Holiday Cake

| United States | Cake

This is from an old recipe book of my mother's. There's a little note on the page: "fruitcake - only better." This recipe makes three loaves. It's tricky to get right but it's well worth the time and effort. We usually make it around Christmastime.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240ml) pitted dates
• 2 cups (480ml) maraschino cherries
• 1/2 cup (120ml) cherry juice
• 1 cup (240ml) butter
• 3 cups (720ml) brown sugar
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup (240ml) milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups (830ml) flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 cups (600ml) chopped nuts

Procedure

Day 1

1. Cut dates and cherries into small pieces and soak them in 1/2 cup (120ml) of cherry juice overnight.

Day 2

1. Preheat oven to 250°F (120c).
2. Cream butter, add half of the sugar. Beat until fluffy.
3. In another bowl beat egg yolks until thick. Add remaining sugar.
4. Combine the two mixtures and beat.
5. Sift and measure flour, then add and sift together salt, baking powder, and spices.
6. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to wet mixture, beating well after each addition.
7. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.
8. Add in fruit and nuts dredged lightly with flour.
9. Bake in lined loaf pans and in slow oven for 2 hours.