Christmas cake, 2005

Recipe and Method
I guess you would call this my recipe as I jiggled about with a
recipe by adding and subtracting several things.

The oven 275.
Lined a 10 inch spring form pan with buttered greaseproof (parchment)

method, every thing was at room temperature.
I beat the sugar, butter and one egg until the sugar had completely
dissolved in to the mix, totally homogenized.
The sugar I used was dark brown coarse sugar.
I used all but 2 cups of fruit

Ingredients.
1 pound glazed cherries, half green and half red, I left them whole
8 ounces mixed peel
2 cups Sunmaid raisins
1 cup white Sunmaid raisins
1 cup Sunmaid currants
1 cup dates chopped small
1 cup walnuts chopped small
1/2 cups dried apricots chopped small
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter I use salted
2 1/2 cups four
6 eggs but I only used 5
3/4 cup brandy
1 teaspoon each Cinnamon, allspice, cloves.
1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Marinate the fruit and walnuts in brandy for at least 4 day's, if
there is brandy left at bottom of bowl when fruit is removed add a
little ground almond to absorb it and stir almonds into fruit mix.

Mix spices with flour.
Cream the butter sugar and one egg as stated above, cream well,
add eggs and flour/spice mix alternately with molasses.
BEWARE the mix does not curdle. maybe as I used 5 eggs will be
enough,if your batter is too soft your fruit will sink.
stir in your fruit, and place the mixture into prepared pan and
lightly even to top of cake.
bake in the preheated oven 3 to 31/2 hours, until cake tester comes
out clean. Do not open the oven door for at least 2 1/2 hours.
I put the remaining 2 cups brandy marinated fruit in with my
mincemeat.