Dark Fruitcake, 1846

This is a recipe that has been handed down many generation in my hubby's family.  According to my husband 's Aunt Kay, the recipe was brought to Canada from Ireland in 1846.   Not sure how many modification there would have been over the years as not sure how available the spices would have been or the vanilla extract.  The mixed peel would have been made as I did this year.  

My husband and I both spent an enjoyable time putting this cake together that had so many memories for both of us! 

These were my notes that I made the first time I made this recipe with great success.  I love this cake as my Grandmother also made a similar cake for Christmas and covered it in Marzipan, decorating with almond half to form a flower.  As a young child, I loved the look of this cake, the dark cake covered in the white marzipan.  I made a similar cake for my daughter's wedding dessert table. 

The fruit and peel were marinated in Appleton Estate Rum for 3 days, something that Aunt Kay would not have done.  

Setting out all the ingredients in the recipe makes it easier and quicker to make the cake.

The richness in colour is due to the very dark raisins, seedless and regular and the dark molasses.  The seedless raisins were very plump and twice the size of the Thompson Raisins 

A step that must always be done in making a fruitcake is to dust completely the raisins or fruit in some of  the flour before mixing up the cake  This prevents the fruit from settling and stay mixed in the batter.

I did use the 4 pounds of raisins but only 1/4 pound of mixed peel.  Since I used two small Wilton springform pans, I was not sure how many other pans I needed to prepare.  The pans were greased and lined with parchment before stating the cake.

The cakes, wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, were all steamed in pots over a rack at a medium boil.  Keep an eye on the water level. 
The cakes were then baked at a low temperature- 325F

Brandy was poured over the hot cakes that had been first poked with a fork and left to cool before taking out of the pans, then left to completely cool before wrapping.

When the cakes are fully cool, wrap in muslin or wax paper and then in aluminum foil. The cakes were stored in tin cans and refrigerator to age. The cakes will be checked as they age.