Not all fruitcakes are created equal! If you think you don’t like fruitcake, maybe this version will change your mind.
Kentucky Whisky Cake
Items needed:
#1: 5 cups sifted flour
#2: 2 and 1/3 cups white sugar
#3: 1 Cup dark brown sugar
#4: 3/4 pound butter, soft but not melted
#5: 6 eggs, separated
#6: One pint good Kentucky bourbon or Tennessee Whiskey
#7: One pound red candied cherries cut in half
#8: ½ pound chopped dates
#9: ½ pound golden raisins
Note: use more fruit if sampling is contemplated.
#10: 2 teaspoons nutmeg
#11: 1 teaspoon baking powder
#12: One pound pecan halves or pieces (no shells please!)
Process:
Soak #7, #8, #9 in whiskey “overnight”. (Over weeks, if sampling is your thing.)
Cream together butter and sugars, and add BEATEN egg yolks.
Add #10 and #11 to mix and mix well
LIGHTLY flour the nuts but don’t add them yet.
Add rest of flour (#1) to the fruit/whisky mixture, mix together well (by hand) and then add it to the mixture of sugars, butter, and eggs.
Mix well and add floured nuts (#12) next.
Beat egg whites until egg whites are stiff. Fold into mixture.
Bake in a large well greased tube pan. Make sure the bottom is lined with wax paper.
Bake at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 ½ hours. (Time is plus or minus; check with a cake tester periodically to decide if done.)
Remove from the oven, let the pan cool for 20 minutes or more, and then invert the pan over the tray or plate. When done, wrap the cake in bourbon soaked cheesecloth. Wrap the whole thing in disposable plastic wrap.
After several years, this cake will become fossilized and can be used as a circulating Christmas gift. Do not eat the cheesecloth.
(Original recipe from the St. Petersburg Times, 1967)