I know all the stories about Fruitcakes but I had family and friends who were asking when I was going to bake these. I gave them as gifts for about 25 years. My late father-in-law loved it.

I always baked on Thanksgiving weekend, 2-3 batches at once and, some years, 2 baking sessions. If you were one of the ones who received these cakes, you could tell by how big it was how well my world was going. The bigger, the better. There were some years when we were "laid off down at the factory" that they were little more than a couple of servings. Other times, they were full loaf size. A good barometer of the times!

After they cooled, I would pour around a capful of Apricot Brandy over each (according to how big they were), wrap them and put them in the refrigerator until Christmas.

The recipe comes from a much loved and well used recipe book from Pillsbury, "Best Loved Foods of Christmas". I can't find a date in it but I know it is from the '60's, mid to early. I made a few changes that I think helped, like adding more nuts.

I stopped baking these in 1995 when my granddaughter had been born in October and was still in the hospital on Thanksgiving. I spent my weekend with her (got to hold her for the first time because "mama & daddy" weren't there! I have made them only one time since then, on request.

Rich Dark Fruitcake

3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg. fresh ground if possible
1 lb (2 1/2 cups) chopped candied fruit
1/2 cup candied pineapple, cut in thin wedges (I sliced the slices into 2 or 3 rounds, then cut the rounds into 8 wedges
1/2 lb (1 1/4 cup) whole candied cherries (I usually cut these in half)
1 lb (3 cups) raisins (I didn't use the whole amount every year because I don't care for cooked raisins that much. Be your own judge.)
1 1/4 cups (8 oz) dates (buy the ones already chopped because these need to be in pieces.
Nuts (Recipe suggests pecans, almonds, or other nuts. I have used just about every nut but peanuts. I'm not sure why I didn't uses those. Recipe calls for 2 cups. Here is where I did the biggest change and what I think made these fruitcakes so popular. I used about 6 cups. I usually used 3 different nuts and used 2 cups of each, at least.) Most of the time, I used pecans, walnuts, and almonds but if I found a good buy on hazelnuts, etc, they would find their way here.
4 eggs
1 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup liquid - this may be fruit juice (I usually used orange), milk or water
1/4 cup molasses (more or less)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Add the candied fruit, dates and raisins and the nuts. Stir to coat with flour. This is easier if you stir in the fruit first, a little at a time, until it is well coated, then add the nuts. The fruit needs to break up into individual flour coated pieces.

Beat the eggs until foamy. Gradually add the brown sugar, beating until well combined. Blend in the liquid and the molasses until blended. Stir in the butter. This will not combine well but that is ok.

Pour this mixture over the flour/fruit/nut mixture and stir. This is the hardest part. I hope you used a big mixing bowl. I have a stainless steel one that is about the size of an old fashion aluminum dish pan. That is what I always used. Grab a BIG spoon and stir, under the bottom and over, picking up all the flour and being sure everything is moistened. This takes awhile.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. I lined my pans with foil so that the wrapping material would already be around them. If using loaf pans, tear the foil long enough that it will cover the top and fold down, about 3 times the length of the pan. This recipe says it makes 1 - 10" tube pan, 2 - 9x5x3 loaf pans, 4 - 1 lb coffee tins (if there are any of those around these days) OR 6 - #2 cans.

I have a couple of sets of small loaf pans, about 3 or 4X2. I used these when I wanted to make small cakes. Also, remember, if you used the extra nuts and any extra fruit, it will take more pans. If you are making the tube pan to serve on Christmas day, you can skip the foil. Just grease the pan well and line with waxed paper or spray with a baking spray. If you have a tin the right size, you can store the baked cake in that until Christmas.

The instructions say to grease well and line the pans with waxed paper but I think if you aren't using the foil (which doesn't need any greasing), baking spray would be fine. Another alternative to the foil (and I have done this) is to buy the disposable loaf pans and spray them, then leave the cakes in them for gift giving. Wrap in plastic wrap and tie with a bow.

Getting back to the recipe - Fill pans 2/3 to 3/4 full of the mixture. Bake in (slow oven) 275 degrees 2 1/2 to 3 hours. This will depend on what size pans you are using. The small pans may be done in less than 2 hours. They are mostly drying out at this temperature. Cool thoroughly before removing from pans, and, if you are soaking them, pouring the brandy over.

I never got the hang of decorating the tops. I tried arranging the fruit and nuts on top in a pretty pattern on the raw cakes. By the time they were baked, the decorations had disappeared. I tried waiting until they were partially baked and that worked a little better but still wasn't satisfactory on all the cakes.

I read somewhere to use corn syrup and coat the top of the baked cake, add the decoration and coat again. The syrup served as glue to hold the fruit and nuts on and the second coat made them shiny. I never tried it but you may want to. I don't know if the syrup is used full strength or thinned with a little water. The cakes are pretty anyway without any help!