Tennessee Fruitcake
1/2 pound candied pineapple
1 pound dates
1/4 pound candied citron
1/4 pound candied lemon peel
1/4 pound candied orange peel
1/2 pound currants
1 pound seedless raisins
1/2 pound candied cherries
1/2 pound blanched almonds
1/2 pound pecan halves
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 ounce (1 square) chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup fruit juice or sweet wine
1/2 cup honey
Cube the pineapple and dates. Cut citron, lemon peel and orange peel
into thin strips. Combine pineapple, dates, citron and peel with
currants, raisins, cherries, almonds and pecans.
Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add sifted
ingredients to fruit and nut mixture and blend. Cream together
butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in chocolate,
fruit juice and honey.
Add fruit mixture and blend. (This is a heavy mixture, best mixed
with the hands.) Bake in pans lined with greased brown paper or
foil. This recipe will fill 4 3 3/4x7 1/2x 2-inch pans, 2 4 1/2x8
1/2x2 1/2-inch pans, 2 5x9x2 1/2-inch pans or a 10-inch tube pan.
Bake in slow oven at 250 degrees F., 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours, depending
on the size of the cake. For instance, a 1-pound cake (1 pound, 2
ounces of batter) will take about 2 1/2 hours; a 4-pound cake (4 1/2
pounds of batter) will take about 4 1/2 hours.
Place a shallow pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven. Refill
it if it boils dry. Makes 7 1/2 pounds of cake. |