Dark Fruit Cake Recipe from: Kim DeSmoker, Vernon, BC

500g dark thompson raisins
500g golden raisins
45g dried apricots
450g dried pineapple
450g dried papaya
250g cranberries
200g dried cherries
500g pecans (chopped) or use pecan pieces
500g dates (chopped)
500g candied citrus peel
½ cup brandy (to soak the fruit)
4 cups flour
2 cups white sugar
1 lb butter
10 eggs
1 tsp EACH cloves, nutmeg, allspice, salt
1 lemon (juice & rind)
1 orange (juice & rind)
¾ cup grape juice
¼ cup brandy
½ cup molasses

Wash the raisins and dry them well. Chop the fruit and nuts and mix them together, then add the half-cup of brandy and stir well. Allow the mixture of fruit, nuts and brandy to sit overnight. Dredge the fruit and nuts in half the total amount of flour and let stand for at least eight hours.

Preheat the oven to 250ŒÁ and grease four 5í„9 loaf pans well. Line them with waxed paper and grease well again. Cream the sugar and butter, then add eggs and mix well. Add all the remaining ingredients and combine well. Pour the batter over the floured fruit and nut mixture and combine well. Fill the pans no more than three-quarter full. Put a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven. Let the cakes bake for an hour-and-a-half to two hours, or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Take the loaves out of the oven and remove them from the pans. Let the loaves cool on a cake rack until they are cold. Wrap well and refrigerate for up to a month or freeze.

Makes four loaves.

• Raisins – Thompson, Select
• Raisins – Thompson – ORGANIC
• Raisins – Golden, Jumbo
• Papaya Spears – Sweetened, No Sulphur
• Dates – Medjool – ORGANIC
• Dates – Medjool
• Dates – Deglet – ORGANIC
• Dates – Deglet, Pitted – ORGANIC
• Dates – Deglet, Pitted
• Dates – Blonde – ORGANIC
• Apricots – Jumbo
• Apricots – Jumbo – ORGANIC
• Pecans – Raw, Jumbo Halves – ORGANIC
• Pecans – Raw, Pieces
• Pecans – Raw, Pieces – ORGANIC
• Cherries – Bing, Pitted – No Sulphur
• Cherries – Bing, Pitted – ORGANIC
• Cranberries – Sweetened
• Cranberries – Sweetened – ORGANIC
• Cranberries – Juice Sweetened – ORGANIC
• Pineapple Rings – Sweetened
• Pineapple Rings – Natural, No Sulphur
• Pineapple Rings – ORGANIC