Light Fruit Cake
Start your fruit cakes now, this is a good one, light in color and very moist. Next week we'll make my favorite dark one, rich and delicious. White fruit cake recipe soon, too ...lots of idea for the holidays every week now. Keep listening.
1/4 pound lemon peel, diced
1/4 orange peel, diced
1/2 pound candied cherries, cut in halves
1/4 pound almonds, shredded
1/4 pound pecans, chopped
1/2 pound dates, cut
1/2 pound candied pineapple, cut
1/4 pound citron, diced
1/2 pound white raisins
1 c. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. honey
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 t. allspice
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. cloves
6 T. orange or other juice
5 eggs, well beaten
Combine fruit and nuts, dredge with 1/4 c. of the flour. Cream shortening with sugar, add honey. Stir in eggs, beat until smooth. Add remaining flour sifted with dry ingredients, alternately with fruit juice, blend thoroughly. Pour batter over the floured fruit and mix until all fruit is well covered with batter. Line greased baking pans with 3 layers of waxed paper, allowing 1/2 inch of paper to extend above all sides of the pan. Put patter into pans, filling 3/4 full. Bake in slow oven 250 degrees 3 to 4 hours. Place a flat pan containing 2 cups of water on the bottom shelf of the oven while baking. If you bake cake with the water, you will receive greater volume, a more moist texture and a smooth shiny glaze. Makes about 5 pounds of cake.
Note: Fruit cakes are easy to make and are excellent to serve to unexpected Christmas callers or to give as gifts. Fruit cakes should be baked at least 6 weeks before Christmas, it's not too early to start now before you get in the rush of the holiday season.
Aluminum Foil pans make attractive containers to bake fruit cakes in and to give as gifts.
Homemade Peels are Welcome Gifts
Peel as many grapefruit as you wish to use. (I use two.) It the outer skin of the grapefruit seems hard, grate the surface before peeling, but don't scrape it as if you hated it. Cut the peel into strips. Add enough water to cover it. Boil 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and repeat with fresh water twice (3 times in all). Measure the drained peel, and for each pint of peel add 2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups water and 1/8 t. salt. Cook slowly until syrup is quite heavy. Do not let it overcook or carmelize. When done, remove from heat and for each pint of peel and syrup 1/2 T. unflavored gelatin that has been softened in 2 T. cold water. Stir well to dissolve gelatin. Let peel stand in syrup until thoroughly cool. Drain and roll pieces in sugar. The addition of the gelatin keeps it nice and soft inside. The above quantity makes 100 pieces. It is the crystalized peel to end all peel.
If colored and flavored peels are desired, it may be separated into different utensils and vegetable coloring and flavors added with syrup and cooked.
Candied Orange and Lemon Peels are delightful and very inexpensive confections that use peels which would otherwise be thrown away.
Peel from 3 oranges or 4 lemons
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
Choose clean skinned fruit. Remove peel in quarters, cut in 1/4 inch strips. Cover with water to which 1 t. salt has been added. Bring to boiling point and simmer 30 minutes. Cover with fresh water and repeat until peel is tender (about 15 minutes longer). Lemon peel may need longer boiling. Drain. Bring sugar and water to a boil. Add peel. Simmer until syrup is nearly absorbed. Drain. Roll in sugar. Cut with scissors into strips.
Note: store all peels in tightly covered containers.
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