Heirloom Fruitcake
By: Helen Pitlick
Published: Friday, December 10, 2010 - 1:02am

Ingredients




2 pounds candied cherries
2 pounds candied pineapple
1/2 pound citron
1/2 pound candied orange peel
1/2 pound candied lemon peel
2 pounds pitted dates
2 pounds golden raisins
1 pound dark raisins
1 pound currants
11 ounces shelled pecans
flour
1 pound butter or margarine
1 pound brown sugar
12 eggs
1 tablespoon Vanilla
juice of one large lemon
juice of one large orange
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups grape juice or wine
light corn syrup
additional fruits & pecans

Preparation

1 Cut fruit into small pieces and chop nuts. Mix fruit and nuts with enough flour to coat well. Cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon and orange juices. Re-sift 4 cups sifted flour with baking powder, soda, nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon. Add alternately with grape juice to egg mixture. 2 Stir in fruit and nut mixture. Grease 2 (9- x 5-inch) loaf pans and 1 3 (10-inch) tube pan. Line with brown paper and grease paper. Turn batter into pans, filling 3/4 full. Bake at 200F. Loaf pans will require about 4 1/2 hours. Tube pan about 6 1/2 hours. About 30 minutes before cake is done, brush light corn syrup over top and decorate with nuts and fruits. 4 Cool in pans. Pour a little additional wine over top of cooled cake, if desired, and wrap and store in cool place 1 month before using.

About


A festive holiday dessert. Pairs well with a warm glass of eggnog.