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Light Fruit Cake
To Fig Eclair mixture add one-half cup raisins seeded and cut in pieces, two ounces citron thinly sliced and cut in strips, and one-third cup walnut meat cut in pieces. In making mixture, reserve one tablespoon flour to use for dredging fruit.
This is a variation rather than a standalone recipe: it builds on the fig "eclair" batter given elsewhere in the book, which is a creamed butter cake (butter, sugar, egg, milk, flour, baking powder). Find that mixture first, then fold in the fruit as directed here.
- Dredge the fruit, and mean itThe reserved tablespoon of flour is the hinge of the whole thing. Toss the raisins, citron strips and walnuts in it until dry to the touch so they stay suspended instead of sinking into a sludge at the bottom of the pan.
- CitronCandied citron peel (the thick rind of Citrus medica, a citrus fruit; a melon relative is sometimes substituted under the same name), sold in blocks or diced tubs mostly around the winter holidays. Slice it thin, then into strips; if you cannot find it, candied orange or lemon peel behaves similarly, though it is sweeter and more perfumed.
- "Seeded" raisinsRaisins of the period were commonly sold with seeds, which had to be pinched open and cleaned. Modern seedless raisins need only cutting, or you can leave them whole and skip that step.
- Walnut meatSimply shelled walnuts, about 1 1/3 oz for a third of a cup. Toast them lightly if you like, but let them cool before they meet the batter.
- OvenNo temperature is given here or implied by the recipe. A moderate oven, around 325F, is a reasonable modern starting point for a fruited butter cake, a little below what a plain butter cake would take, since sugary fruit browns faster. Bake in a loaf or small tube pan and test with a skewer rather than trusting a set time.
- Lining the panButter the pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment. Fruit-studded batters stick and the long bake makes the edges fragile.
- "Light" means pale, not lowThe name distinguishes it from dark fruit cake made with molasses, brown sugar and spice. There is no spice here and none is wanted; the flavour comes from the figs in the base mixture and the citron.
- Yield and keepingThe recipe gives no yield; the additions turn one batch of the eclair mixture into a modest fruited cake. It cuts better on the second day, once the fruit has settled and the crumb firmed.