Recipe: Mother Church's Spirited Dark Fruitcake

MOTHER CHURCH'S SPIRITED DARK FRUITCAKE
From: Susan Campbell Church, an Episcopal Priest from Newport, OR.
Source: Classic Home Desserts: A Treasury of Heirloom and Contemporary Recipes from Around the World by Richard Sax
Makes 2 (9x5-inch) loaves, each serves 8-10

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided use
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs, separated
2 Tbsp lemon extract
2 1/2 cups (about 1 pound) golden raisins
1 cup crystallized ginger
1 pound pitted prunes, coarsely chopped (about 2 2/3 cups)
3 1/2 cups (about 1 pound) chopped walnuts
Pinch salt
2 to 3 cups brandy, dark rum or Scotch, as needed

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Cut 2 sheets of waxpaper each 9 inches wide and about 12 inches long. Fir each sheet of paper into a 9x5-inch loaf pan, with the ends overhanging the long side of the pan. Butter the wax paper and the short ends of the pans; set aside.

Sift 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the baking powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and lemon extract and blend well. Lower the speed to slow, and gradually beat in the sifted mixture; do not overmix.

Toss the raisins, ginger and prunes with the remaining 1/2 cup flour; fold into the batter along with the walnuts.

In a bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until nearly stiff. Fold a little of the egg whites into the batter; it will be very stiff. Fold into the remainder. Divide the batter between the prepared pans; smooth the tops.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves emerges clean, 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

Unmold the cakes; peel away the wax paper and turn right side up. Cool completely on the racks.

Lay 2 large sheets of foil on a work surface. Cut a piece of cheesecloth large enough to wrap each cake; place each on top of a sheet of foil. Carefully place 1 cake on each piece of cheesecloth.

Baste the top and sides of the cake with 1/3 to 1/2 cup of your choice of liquor, brushing it on and letting it soak in for a few minutes. Brush again twice. Wrap the cakes in the cheesecloth; wrap in the foil. Refrigerate for 1 month to age and ripen, brushing them with more liquor through their cheesecloth about once a week.