Arkansas Christmas Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried figs, quartered
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 2 cups dark raisins
• 1 1/2 cups dried, pitted fruit (apples, peaches, pears or apricots), chopped
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1 1/2 cups molasses (sorghum preferred)
• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups dried chopped persimmons (chopped dates may be substituted, thank goodness)
• 2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup candied orange peel
• 1/2 cup candied ginger

Directions

Cream butter, adding sorghum slowly until well-blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly. Add bourbon, beating well.

Combine 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend with butter mixture.

Dredge fruits in remaining 1/2 cup flour. Combine fruits with nuts, orange peel and ginger. Stir into other ingredients.

Generously butter two 9×5-inch loaf pans and line each with a double thickness of well-buttered wax paper. Pour batter into pans.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and cover pans securely with aluminum foil. Bake 1 hour more. Remove from oven. Remove from pans when cool. Wrap in bourbon-soaked cloth and store in aluminum foil or close-fitting tin box to ripen at least one week.

Makes 2 cakes.

Source: Southwest Times – Fort Smith, Arkansas