Holiday - This is a holiday favorite
This is the best fruitcake ever. For the best results, don't use the glaceed cherries and citron. We use extra dates, dried cherries and we make our own glaceed lemon peel. As long as it adds up to 3 3/4 or 4 cups total of fruit.
Bourbon Pecan Cakes
Bourbon Pecan Cakes
Our Favorite Fruit Cakes (Feb 82 Gourmet)
Fruit mixture:
1 cup chopped glaceŽd cherries
3/4 cups raisins
3/4 cups golden raisins
3/4 cups chopped pitted dates
1/4 cup glaceŽd lemon peel
1/4 cup glaceŽd citron
1 1/2 cups bourbon
Batter:
1 3/4 sticks of butter - unsalted
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 large egg yolks
4 cups cake (or regular) flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder
4 1/3 cups chopped pecans
5 large egg whites - pinch of cream of tartar
Make fruit mixture. Combine cherries, raisins, dates, lemon peel, citron.
Toss fruits with bourbon, cover with plastic wrap at room temperature for 36
hours. Strain mixture Ń keep fruits and liquid separately.
Make batter Ń Cream butter, add sugars, until fluffy, beat in egg yolks one
at a time. Stir in alternately cake flour and reserved liquid beginning and
ending with flour. This will produce a rather dry mixture. You can add a
bit more bourbon if it is really too thick, but the fruit and egg whites
will make it more liquid. Stir in pecans and fruits. Beat egg whites until
soft peaks and fold into batter.
Line 2 1/2 quart and 1 1/4 quart pans with butter then with wax paper. Bake
cakes in slow 275ˇ oven for 1:35 and 2:30 respectively. Let cool for 15
minutes and turn out. Water liberally with bourbon for weeks and weeks.