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Desserts-Cake: Blue Ribbon Fruit Cake

Source of Recipe

internet


List of Ingredients

MEDIUM SYRUP:
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup Water
1 tablespoon White Corn Syrup

FRUIT CAKE:
1 cup Medium Syrup
1/2 pound Candied Citron
1/2 pound Candied Pineapple
1/2 pound Candied Cherries
2 15 oz pk Raisins
2 pounds Whole Dates
1 medium Orange Juice and Rind
1 medium Lemon Juice and Rind
1 pint Peach Brandy
2 pounds Pecan Meats
4 cups Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
3/4 pound Butter
2 1/4 cups Sugar
1 cup Buttermilk
6 Eggs beaten


Recipe

Medium Syrup: Pour sugar in water and heat to boiling, then simmer for 5 minutes. Add White Corn Syrup and cool. Cake: Slice candied fruits, raisins, dates and pecan meats into match-stick widths about 1/2 inch long. Add medium syrup, peach brandy and juice and ground rinds of orange and lemon to sliced fruits, etc. Place in large vessel to soak at least overnight. Turn mass over with heavy spoon periodically to promote thorough soaking.

Make cake batter with remaining ingredients and blend with soaked mix. Fill brown-paper-lined cake pans 3/4 full with batter. Pat thin film of buttermilk on top of batter to prevent scorching. Place pan of water on bottom of oven. Bake at 250ºF until well-done. (A 1 1/2 lb cake will take about 2 1/2 hours.)

NOTES: This is a *fruit* cake and not a fruited *cake*. There is nearly 8 pounds of fruits, nuts and so forth and the cake batter has only 4 cups of flour. You *MUST* cool this cake to a temperature not higher than 40ºF in order to slice it and, even then, use a serrated-edged knife with a good "sawing" motion to prevent tearing the cake.

The cake should be made near Thanksgiving day and really "ages" well if it is wrapped in a double thickness of cheesecloth. Soak the cheesecloth with peach brandy one night. The next night, turn the cakes upside down to help distribute the brandy. On the second night, turn the cakes right side up again and soak the cheesecloth with some more peach brandy. Keep this routine up until about the 21st of December; after that date, just turn the cakes over nightly.