Mom's Old Fashioned Dark Fruitcake

Most of the time, when someone mentions fruitcake, it's a joke.  I have to tell you though, my Mom has made a tradition of baking fruitcake for many years, and I think it's wonderful!  I'm not particularly fond of any of the commercial fruitcake products - they're all too dry or doughy - but Mom's cake is very different.

I believe she made a fruitcake for Christmas the first time in 1960 or 1961. I was about ten years old, and we lived in the unincorporated community of Colesburg, Georgia.  Mom had developed a penchant for baking during the previous year, and continued to try out new recipés as time and money permitted.  This particular one had its origin in a popular homemaker's magazine, although over the years it has evolved into something entirely different.

If you've ever liked fruitcake, you'll love this one, and even if you have some psychosis against it, you should try this one, because it isn't like any fruitcake you've ever had before.  Without further ado, here it is -

Ingredients:

common raisins, seedless, white or dark	½	lb
muscat raisins, seeded¹	½	lb
dates, California pitted	1	lb
candied fruit, assorted, mixed	2	lb
candied red cherries, whole²	½	lb
pecan halves³	½	lb
almonds, whole, unblanched³	½	lb
flour, all-purpose, sifted	2½	cup
common salt	1	tsp
baking soda	½	tsp
cinnamon, ground	1	tsp
allspice, ground	1	tsp
cloves, ground	½	tsp
butter (or margerine)	1	cup
brown sugar (packed)	1¼	cup
egg, medium	5	ea
wine, Concord grape	½	cup
jelly, grape	1	cup

¹substitute seedless common dark raisins if muscats are not available
²Mom often doubles this recipe, and when she does, she frequently substitutes green candied cherries for half of the amount of red cherries specified.
³For a doubled recipe, Mom will substitute walnuts, brazil nuts, and filberts for half of the specified amounts of pecans and almonds.

Directions:

1. Rinse and drain the raisins; 
2. Coarsely chop the dates; 
3. Dice the candied fruits (except the cherries - leave them whole); 
4. Chop or grind the nuts, as desired, and mix all the fruits and nuts together;
5. Prepare loaf pans by lining with 2 thicknesses of oiled brown paper or parchment, and one of waxed paper. 
6. Beat the eggs and stir in the dry ingredients, alternating with wine and jelly, to make the batter; 
7. Mix the batter thoroughly with the prepared fruit and nuts (hands work best for this.); 
8. Fill the prepared pans with the mixture; 
9. Bake in slow oven (300° F) for 2 to 2½ hours, until the toothpick test indicates that the cake is done in the center; 
10. Cool the cake and remove all paper, then re-wrap it in several thicknesses of wine-soaked cheese cloth. 

Refrigerate the wrapped cake in an air-tight container, and check the state of the wrapping cloth frequently, moistening with additional wine as needed.

Notes:  

• This cake freezes well.  We have enjoyed having it with our morning coffee months after having saved it in our deep freezer.
• Mom's first cake was baked in a "biscuit pan" rather than a loaf pan, and it worked pretty well for making a large, single-layer cake.

          - Mariner