COLONIAL FRUITCAKES FOR THE SEASON

 I never made Colonial Fruitcakes last

year and sometimes when I do make

them it is well into December but this

year on the day before Thanksgiving

I got my act together!

I can hardly think of Fruitcake without

remembering Martha Scott who blogged

for years at "Lines From Linderhof".  She 

always made her Dundee cakes early in

November.  She passed away this year and

I know is greatly missed by many.

This fruitcake is from a very old recipe I cut

out of Family Circle Magazine back in

1978.  The Colonial Fruitcake had one

unusual ingredient which was Watermelon

Rind Pickles.  I was thrilled to find some

at our local Hyvee Grocery Store.

I got quite a few cakes from

this recipe:

Pickled watermelon rind was called American citron in the 18th century.  It adds its special flavor to this chock-full-of-fruits cake.  Bake this cake at 300 degrees for 45 - 50 minutes, I used a 8" tube pan, 1 5 1/2" x 7 1/2" tin and 5 of the mini 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 1 1/2" loaf pans.

Here are the ingredients:  2 jars (10 oz. ea) pickled watermelon rind - drained, 1 carton (8 oz.) candied red cherries, 1 carton (8 oz.) candied pineapple, 1 -15 oz, box golden raisins, 2 cups slivered almonds (8 oz.), 2 cups chopped walnuts (8 oz.), 3 cups sifted all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, (reduce to 1 1/2 tsp in high altitude)1 cup (2 sticks) butter, 2 cups sugar, 6 eggs, 1/2 cup of brandy, rum or orange juice. (I uses Bacardi Rum and also I brush it on top after baking and once a week for about a month)

I ended up adding a little more flour this time to my batter and I mixed everything in a large pot.  The tins were buttered and flour coated.