Uncle Bill's Christmas Fruitcake With Brandy

Total Time: 6 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 70
• 16 slices red pineapple rings, in syrup
• 16 slices green pineapple rings, in syrup
• 1 lb whole pecans
• 1 lb blanched almond
• 8 ounces whole red maraschino cherries
• 8 ounces whole green maraschino cherries
• 1 lb cut mixed peel
• 1 lb golden seedless raisins
• 25 fluid ounces brandy, of your choice (5th u.s., do not buy expensive brandy)
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
• 1/4 lb butter, softened
• 5 large eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons whole milk, homogenized
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (25 ounce) bottle apricot brandy, for basting

Recipe

• 1 remove pineapple rings from syrup.
• 2 do not use syrup in cake.
• 3 cut both red and green pineapple rings into chunks (about 6 chunks of each ring.) in a large mixing bowl, add red and green pineapple chunks, pecans, almonds, red and green maraschino cherries, mixed peel and raisins and mix well.
• 4 add the entire bottle of brandy and mix well.
• 5 cover the bowl tightly with food film wrap and let stand overnight.
• 6 during this marinate, mix at least two times.
• 7 the next day.
• 8 preheat oven to 275 degrees f.
• 9 sift 3/4 cup of flour over marinated fruit and mix well to coat.
• 10 now sift an additional 1/2 cup flour over fruit and mix well again.
• 11 in a mixing bowl cream butter; set aside.
• 12 in a separate mixing bowl, beat eggs with 2 tablespoons of milk.
• 13 add baking soda and almond extract to the beaten eggs and mix well.
• 14 add remainder of 1 1/2 cups of flour over the fruit and mix well.
• 15 add creamed butter and egg mixture over fruit and mix well.
• 16 add granulated sugar, brown sugar, mace and cinnamon and mix very well.
• 17 prepare 3 bread pans (4" x 8" x 3" deep) with parchment paper (or brown paper.) pour cake mixture equally into each pan to about 3/4" below top of pan.
• 18 the cakes should be between 2" and 2 1/2" in thickness.
• 19 bake in preheated 275 f oven for 4 to 5 hours on the middle rack.
• 20 if top of cake starts to brown too much, cover with aluminum foil and continue baking.
• 21 test cake for doneness with a wooden testing stick.
• 22 if stick comes out dry, the cakes are done.
• 23 remove cakes from oven and let cool in pans.
• 24 when cooled, remove from pans and place on metal racks for about 3 hours.
• 25 remove the brown paper carefully and discard.
• 26 baste the tops of each cake with apricot brandy or if desired with 151 overproof rum.
• 27 wrap each cake in about 4 thicknesses of cheese cloth.
• 28 now wrap each cake with 2 layers of heavy duty aluminum foil.
• 29 store the cakes in a cool place for at least 1 month before using (this is when they are best.) a few days before serving, unwrap the top of the foil and baste the cake through the cheesecloth with brandy or rum.
• 30 re-wrap and let sit for a few days.
• 31 this cake freezes very well.