Pecan Cake

A dark fruitcake that leans on pecans rather than citron and glace cherries, with grape juice standing in for the brandy or wine of older formulas. The instructions assume you already know the fruitcake method, so that is worth spelling out.

• "Combine as for regular fruit cake"Cream the shortening and sugar, beat in the eggs one at a time, then the molasses and grape juice. Whisk the nutmeg and baking powder through the flour, toss a few spoonfuls of that flour with the raisins, pecans and orange peel to keep them suspended, then fold the remaining flour into the batter and the fruit and nuts in last. The batter should be stiff enough to hold the fruit rather than let it sink.
• Pastry flourSofter and lower in protein than all-purpose. If you have none, all-purpose will do; mix only until combined. Replacing a tablespoon or two per cup with cornstarch softens it, though that approximates cake flour, which is lighter still than pastry flour.
• ShorteningMost likely vegetable shortening or lard here, though in books of this period the word was often used loosely enough to include butter. Butter works and tastes better, but it browns faster; watch the edges over three hours.
• The oven is genuinely low275F is correct and should not be raised. A four-pound cake this dense needs slow, even heat all the way to the centre, and a hotter oven will set and darken the outside long before the middle is done.
• Greased and paperedLine the pan, bottom and sides, with parchment cut to fit and greased. At three hours the paper is what keeps the sugar and molasses from scorching against the metal. A pan of water on the oven floor helps keep the crumb from drying.
• Pan sizeNo pan is specified. Four pounds is more than a single 9x5-inch loaf pan will hold at three-quarters full, so expect to divide it between two loaf pans, or use a 9-inch tube pan. Smaller loaves will be done sooner -- check well before the three hours are up.
• DonenessA skewer in the centre should come out clean of batter, though it will pick up melted sugar from the fruit. The cake should feel firm and pull very slightly from the paper. Cool completely in the pan before unwrapping.
• Grape juiceUnsweetened purple grape juice, not a sweetened cocktail; the cake already carries a cup of sugar and a quarter cup of molasses.
• KeepingWrap in parchment and then foil and hold at least a week before cutting. Without spirits it will not keep for months the way a brandied fruitcake does; a few weeks in a cool place is the practical limit, or freeze it.