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Moist Christmas Fruit Cake

Recipe Introduction


And you thought you didn't like fruitcake.





List of Ingredients



• 3/4 cup maraschino cherries, undrained
  
• 1 (16 ounce) jar ready-to-serve prunes in heavy syrup, undrained
  
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 3/4 cups vegetable shortening (I use butter flavor Crisco)
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 3 tablespoons whiskey or apple juice
  
• 1 (15 1/2 ounce) canned crushed pineapple in it’s own juice, undrained
  
• 1 (15 ounce) box of raisins (about 2 1/2 cups
  
• 4 cups all purpose flour
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  






Instructions



1. Preheat oven to 350 F
   
   
2. Drain cherries, reserving 3 tablespoons juice, cut cherries in half, set aside
   
   
3. Drain prunes, reserving 3 tablespoons syrup; pit prunes, set aside.
   
   
4. Cream sugar and shortening, add eggs, one at a time, mixing well.
   
   
5. With mixer on medium speed, mix for two minutes or until smooth
   
   
6. Stir in cherries, reserved cherry juice, prunes, reserved prune syrup, walnuts, whiskey, pineapple with syrup, and raisins
   
   
7. Combine flour with cinnamon, soda and ground cloves. Stir well with a whisk, or sift together.
   
   
8. Add to cream mixture and stir well.
   
   
9. Spoon batter into 10 inch tube pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester, inserted in center comes out clean.
   
   
10. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack, remove from pan, and cool completely
    
    
11. Store tightly wrapped in heavy duty plastic wrap.
    
    
12. *** One (8-ounce) package of bite-size prunes can be substituted for the ready to serve prunes. To stew prunes, cook for 10 minutes in water, cool and procede as above.
    
    






Final Comments


**Can be baked in loaf pans. Makes 20 mini loaves, (4x2 1/2 inches) or 8 (5 1/2) inch pans. Bake minis for 30 minutes and others for 50 minutes.
****These freeze very well.