What you need,
For the Fruit Mix,
1 cup dried currents
1 cup mixed candied peel
¾ cup candied pineapple, diced
¾ cup red/green candied cherries, halved
¾ cup raisins
½ cup spiced rum (or regular rum or brandy or bourbon
whatever makes you happy!)
Combine all the dried fruits in a large bowl with a lid.
Pour the spiced rum over the fruits and stir well to coat. Put the lid on the
bowl and let the fruit sit for 24 hours. You can give the bowl a shake a couple
times just to mix it up a bit.
For the Cake Batter,
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. each ground all spice & nutmeg
Pinch of salt
6 tbsp. room temperature butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. strawberry jam (all I had was strawberry rhubarb it
was fine)
1 tbsp. molasses
3 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup pecans, roughly chopped
In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking
soda, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and salt. Stir ¼ cup of the flour mixture
into the fruit mixture.
In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Add the
jam and molasses stir well to combine.
Add the eggs and beat well.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir gently just to
combine.
Add the fruit mixture and the nuts and fold together.
Line 4 mini loaf pans with parchment paper and spray
liberally with non-stick spray.
Heat the oven to 300 degrees.
Divide the dough evenly between the prepared pans and cover
them tightly with tin foil.
Place one oven rack right in the center of the oven and one
on the lowest rack.
Add water to a 9x13 metal baking dish, about halfway up and
place it on the lowest rack.
Place the loaf pans on the middle rack and bake for 50-60 minutes.
Remove the foil from the cakes and test them with a
toothpick. If they are still too moist in the middle, cook in 5 minute intervals
until the tooth pick comes out with moist crumbs only. I think mine took about
an extra 10 minutes uncovered.
Let the cakes cool in the pan until they are cool enough to
turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile you can soak 4 pieces of cheese cloth in about ½ cup
of spiced rum. Make sure the cheese cloth pieces are big enough to wrap your
loaves in.
Once the cakes are totally cool wrap each cake in the rum
soaked cheese cloth and then tightly in 2 layers of tin foil
Stash the cakes in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.
Jen of My Tiny Oven
