BLACK CAKE


1 pound each: dark raisins, currants, pitted prunes and glace cherries
1/2 pound mixed peel
1 quart white rum
1 pound dark brown sugar
1 pound butter
1 pound eggs (one dozen)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pound flour (about 4 cups all-purpose)
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 ounces burt sugar, or substitute 6 ounces of gravy coloring
1 quart tawny port


Place raisins, currants, prunes, cherries and peel in a large plastic or glass bowl. Add 1 cup rum. Put through a meat grinder, using a
medium blade. Mix with remaining rum so that the ground fruit forms a smooth paste. Cover tightly. Let stand at least two weeks. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream dark brown sugar and butter. In a separate bowl combine eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg and whip until foamy.
Combine egg mixture with butter-sugar mixture. Add ground fruits. Mix well. In a separate bowl, mix flour with baking powder. Stir flour mixture into fruit mixture. Add burnt sugar or graving coloring. Batter should be dark brown. Grease and lightly flour 2 10-inch springform pans. Fill with mixture and bake 2 hours or until a tester comes out clean. Take pans out of the oven. Let cool 1 hour, then remove cakes from pans and cool completely. Pour one cup port over the top of each. Let it absorb. After 10 minutes, pour on remaining port. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let cakes age at least a week. Do not refrigerate. Makes 2 cakes.