Recipe - Christmas Fruitcake

A
2 pound Black currants
1 pound Raisins
1 pound Candied cherries; chopped
1 pound Candied pineapple;chopped
One half cup Brandy

B
2 cup Unsalted butter
1 cup Sugar
1 One fourth cup Brown sugar

C
12 Eggs

D
4 cup Selfrising flour

E
One fourth cup Flour
4 pound Walnuts; (before shelling)
2 pound Filberts; (before shelling)

ICING
One half cup Ground almonds
One half cup Icing sugar
1 Egg yolk
One fourth Butter at room temperature
One fourth cup Brandy or rum

Mix together "A" and leave, covered for 24 hours.

Whip together those 3 "B" ingredients with Mixmaster at speed 8. Add 12
eggs, one at a time, at speed 10.

Sift together 4 cups of selfraising flour ( or 4 cups of regular flour
plus 1 One half tbsp of baking powder), then add gradually to eggs, at speed 3
until well mixed.

Place a pan containing hot water at bottom of oven. Preheat oven at 200 F.

Add flour to fruit. Shell walnuts and filberts, then mix well to the whole,
with your own hands. No other tool would do it well enough.

Butter 3 bread containers 9" x 5" x 3", line with wax paper, then butter
the paper. Fill with mix.

Bake cakes for 4 hours at 200 F. Raise temperature to 300 F and bake for 45
minutes longer. Remove cakes from oven and pour over each one a half glass
of brandy. Let cool in pan for One half hour, then unmould over grates until
they reach room temperature. Wrap each cake in brandy soaked cloth, then in
aluminum foil. Each couple of weeks moisten with more brandy. Serve after 1
to 3 months.

ICING FOR CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE:

In Mixer bowl, place almonds and sugar.

With Mixmaster at speed 5 add 1 egg yolk and whip until smooth. Gradually
add butter and brandy at same speed.

Spread over cake.

Posted to BakeryShoppe Digest V1 #444 by Shelley Sparks
ssparks@mailbox.arn.net on Dec 09, 1997