Wedding Fruit Cake

One pound of brown sugar. One pound of butter. One pound of flour. Four pounds of raisins. Three pounds of currants. One pound of citron. Ten eggs.

Two cupfuls of molasses. One wine-glassful of brandy. One-half ounce of mace. One-half ounce of cinnamon. One-half ounce of nutmeg. One-half ounce of cloves.

Seed the raisins, and chop them rather coarsely. Wash the currants, scrub off the little steins by vigorously rubbing the currants in a coarse towel, and dry the fruit well before using. Cut the citron in rather small pieces. Sift the flour, put in it all the spice, and sift again to thoroughly mix. Rub the butter and sugar together until they form a light cream. Separate the whites and yolks of the eggs, beat the yolks light, and add them to the butter and sugar ; then add the molasses and the brandy, stirring well after each addition. Sift a little of the flour on the raisins and currants, and stir the rest of it into the mixture, beating until smooth ; then add the fruit, and lastly the beaten whites of the eggs. Line two medium-sized cake tins with well-buttered paper, divide the mixture between them, and bake two hours in a slow oven. This makes a fine wedding-cake, and it will last for years. Keep it in a stone or tin jar in a cool place. Cut in small squares for serving. The cake is very rich, and much at a time is not required.

Plain Fruit-Cake

One cupful of butter.

Two cupfuls of brown sugar.

One cupful of molasses.

Two tea-spoonfuls of cinnamon. Two tea-spoonfuls of cloves. Two tea-spoonfuls of mace.

One cupful of strong coffee. Four and a-half cupfuls of flour. Four eggs. Two tea-spoonfuls of soda.

One nutmeg (grated). Two pounds of raisins. Three-quarters of a pound of citron. Two pounds of currants.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, and add the beaten yolks of the eggs. Heat the coffee, and then stir in the soda. As soon as the latter is dissolved, turn the coffee into the molasses, stir well, and add to the butler and sugar. Sift the spices and the flour together; seed and chop the raisins coarsely; clean the currants, as directed in the preceding recipe ; and cut the citron in small pieces. Sift a little of the flour over the fruit, stir the rest of it into the mixture, and when well beaten, add the fruit. Lastly, add the beaten whites of the eggs. Bake in one large or two medium-sized tins for an hour and a-half in a rather slow oven, first lining the tins with well-buttered paper.

White Fruit Cake

One cupful of butter. Two cupfuls of sugar. Two and a-half cupfuls of flour. Seven eggs (whites only). Two tea-spoonfuls of baking-powder.

One pound of figs. One pound of dates. One pound of almonds. One pound of raisins. Three-quarters of a pound of citron.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream. Chop the fruit rather coarsely, keeping each variety separate from the others while chopping, and afterward mixing all lightly together with the fingers. Sift some of the flour over the fruit, place the powder in the rest of the flour, and sift the flour again to mix thoroughly. Then add the flour to the butter and sugar, stir in the fruit, and lastly add the beaten whites of the eggs. Bake slowly in two medium-sized tins for an hour and a-half. Line the tins with § buttered paper.