MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Mom's Black Fruitcake
Categories: Cakes
Yield: 4 Loaves

2 c Golden raisins
2 c Dried apricot halves
2 c Red candied cherries; whole
1 c Green candied cherries;
-whole
1 c Seedless raisins
1 c Currants
1 c Dates; pitted
3/4 c Candied citron
4 c Pecan halves
2 c Walnuts; chopped
2 ts Ground cinnamon
1 ts Ground allspice
1 ts Ground mace
1/2 ts Ground cloves
1 c Molasses
2 c Rum
1/2 c Orange juice

MMMMM----------------FOR COATING FRUIT THE DAY OF---------------------
1 c All-purpose flour

MMMMM---------------------------BATTER--------------------------------
3 c All-purpose flour
1 tb Baking powder
1 ts Baking soda
1 1/2 ts Salt
1 lb Butter
3 c Dark brown sugar
8 lg Eggs
1 tb Vanilla extract

The day before you make the fruitcake, combine all the fruits, the
nuts and the citrus zests in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle on the
spices, and toss well to mix. Add the molasses, rum, and orange juice
and mix well. Cover and let stand overnight, stirring once or twice.
(The mixture may sit for several days if you wish. Stir it
occasionally and add a little more rum if it has been absorbed.)

The day you make the cakes, preheat the oven to 275°F. Grease four
9x5x3" loaf pans, line the bottoms with waxed paper, grease the
paper, then coat the pans lightly and evenly with flour. Tip the pans
upside down and tap firmly to remove the excess flour.

Sprinkle 1 cup of flour over the fruit mixture and stir well. This
will prevent the fruit from clumping together and/or sinking to the
bottom of the loaves.

Combine 3 cups flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt,
and sift them together onto a piece of waxed paper; set aside. Cream
the butter and the brown sugar and beat well. Add the eggs 2 at a
time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add
the combined dry ingredients and beat until the batter is thoroughly
blended and perfectly smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit mixture
(you might need to do this in a large tub or a clean dish pan if you
have made the full recipe) and mix well until all of the pieces of
fruit are coated with batter-your clean hands are the best tools for
this.

Divide the batter among the prepared loaf pans, filling them within
1/2" of the top.

Bake the cakes for about 2 hours. Each cake will rise just above the
rim of the pan, the top will crack slightly in several places, and
there will be a faint line of shrinkage around the edge of the pan. A
long wooden skewer inserted in the center of a cake should come out
clean, or with just a slight residue of sticky fruit, but no raw
batter. Remove the cakes from the oven and place them on a rack to
cool for about 30 minutes. Turn out of the pans, peel off the waxed
paper, and let cool, top side up, on a rack.

If you wish, pour an additional tb or two of rum over the cakes as
they cool.

Decorate tops with candied fruits, attached to cake with corn syrup.

Examples:

* One-half red cherry in center, with thin wedge-shaped slices of
green pineapple on each side. * One-half green cherry in center, with
thin wedge-shaped slices of yellow pineapple on each side. * Pecan
half in center, with pineapple on each side..

To store:

Wrap each cake first in rum-soaked cheesecloth, then in plastic wrap,
then in foil. The cakes will keep for months. To serve, cut in thin
slices with a long, serrated knife.

Recipe by Fanny Farmer Baking Book (Adaptation)

Recipe FROM: <https://web.archive.org/web/20170328104907/
http://recfoodcooking.org/sigs/Damsel in dis Dress/
Mom's Black Fruitcake.html>

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