Sometime in November, prepare this sumptuous Christmas cake. Easy and interesting to assemble, it will perfume your house with a foretaste of Christmas. This 5-pound cake is big enough to see a large, hospitable family through the Christmas season. Some may even be left for the new year. Far, far better than any cake it is possible to buy, the total cost of its ingredients is surprisingly modest.
Ingredients
4-5 pounds fruit and nuts:
1 pound dark raisins
1 pound white raisins
1/2 pound currants
1/2 pound candied cherries
1/2 pound candied pineapple
1/4 pound candied citron
2 ounces candied orange peel
2 ounces candied lemon peel
1/4 pound blanched whole almonds
1/4 pound whole pecans
1/2 cup Madeira
1/2 cup dark rum
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon each: cinnamon, cloves, mace, and allspice
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup white sugar
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
Put the raisins and currants in a large bowl, add the Madeira and the rum and let stand, covered, overnight. Then add the candied fruits and mix well. Sift the spices and soda with 1-1/2 cups of the flour, combine the remaining flour with the nuts. Add all to the fruits, mixing lightly.
In another large bowl, beat the butter until light and cream in the sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and almond extract. Add the fruit and nut mixture to the batter and stir well. Turn the batter into a well greased tube or spring mold pan. A 10-inch pan will do for this 5-1/2 pound cake, or two smaller cakes may be made. Bake the large cake in an oven preheated to 275 degrees F for 3-1/2 to 4 hours, or until a cake tester inserted near the center of the cake comes out dry. The smaller cakes will take half the time.
Let the cake stand in the pan on a wire rack for half an hour, run a knife around the pan, if a spring mold, loosen it and remove the cake gently to a piece of heavy aluminum foil large enough to enclose it completely. Fold the closing double to seal the cake completely. Once or twice before Christmas, open the foil and pour a little additional rum or wine on the cake.
When ready to use, decorate the top of the cake with a wreath of pecans and maraschino cherries and thin slices of candied fruit.
