Third Generation Christmas Fruit Cake

ingredients

Step 1
3 lb. candied citron
1/2 lb. candied pineapple
1/2 lb. orange peel
1/2 lb. candied lemon peel
1/2 candied green cherries
1 lb. candied red cherries
1 lb. prunes
15-oz. raisins
1 cup whiskey, rum or brandy
1 cup strained honey
Chop candied fruit, cut cherries in half. Cook prunes for 20 minutes in enough water to cover, drain and cool. Remove the pits and cut up fine. Combine all the fruit with whiskey and honey and let stand overnight.
Step 2
1 lb butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
12 eggs
6 1/4 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. mace
1 tsp. ginger
1 cup mashed bananas(3)
4 cups broken pecans

1
Cream butter and sugar. Beat eggs well and add a portion of them to butter mixture. Sift flour, measure, add salt, soda and spices. Sift together. Add some of this to butter mixture. Stir in bananas alternately with the remainder of eggs and flour. Add fruit mixture and broken pecans and mix well. Pour batter into 7“ x 3 1/2” x 2" in loaf pans, buttered and floured generously. Allow 1 inch for batter to rise. Cover tightly with pan top or make a cover with foil and string. Steam for 3 hours on a rack in a deep pan with water filled half way up the side of the loaf pans. When cool, remove from loaf pans and wrap in cheese cloth rung out in brandy, whiskey, rum or something equally vicious. Store in tight container.
2
Step 3
3
A week before you are ready to serve cake, glaze as follows:
4
1 cup combined apricot juice and sieved pulp from 1 1/2 lb. dried apricots 1 1/2 cups sugar. Boil to 240 degrees or until a little sticky. Brush on cakes while glaze is still hot. While wet decorate the cakes with nut meats, candied fruit and blanched almonds. When glaze in dry, lightly wrap in aluminum foil.

Source: Tonda