Soft Fruit Cake

Soft Fruit Cake

Tips for making fruit cake

2/3 cup dried apricots

1 cup dried apples

1 cup cooked, slightly sweetened prunes

1 cup seedless raisins

¾ cup shortening

3 eggs, well beaten

2 tablespoons shredded orange peel

½ teaspoon cinnamon

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 ¼ cups flour

¾ cup water

1 cup dried figs

½ cup peanut butter

2 ¼ cups sugar

¾ cup milk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cloves

2 teaspoons vanilla

Wash apricots, cut into small pieces, add ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Cool. Remove particles of cores from apples. Cut apples in small pieces, add ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Cool. Remove pits from prunes and cut into small pieces. Remove stems from figs. Cut into small pieces and add ¼ cup water. Simmer 10 minutes. Cool. Wash raisins in hot water. Drain. Cream shortening with 1 ¾ cups sugar. Add peanut butter and mix thoroughly. Add eggs. Add milk and mix well. Sift flour, measure, and sift with other dry ingredients. Add fruits. Blend carefully. Add flavoring. Pour into large tube pan lined with oiled paper. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Reduce temperature to 250 degrees and continue baking 30 minutes.

As this is a vintage recipe, the dried fruits were different then they are today. You shouldn’t find particles of apple core in your dried apples and you can buy pitless prunes. You also shouldn’t need to wash your dried apricots and the figs shouldn’t have stems on them.

Source: Searchlight Recipe Book, Capper Publications, Inc., 1952

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