Fruitcake
Contributor: Damsel's Heirloom Recipes
Yield: 6 pounds

BATTER
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/8 ts salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp mace
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
6 large eggs
2 tsp lemon extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp sherry
2 1/2 cups flour

FRUIT MIXTURE
1/2 lb candied cherries
1 lb golden raisins
1/2 lb seedless raisins
1/2 lb currants
1/2 lb pecans; chopped
1 lb mixed fruitcake fruit

Combine batter ingredients in the order given, beating in one egg at a time. Pour batter over fruit mixture. Line baking pans with at least two layers of parchment paper. (Instructions at end of post, if needed) Spoon batter into pans, filling no more than 2/3 full. Place shallow pan of water in bottom of 300 degree oven and bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean (1-1/2 hours for 1 pound cake, 2-1/2 to 3 hours for larger cakes) Remove from oven and pour rum over cakes while still hot. When cooled just enough to handle, remove paper from cakes and cool on a wire rack.

When thoroughly cooled, saturate with more rum (optional). Decorate tops with candied fruits, attached to cake with corn syrup.

Examples:
*One-half red cherry in center, with thin wedge-shaped slices of green pineapple on each side (rectangular cakes)

*One-half green cherry in center, with thin wedge-shaped slices of yellow pineapple on each side (rectangular cakes)

*Pecan half in center, with pineapple on each end (rectangular cakes)

*One-half cherry with thin wedge-shaped slices of pineapple forming a starburst around cherry center (round cakes)

Wrap neatly with plastic wrap, using tape to secure wrap at the bottom of each loaf.

Baking containers:

*Any size loaf pan. I like to make tiny, individual-sized cakes for gift-giving.

*Short coffee or sweet potato (yam) cans.

Lining baking pans:

*Cut paper to size. Be sure to allow enough to cover bottom of pan, and up the sides.

*Mark the paper (on the side that will be away from the cake) to the size and shape of the pan bottom.

*For a rectangular pan, cut the paper from the outside corner to the marked corner, and stop there. Do this with all four corners. Place paper into pan, covering bottoms and sides of pan, and wrap excess paper around corners, inside the pan.

*For a round pan, follow the same procedure, but cut the paper from the outside edges to the marked base of pan, cutting several times, in a starburst-type pattern.