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["Robert Walton" <waltonrp AT gmail.com>]

I like this thread. Fruitcake is something that lots of people run
from, but this one (and homemade in general) are really good.
Fruitcake is best aged. Once you get done with your Christmas cooking,
make fruitcake for next year in January. I like this Golden Fruitcake
and have made it for years.

Golden Fruitcake

4       cups    flour, sifted, unbleached
1 1/2   teaspoons       baking powder
1/2     teaspoon        salt
2       cups    butter, or regular margarine
2 1/2   cups    sugar
6       large   eggs
1/4     cup     milk
4       cups    nuts
1       cup     dried apricots
1/2     cup     candied pineapple, chopped
1/2     cup     candied cherries, red,chopped
1/2     cup     candied cherries, green, chopped
1       tablespoon      lemon rind, grated
Bottle of rum, whiskey, apricot flavored brandy.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and reserve 1/4 c
of the flour mixture.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using
an electric mixer at medium speed.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, beating well
after each addition.

Combine the nuts, fruit, lemon rind and the 1/4 cup of reserved flour
mixture until all are
very well coated.

Stir into the batter.

Spread the batter in a greased and wax-paper lined 10-inch tube pan.

Bake in a 275 degree F.

(That is correct, 275 degrees F.) oven for 2 hours and 45 minutes or
until done. Adjust time to size of pan, don't over cook, you can
insert a thermometer, it's done at 190 degrees. I like to make 4 small
bread loaf pans.

Cool in the pan for 30 minutes before removing to a wire rack to
completely cool.

Soak cheesecloth, tea towel, old t-shirt rag or some such cloth in
your brandy (any liquor you like will do, I like apricot flavored
brandy), wrap the cakes in the cloth. Wrap the fruitcakes tightly in
foil. Wrap the whole thing up again. Take the cakes out every week for
the next few weeks and resoak the towels in liquor, re-wrap.


These are really good if aged. At least start them at Thanksgiving
time. If you are buying the fruit, the cherries are hard to find
outside of the holiday season. I just found them and pineapple on sale
at my grocery for 1/2 price. That's why its good to make them now for
next year. The more they are aged, the better.

I missed the cherries one year and made them from dried tropical fruit
and soaked in dark rum. You can really be creative with your mix of
fruit, nuts and alcohol.

Rob - Va