Recipe: Italian Black Fruitcake

Italian Black Fruitcake
I make this every other year. It makes two and
I wrap them and store them. Then, the next year
I use the first one, and the second year, I use
the second one (that's the best one!) I guess
if you made this now, you could eat it this Christmas,
but, to truly appreciate this, save one for at
least two years.
1/2 lb. raisins
1 lb. golden raisins
1/2 lb. currants
1/2 c. cognac
1/2 lb. each diced candied orange and lemon peel
1 lb. candied cherries, cut in half.
1/2 lb. candied pineapple, chopped
1/4 lb. chopped almonds
1/4 lb. walnuts, chopped
2 c. sifted a.p. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp each nutmeg and mace
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 c. unsalted butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
6 eggs
1/2 cup molasses (not corn syrup)
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 cup. apricot or strawberry preserves
Almond Paste Icing
Royal Icing
Soak raisins and currants in liquor overnight.
Pour off and reserve liquor. Drain fruit on
paper towel. Combine raisings with candied
fruits and nuts and dredge lightly with 1/2 c.
flour. Sift remaining flour with baking soda
and spices. Cream butter with both sugars
until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a
time, beating well between additions. Fold
in preserves and floured fruit.
Turn batter into two tube pans or three 9-inch
loaf pans that are buttered and lined with
buttered brown paper. Press batter down firmly
with your hand. Bake in preheated 275F. oven
for about 4 1/2-5 hours, or until a tester comes
out clean. Cool in pan for 30 minutes, turn out
onto rack, remove paper and cool completely.
Store wrapped in cognac soaked cheesecloth in
an airtight container. Once a month, drizzle
more cognac over the cake. Turn it every other
month when you drizzle to even distribute the
liquor.
For the 2 year cake:
After one year of basting with cognac. Remove
cake from wrappings. Cover with
Almond Paste Icing
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1 c. fine quick-dissolving granulated sugar
2 cups blanced whole almonds, finely ground
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp. lemon juice or rose water
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Sift sugars together and toss with almonds.
Beat egg yolks w. flavorings and stir into
dry ingredients, adding more confectionsers'
sugar if needed to make dough smooth enought
to be kneaded. Add lemon juice if it is
crumbly. Knead until smooth on a board
sprinkled with con. sugar. Roll thinly
between sheeets of waxed paper and cut to
fit cake. Instructions follow royal icing.

Royal Icing
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
3 1/2 -4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tsp glycerin (or use light corn syrup)

Beat egg whites, salt, 3 cups sugar, lemon
juice, and glycerin until mixture stands in
stiff peaks. Add more sugar only if necessary
to make the paste stiff. Spread on cake in
thin layers, letting each dry before adding
the next.
To apply almond paste and royal icings:
Brush the surface of the cake with a little
warm melted jam (apricot). Roll paste as
directed. After placing cut paste on cake,
press into place gently and mold to the cake.
Store for 2 days to dry the icing. The royal
icing should be spread in thin layers, as
described above. Smooth top layer of icing
with warm blade of a spatula and decorate as
desired. These icings, used in combination,
keep the cake sealed and fresh for years.
Store for one more year in a cool place, you
will have a cake that taste like fine cherry
brandy.
Enjoy.