad taste and aroma to the fruitcake. For best results, limit the use of nuts to a decoration on the top of the fruitcake.

If you do use candied fruit, rinse it first to get rid of most of the syrupy, sticky glaze. While dried fruit absorbs alcohol, candied peel does not readily soak up the liqueur so its probably better to plan on eating this type of fruitcake fresh, rather than aged and cured.

There are dark fruitcakes and light fruitcakes, and some people prefer one better than they prefer the other. A dark fruitcake uses light colored fruits such as currants, dried apricots and pineapple, lighter colored spices and light corn syrup. A dark fruitcake uses darker fruits like raisins, dried dates, cranberries, and prunes, darker colored spices, and dark corn syrup or molasses.

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CONSTRUCTING A FRUITCAKE

INGREDIENTS IN FRUITCAKES

By tradition, when labor day rolled around everyone in my family knew it was time to start making fruitcakes so the first one would be ready to cut on Thanksgiving Day. There are dark fruitcakes and light fruitcakes, and some people prefer one better than the other. A light or white fruitcake uses light colored fruits such as currants, dried apricots and pineapple and light corn syrup. A dark fruitcake uses darker fruits like raisins, dates, cranberries, and prunes, and dark corn syrup or molasses. The ratio of fruit to batter has always been an issue for serious fruitcake connoisseurs, but the general rule is at least half the weight of the cake should be fruit. A fruitcake with less than a 50:50 ratio is not really a fruitcake, but a Plum Cake or Dundee Cake. A good fruitcake is the result of the best quality ingredients and most recipes are fairly tolerant of substitutions- so use the fruits you like best.

THE FRUIT

If you want a dense, fruit-rich cake, you'll need two or three pounds of good quality dried fruits. Select from dried apples, pears, pineapple, pears, dates, peaches, prunes, cranberries, blueberries, cherries, figs, apricots, black and golden raisins and currants. You can also use dried mango, banana, coconut and papaya bits, and a little freshly grated lemon or orange peel is a nice thing to add. To make recipe substitutions and use the fruits that you like, add up the total amount of fruits and nuts called for in the recipe, and then make changes according to your personal preferences. The important thing is that the total amount of the fruit and nuts should still be approximately the same as in the original recipe. When you have assembled all the dried fruits cut them into small pieces with kitchen shears or chop them with a knife. If the fruits are too sticky dust lightly with powdered sugar.

MARINATING THE FRUIT

This step in the preparation should be scheduled at least 48 hours and better still at 72 hours, prior to the time you want to cook the fruitcake to allow the fruits time to marinate. Before cooking, the chopped fruits need to be soaked in fine wine to soften and preserve the fruit. Soaking removes the crystalline sugar from the surface of the fruit and allows the pieces to absorb more of the liqueur, keeping the pieces moister. Without soaking the dried fruits will continue to dry out and draw moisture from the surrounding cake, leaving you with a dry and crumbling fruitcake suitable only for the trash bin. Don't scrimp on the wine; use a good-quality brand that is eminently drinkable. Good choices are port, sherry, Marsala, Madeira, Malmsey, or Muscat. Choose lighter colored wines for light colored fruitcakes, and the deeper colored wines for dark fruitcakes. Even though heat will destroy most of the alcohol, the rich flavors will remain in the fruits.

Place all the dried fruits in a nonreactive glass or ceramic bowl, and pour in enough wine to cover the pieces completely. Make up a spice bag with 2 sticks of cinnamon, 10 whole cloves, 10 whole black pepper corns and a 3 inch strip of orange pee and push that beneath the surface. Cover the bowl tightly and set aside, allowing at least two or three days, up to a week for the fruit to absorb the wine. Replenish the wine if needed.

THE SPICES

Remember, this is a fruitcake, not a spice cake, so do not go overboard on the spices. Use fresh whole spices whenever possible, grind them in a coffee mill or spice grinder just before adding them to the recipe. This releases volatile oils and flavors that are long gone in commercial ground spices. Because fresh-ground spices are so pungent you may want to decrease the amounts. If using ground spices, buy them fresh, don't use that can of cinnamon that's been in the back of your cupboard for a decade.

THE NUTS

If you like nuts use only the freshest because the oils found in nuts can turn rancid if you plan on keeping your fruitcake in long-term storage. Chop the nutmeats, but don't cut them too small or you won't find them amid all the pieces of fruit when your cake is finished. The nuts mainly add crunch, the subtle-flavor is lost with so many other ingredients and spices. Pecans, walnuts, English walnuts, filberts and hazelnuts are good choices.

THE FAT OR SUET

Suet adds richness to fruitcake recipes and holiday puddings. Unlike other fat, suet is hard and granular and comes from the solid white fat found around the kidneys and loins of beef and sheep. If you live in England beef or vegetable suet is easy to find, but in America, the best approach is to ask a butcher to save a pound or two for you and then grind it into small pieces yourself with a grater, food grinder or food processor. To substitute butter, freezing the required amount, then quickly chop or grate it into small bits and freeze it again. Keep frozen until it's time to add it to the batter.

THE BATTER

A fruitcake is mostly fruit with just enough batter to hold the mixture of fruits, nuts and spices together. The batter will be heavy, so plan on using a large bowl and a sturdy wooden spoon. Drain the marinated fruit, remove the spices and reserve the liquid for the recipe. Toss the fruit with a bit of flour just before adding them to the batter; this will keep them from sticking together. You will need a very large bowl, or use a large pot if you must, to stir together the batter, fruit and nuts and a sturdy wooden spoon.

GLAZING AND DECORATING

After cooking, the tops of fruitcakes can be glazed and decorated with a fanciful pattern of colorful fruits and nuts if desired. Before the fruitcake is glazed, plan the decorative pattern in advance.  Select the fruits, and this is a good time to use glace, candied fruits, and nuts and layout the pattern on a sheet of paper first.  The fruitcake must be cooled completely before applying the glaze.

Using a small saucepan, heat 1 cup of corn syrup (use dark or light corn syrup according to the fruitcake recipe you have used) to boiling, and then carefully brush the top of a cooled fruitcake with the hot corn syrup. Now, using the pieces of fruit and nuts, layout your pattern on the top of the fruitcake and they will stick to the hot corn syrup. When the pattern is complete, brush with second glaze of the hot corn syrup. Allow the glaze to dry before wrapping.

GLAZING AND DECORATING

After cooking, the tops of fruitcakes can be glazed and decorated with a fanciful pattern of colorful fruits and nuts if desired. Before the fruitcake is glazed, plan the decorative pattern in advance.  Select the fruits, and this is a good time to use glace, candied fruits, and nuts and layout the pattern on a sheet of paper first.  

FRUITCAKE GLAZE

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water  

1/3 cup corn syrup  

Juice of 1 lemon

Peel of 1 lemon

Make a simple syrup by combining the sugar and water in a medium-size heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the lemon zest and juice and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue boiling until it reaches soft ball stage. Brush the glaze over top of cake, immediately arrange fruit and nuts on top and then brush on a final coat of glaze.

The fruitcake must be cooled completely before applying the glaze.  Brush the hot glaze over the top of the fruitcake and quickly add the fruits and nuts according to the pattern you designed. When you've completed the decorative pattern on the top of the fruitcake, brush a second glaze of the hot glaze over the pieces of fruits and nuts.  Allow the glaze to dry before wrapping.

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PRESSURE COOKING FRUITCAKES

Always use a rack when cooking fruitcakes.  Add enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the fruitcake pan.  Lock the lid in place.  Bring to 15psi over high heat, immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to stabilize and maintain that pressure.  Cook 90 minutes.  Remove from heat and use the natural release method before opening the lid. Fruitcakes made in a pressure cooker are dark, firm and very moist and may feel sticky to the touch, but the appearance is no indication of doneness.  Take care not to overcook it and test for doneness by sticking a cake tester or thin wooden skewer in the thickest part of the cake, if it comes out clean, the cake is done.  Set the pan on a cake rack and let the fruitcake cool for 10 to 15 minutes and then turn it out onto a lightly oiled rack to finish cooling.

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF A FRUITCAKE

A fruitcake needs care and feeding for a period of time as it ripens and matures.  When you go to the expense and effort to make a really good homemade fruitcake, they often forget that fruitcake is supposed to be aged and cured just like a fine wine. Fruitcakes DO taste better with age!  Aging is sometimes called 'ripening', and allows the ingredients in the fruitcake to mellow and blend as the tannins in the dried fruits are released.  As the fruitcake matures, the skins of the dried fruits, which contain the same tannins that age fine red wines, create similar, complex flavors and aromas.  The key then, is to use lots of high quality dried and well marinated fruits for proper aging.  The density and high sugar content of homemade fruitcakes prevents bacterial growth and spoilage.  Another handy thing about aging is that it allows a busy cook to prepare fruitcakes well in advance of the busy Holiday Season.  

Feeding or curing is the process of the adding alcohol to the fruitcake to preserve it for long-term storage and give it that unique flavor associated with the best fruitcakes.  Besides adding moistness, and flavor, the alcohol also minimizes the sweetness of the ingredients and makes the fruitcake incredibly rich. So how long will a fruitcake keep?  When asked that question, the cooks' accepted response is always, "’Till it's all eaten."  From its earliest history, fruitcakes were made to have a virtually unlimited shelf life, remaining moist and flavorful for years.  By custom, fruitcakes might be kept a year in advance of the grand reveal at the holiday table.

After the fruitcake has cooled completely is ready to prepare for storage.  Fruitcakes intended for short-term storage are handled differently then the ones that are going to keep for several months or longer.  To prepare a fruitcake for short-term storage you'll need a square of cheesecloth large enough to wrap around the fruitcake and a bottle of good quality brandy, rum, cognac, bourbon or whiskey.  Pour enough liquor into a small bowl to soak the cheesecloth until it is completely saturated.  To prepare the fruitcake for longer storage, you'll need a piece of unbleached muslin to wrap around the cake.  Muslin is better for long-term storage because it retains more moisture than cheesecloth.  Soak the muslin in liquor until it is wet through. The purpose of this liqueur soaked cloth is to protect the surface of the fruitcake and keep it moist as the alcohol is slowly absorbed into the cake.  

While the cloth covering for the fruitcake is soaking, slowly pour a jigger of the same liquor over the top of the fruitcake, adding it drop by drop without causing any wet spots.  Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and place the soaked cheesecloth on top.  Center in the fruitcake in the middle of the cloth. Wrap the well saturated fabric around the cake, tucking the ends and to the hollow center.  Wrap the plastic wrap around the wrapped fruitcake sealing it completely and then cover tightly with a sheet of aluminum foil.  Put the packaged fruitcake in a sealable freezer bag or an airtight plastic container store it in a cool dark place, but not the refrigerator.

For best results, a good fruitcake needs to be ripened for at least four to six weeks prior to serving.  During this stage, liquor is regularly brushed over the surface of the cake.  Do not apply more alcohol than the fruitcake can absorb, if it begins to pool around the bottom of the fruitcake invert the cake and wait until the excess soaks in before applying any more.  If the cloth wrapping becomes dry, soak it in liquor before rewrapping the cake.  The fruitcake will continue to ripen and improve for several months.  The ingredients as well as the temperature and humidity will affect the condition of the fruitcake.  The fruitcake should remain moist at all times, take care that it does not dry out during the curing process.

A well wrapped and liquor cured fruitcake that is kept in tightly closed containers will keep for months or even years.  For VERY long storage, 'bury' the liquor-soaked fruitcake in confectioners' sugar in a tightly covered tin, and store it in a cool dark place.

Generally, I use the following rule of thumb for applying liquor:

1.  For short-term storage, use a basting brush to brush more liquor on the surface of the fruitcake every 2-3 days.  Rewrap the cake and repeat the process for four to six weeks to ripen the fruitcake.  After that time, the cake can be frozen until serving time.

2.  For longer storage of fruitcakes that are made two or more months in advance, add one jigger of liquor to the fruitcake once a week for the first month, and then brush liquor once a month thereafter, alternating between the top and bottom of the fruitcake for every application.  Repeat this process until the fruitcake is served.

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SERVING A FRUITCAKE

If giving fruitcake as a gift, remove the cloth wrapping and place the cake in a decorative tinware container.  To served a fruitcake it should be at room temperature or slightly warmed.  DO NOT MICROWAVE - or you will end up with an inedible brick.  The fruitcake can be reheated in a pressure cooker after removing all the protective wrappings.  Carefully rewrap the cake in a double layer of aluminum foil, place the rack in the cooker and add 1/2 cup water, and place the fruitcake on the rack. Lock the lid in place.  Bring to 15psi over high heat, immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to stabilize and maintain that pressure.  Cook 4 minutes for a whole fruitcake or 0 (zero) minutes for slices.  Remove from heat and use the natural release method before opening the lid.

When ready to serve, slice cake/s in a sawing motion with a sharp, thin blade of a knife, making each serving about 1 inch thick.  Dip the knife in a glass of hot wine to avoid tearing the fruitcake. A well aged and cured fruitcake is best served plain to appreciate the complex flavors.  Younger fruitcakes can be served with a warm dessert sauce.  Rewrap any remaining fruitcake, brush on a little liquor and store as directed above.

If the fruitcake appears too, it can usually be temporarily revived by wrapping it tightly in aluminum foil and gently steaming it in the pressure cooker using a regular lid.  The heat disrupts the starch crystals and releases the trapped moisture back pinto the cake. Serve immediately with a hard sauce or a brandy sauce.  This is only a temporary measure, once the cake cools again it will return to its dry state.

TO FLAMBÉ A FRUITCAKE

For a spectacular finish to your holiday meal, there's nothing more impressive than a flaming desert.  There are two schools of thought, one that allows flaming at the table and the more traditional way in which the flaming cake is brought to the table.  Choose either method you prefer, turn the lights down low and then make your grand presentation.

To began, the fruitcake must be quite warm for a successful flaming.  Warm the fruitcake in a pressure cooker, as directed above.  Heat 1/4 cup of brandy, cognac or Kirsch in a little saucepan while you unwrap the warm fruitcake and place it on a heated serving plate. When the liquor is hot and just begins to bubble, but not yet boiling, quickly pour it over the top of the fruitcake and light it with a long match.  Long matches and long butane lighters are usually available year-round from stores carrying barbecuing or fireplace gear.  Once you have lit the brandy, speed is of the essence because the flames quickly disappear.  Walk swiftly into the darkened room where clapping, awed gasps and appreciative comments await the arrival of your fruitcake masterpiece.  Cut and serve the fruitcake as soon as the flame goes out.

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MASTER FRUITCAKE MIX

Read the detailed instructions above before making a fruitcake.

1 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoons sugar

12 large eggs, lightly beaten

4 pounds assorted dried fruits of choice, chopped and cut

1/2 cup molasses

2 pounds chopped nuts of choice

1/2 cup candied citrus peel, chopped (see recipe above)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons ground allspice

2/3 cup liquor of choice

In bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the molasses and the eggs, and transfer the ingredients to a large bow.  Using a wooden spoon, mix in the fruit in small batches, blending well after each addition.  Sift the flour and allspice together and add the mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing well between additions. Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans and cover with a buttered lid.  Place the rack in a pressure cooker and use foil Helper Handles to place the fruitcake mold.  Add enough water to cover the lower 1/3 of the mold.  Lock the lid in place.  Bring to 15psi over high heat, immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to stabilize and maintain that pressure.  Cook 80 minutes.  Remove from heat and use the natural release method before opening the lid.  Check for doneness, a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let the fruitcake sat in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before unmolding.  Let the fruitcake cool completely on a wire rack.

Cook's Note:  depending on what size molds or pans are used, this recipe will yield several fruitcakes.  Use two pressure cookers, or cook the fruitcakes one after the other until all the batter is gone.  Use custard cups to cook the last little bit of batter if it's too small an amount for a regular pan.

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