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Old Time Dark Fruitcake Recipe

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This recipe for Old Time Dark Fruitcake is from Moulder, McMillan and Bowen Cookbook, one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com. We'll help you start your own personal cookbook! It's easy and fun. Click here to start your own cookbook!
Category:
Category:
Ingredients:  
Ingredients:  
1 cup prunes
1 cup dried apricots
2 cups seedless raisins (golden and dark mixed)
1 cup currants
1 cup dried figs
1 ½ cups dates
2 ½ cups citron
1 ½ cups candied pineapple chunks
1 ½ cups candied cherries halved
1 cup dried orange peel
1 cup dried lemon peel
1 ½ cups slivered almonds
1 cup pecan quarters
3 cups flour
2 tsp allspice
2 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp mace
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup soft shortening
1 ½ cups brown sugar
6 eggs
½ cup molasses
2/3 cup strawberry jam
Directions:
Directions:
Oven 275 degrees.

Cut prunes, apricots, figs, dates before measuring. Mix all fruit and nuts together, coat with one cup of the flour. Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs and spices and beat well. Add flour, molasses and jam alternating with remaining flour and mix until smooth. Pour batter over fruit mixture and mix well. Place a small shallow pan of water on the bottom of the oven. Line cake pans with parchment paper. Bake cakes for about 3 hours, or more depending on the size of your pans. Test for doneness with a wooden toothpick or skewer.

After cooling, wrap in cheesecloth, sprinkle with rum and set aside in a tightly tied plastic bag. Sprinkle more rum on the cheesecloth every few weeks up until Christmas. Trudi and I usually make these in late October or early November so they have lots of time to soak up that rum.

This is a large batch cake and you will need something large, like a roasting pan, to mix the fruit. Loaf pans work well for baking.

My mother’s recipe card notes that the fruit cost her $5.40 in 1959. Well, it cost us closer to $75 in 2017, and that’s with seniors’ discount at the Bulk Barn!

 

 

 

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