Recipes & How-To's
Old Time Molasses Fruitcake

Old Time Molasses Fruitcake

If you grew up eating fruitcake at Christmas, this recipe is bound to conjure up memories. This spicy loaf is packed with raisins, candied cherries and fruit peel. It needs to season for several weeks, so be sure to make your cakes well before the holiday season.

Cook time

2 hrs

Recipe Difficulty

Medium

Yield

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups dark raisins
  • 3 cups golden raisins
  • 1 cup candied cherries or deluxe mixed fruit
  • 1 cup candied mixed peel
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans and line with a double thickness of greased parchment paper.
  2. Combine 1/4 cup flour with raisins, cherries and peel.
  3. Combine 1 1/4 cups with soda, salt and spices.
  4. Cream shortening and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add molasses and vanilla; mix well.
  5. Blend dry ingredients into wet ingredients; fold in fruit mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pans.
  6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 2 hours.
  7. Cool in pans on a rack. Wrap cakes when completely cooled. Allow cakes to season for 4 - 6 weeks.

Nutritional analysis per serving

*Ingredient not included in nutritional analysis.

229 calories, 6.7 g fat, 2.4 g protein, 41.4 g carbohydrate, 1.5 g fibre, 64 mg sodium