Makes 8 medium-sized fruitcakes.
Make these before Thanksgiving Day if you want to eat them at Christmas—they need aging to develop proper flavor.
• 1 lb. dried apricots, cut in small pieces
• 12 oz. pitted prunes, cut in small pieces
• 8 oz. pitted dates, cut in small pieces
• 1 lb. currants
• 12 oz. golden raisins
• 12 oz. candied citron
• 4 oz. candied lemon peel
• 4 oz. candied orange peel
• 8 oz. shelled pecans or filberts, or a mixture, chopped
• 1½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1½ cups white flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2½ cups honey
• 1 cup butter, melted
• ½ cup dark rum
• 2 tsp. ginger
• 2½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground cardamom
• ¾ cup ground sweet chocolate or powdered cocoa
• 6 eggs
• ⅔ cup currant jelly
• brandy or rum
1. In a large bowl mix all the chopped fruit, currants, raisins, candied peel, and nuts. Sift together the two flours and the baking soda and sprinkle this over the fruit. Toss the mixture until all the bits of fruit are separate and coated with flour.
2. In another bowl, combine the honey, melted butter, rum, spices, and chocolate. Beat together the eggs and the currant jelly until the mixture is thick and foamy, and then beat it into the honey mixture. Pour this over the floured fruit and stir with a large wooden spoon until the batter is smooth and homogeneous.
3. Butter 8 medium-small (7½ by 3½ inch) loaf pans or a smaller number of large pans, line them with waxed paper, and butter the paper. Divide the batter among the pans and smooth it down with a wet spoon. Bake the cakes in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 2 to 2½ hours, depending on their size. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean and dry.
4. Allow the cakes to cool, remove them from the pans, and peel off the paper. Wrap each cake in several layers of cheesecloth and soak the cloth with brandy or rum, then wrap them securely in plastic wrap or foil to keep the moisture in. Put the cakes away in a cool, dry place to age for about 1 month.
5. The amount will vary—from a pint to a quart or more, depending on your taste and the number of soakings you want to give the cakes as they age.
