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English Fruit Cake
1 lb. butter 1 lb. light brown sugar 9 eggs 1 lb. flour 2 teaspoons mace 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon soda 2 tablespoons milk 3 lbs. currants 2 lbs. raisins, seeded and finely chopped 1/2 lb. almonds, blanched and shredded 1 lb. citron, thinly sliced and cut in strips Cream the butter, add sugar gradually, and beat thoroughly. Separate yolks from whites of eggs; beat yolks until thick and lemon-colored, whites until stiff and dry, and add to first mixture. Then add milk, fruit, nuts, and flour mixed and sifted with mace, cinnamon, and soda. Put in buttered deep pans, cover with buttered paper, steam three hours, and bake one and one half hours in a slow oven, or bake four hours in a very slow oven. Rich fruit cake is always more satisfactory when done if the cooking is accomplished by steaming. Wedding Cake I 1 lb. butter 1 lb. sugar 12 eggs 1 lb. flour 2 teaspoons cinnamon Nutmeg, Allspice, Mace} 3/4 teaspoon each 1/2 teaspoon clove 3 lbs. raisins seeded and cut in pieces 1 lb. currants 1 lb. citron, thinly sliced and cut in strips 1 lb. figs, finely chopped 1/4 cup brandy 2 tablespoons lemon juice Cream the butter, add sugar gradually, and beat thoroughly. Separate yolks from whites of eggs, beat yolks until thick and lemon-colored, whites until stiff and dry, and add to first mixture. Add flour (excepting one-third cup, which should be reserved to dredge fruit) mixed and sifted with spices, brandy, and lemon juice. Then add fruit, except citron, dredged with reserved flour. Dredge citron with flour and put in layers between cake mixture when putting in the pan. Bake same as English Fruit Cake.
A true British-style keeping cake: roughly four pounds of batter carrying seven and a half pounds of dried fruit, steamed first and then finished in the oven. Plan on two days and read the pan notes before you start.
- The hinge: steam first, bake secondThe batter is so heavily loaded with fruit that dry heat alone scorches the outside before the centre sets. Steaming for three hours sets the crumb gently; the following slow bake only dries and firms the surface. The alternative given (four hours in a very slow oven, no steaming) works but gives a drier cake.
- Oven temperaturesIn cookbooks of this period a slow oven is usually taken as around 300F/150C and a very slow oven around 250-275F/120-135C, though the terms were not standardised. For the steaming stage the water should be at a bare simmer, not a rolling boil, and the pans must sit clear of the water.
- Total quantityThis makes roughly 10 lb of cake. Divide between two 8-inch deep round pans or three loaf pans; a single pan of this volume will not cook through. Line the pans with a double thickness of parchment, not just butter.
- "Buttered paper"Buttered parchment, laid directly on the surface and tied or crimped over the rim, keeps condensation off the cake during steaming. Foil over parchment is more secure in a steamer.
- CurrantsZante currants, the small dried grape, not fresh redcurrants or blackcurrants. Three pounds is a great deal; check them for stems and grit and rinse if they are dusty, then dry them well.
- CitronCandied citron peel, sold in blocks or diced. If you cannot find it, candied orange or lemon peel substitutes without changing the character much, though citron is milder and less perfumed.
- SodaOne teaspoon of baking soda in a pound of flour is a modest lift, and there is nothing acidic here to react with it beyond the brown sugar. It is not a mistake, but the cake is meant to be dense; do not increase it.
- Flouring the fruitThis version does not say to dredge the fruit, though the companion recipe does. Tossing the currants, raisins and citron in a few tablespoons of the measured flour keeps them from sinking into the batter.
- Doneness and keepingA skewer should come out clean and the internal temperature reach about 205F/96C. Cool in the pans, then wrap in parchment and store airtight in a cool place; the flavour improves over two to three weeks, and the cake keeps for months if periodically brushed with spirit.