Butter, sweet (unsalted) 1 lb.
Nuts (Pecans, and/or walnuts, hazel
Eggs, 6
Sugar, 2 cups
Vanilla extract, 2 tsp
Flour, preferably
Candied fruit, mixed, mainly citrus
cake flour, 4 cups
Baking powder, 1 tsp
Raisins, seedless, white, 1 lb.
Rum and/or bourbon, 7 oz
Honey, 1 cup
All ingredients at room
temperature. Cream butter, eggs, and sugar together. Add 3
cups of flour, alternating with the rum. Blend well. Add vanilla
extract and baking powder. Beat 1 minute by hand. Put candied
fruits, nuts, and raisins in separate bowl and add 1 cup flour. Fold
together until each piece of fruit is separate and coated with flour.
Pour batter over fruit and nut mixture. Use hands to fold and mix
together well. Bake at 250 F for 3 hours in a well buttered and floured
Bundt pan. Wait before turning it out of pan until cake is lukewarm.
Glaze: Heat 1 cup honey mixed with 1 oz of rum or bourbon to just
below boil. Spread over all sides and bottom of cake, while the glaze
is hot and cake is still warm. Let glaze dry overnight. Next day:
Wrap cake in several layers of cheese cloth. Place in plastic bag.
Moisten cheesecloth generously with bourbon or rum. (Cake tastes
best if one of these liquors is used for cooking and the other for basting.)
Seal bag tightly. Baste with more liquor as cake ages. As long
as cheesecloth is moist, cake will keep indefinitely in airtight contained
with no refrigeration. (Makes 1 5-lb Bundt cake or two 2 2-1/2 lb
loaf cakes.)