Fruit Cake
- 1 minIngredients
- 1/2 pound brown sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2 cups flour (or gluten free 1:1 flour mix)
- 1/2 teaspoon of each: nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1/2 teaspoon hot water
- 1/2 cup full pulp orange juice
- 1/2 pound almonds (or nuts of your choice)
- 1 pound raisins
- 1 pound sultanas
- 1/2 pound currants
- 2 1/2 pounds dried or candied or brandied fruit
Candied fruit may include citron, lemon, orange, pineapple and cherries. Brandied fruit may include dried pears, apples, apricots, cranberries, golden raisins, etc.
Directions
- Grease and flour 6 to 8 loaf pans, depending on size (or use parchment paper to line the bottoms for easy removal).
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Separate the eggs. Mix the brown sugar, 6 egg yolks and molasses together. In a separate bowl, beat the 6 egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- In another bowl, mix 2-3 cups flour with the spices. Combine your fruit with the flour/spice mix.
- In the largest bowl you have (a clean turkey roasting pan works well), slowly add the shortening mixture to the flour/fruit mixture until combined. Gently fold in the egg whites, the baking soda/water mixture and the juice.
- Divide the mixture among the loaf pans. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 275 degrees. Large loaf pans may take 2 1/2 hours to bake. Small loaf pans will be done sooner.
- Watch for the tops to crack (a sign that they are done!), and check periodically with a toothpick.
Baker’s note: Using a combination of 9-inch and 4.5-inch loaf pans, the recipe makes either two large and six small loaves or four large and two small loaves.
