Fruit Cake
INGREDIENTS:
2 c All-purpose flour
1 c Sugar
8 oz Butter
6 Eggs; separate out yolks
1/2 c Water
1/2 c Orange juice or any fruit
-juice
1 ts Ground mace
1 ts Ground cinnamon
1 lb Sultana raisins
1 lb Seeded raisins; cut in
-halves
1/2 lb Currants
1/4 lb Conserved cherries; cut in
-pieces
1/2 lb Chopped dates
1/4 lb Any nut meats; chopped in
-bits
1/4 lb Grated citron
Grated rind of 1 orange
1 ts Baking powder
2 c All-purpose flour
1 c Sugar
8 oz Butter
6 Eggs; separate out yolks
1/2 c Water
1/2 c Orange juice or any fruit
-juice
1 ts Ground mace
1 ts Ground cinnamon
1 lb Sultana raisins
1 lb Seeded raisins; cut in
-halves
1/2 lb Currants
1/4 lb Conserved cherries; cut in
-pieces
1/2 lb Chopped dates
1/4 lb Any nut meats; chopped in
-bits
1/4 lb Grated citron
Grated rind of 1 orange
1 ts Baking powder
Sift flour, reserving 1/2 cup. Add baking powder and spices to the 1 1/2 cups of flour and sift again. Beat eggs separately, wash fruit and cut as directed, drying between two towels. The nuts and fruit except Sultanas may be put through the meat chopper using the coarse cutter. Dredge lightly with the 1/2 cup of flour and mix thoroughly.
Cream butter and sugar, add beaten egg yolks, flour and liquid alternately. Now stir in the fruit and nuts and fold in the egg whites which have been beaten dry. The orange rind should be stirred into the fruit juice. Be sure to mix all ingredients thoroughly. Bake in a well greased pan in a moderate oven for three hours.
A perfectly steady heat is essential to success in baking fruit cake. If the cake is steamed for half the time and finished in the oven it is likely to be more moist. Stand pans in vessels containing water. After the cake is cooled thoroughly pour over it 1/2 cup of good brandy which will sink in. Then wrap in "cut-rite" paper and tie firmly and keep closed in tin until ready to use. If it is kept for some time brandy in the same quantity should be added from time to time as this fruit cake must be moist when cut. Use a very sharp knife and cut paper thin.
NOTES : This recipe is from an undated spiral-bound cookbook sold to benefit The Old Peoples' Home, 115 Main Street, Nantucket, Massachusetts. I inherited the cookbook from my 101-year-old aunt. I would guess the book was purchased about 1950 when my aunt visited Nantucket to look up some family history. There are a number of advertisements from local shops, many listing 3-digit telephone numbers.
Cream butter and sugar, add beaten egg yolks, flour and liquid alternately. Now stir in the fruit and nuts and fold in the egg whites which have been beaten dry. The orange rind should be stirred into the fruit juice. Be sure to mix all ingredients thoroughly. Bake in a well greased pan in a moderate oven for three hours.
A perfectly steady heat is essential to success in baking fruit cake. If the cake is steamed for half the time and finished in the oven it is likely to be more moist. Stand pans in vessels containing water. After the cake is cooled thoroughly pour over it 1/2 cup of good brandy which will sink in. Then wrap in "cut-rite" paper and tie firmly and keep closed in tin until ready to use. If it is kept for some time brandy in the same quantity should be added from time to time as this fruit cake must be moist when cut. Use a very sharp knife and cut paper thin.
NOTES : This recipe is from an undated spiral-bound cookbook sold to benefit The Old Peoples' Home, 115 Main Street, Nantucket, Massachusetts. I inherited the cookbook from my 101-year-old aunt. I would guess the book was purchased about 1950 when my aunt visited Nantucket to look up some family history. There are a number of advertisements from local shops, many listing 3-digit telephone numbers.