Brandied Fruit Cake
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. coarsely chopped mixed candied fruit
- 1 lb. raisins
- 1 cup chopped dates
- 1 1/2 cup chopped nuts
- 4 1/4 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup for glaze
- Candied fruit for decoration (optional)
Instructions
Makes one 6-pound cake.. Grease 10 x 4-inch tube pan, line bottom with brown paper. In large bowl, stir together candied fruit, raisins, dates, and nuts. Stir in 1/4 cup of the flour, set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together remaining 4 cups of the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, mace, cloves, and nutmeg, set aside. In a large bowl, stir butter to soften. Add sugar and dark corn syrup, mix well. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in brandy and vanilla. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in fruit mixture. Turn into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil. Bake at 300 degrees for about 3 hours, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Remove from pan, peel off paper. Wrap in plastic wrap, then foil. Store in tightly covered container at least one month. Glaze a day or two before serving. To glaze, bring light corn syrup to boil. Brush over top and sides of cake. Decorate as desired with candied fruit. Note: If desired, occasionally sprinkle cake with brandy during storage.