The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-11-19
Fruit Cakes for the Holidavs

Fruit Cakes for the Holidays
To women, time is kind. A woman, SAYS
an English essayist. can never attain real
charm until she is forty before forty she
may be pretty or vivaciOuS or cute, but
1t is only living and experience which can
so ripen and mellow her personality as to
give her fascination more potent than the
rouged cheeks or bright eyes of the cutest
flapper.
And time is kind to viOlins. to old Wines.
TO pipes and to fruit cakes. Thinking how
time constructs instead Of destroys invites
me to further philOSOphize, but the editor
does not want philosophers. I can only slip
them in on the side when l am telling you
about good things to eat.
1t is time to make your holiday fruit
cakes now If they are to ripen sufficiently
for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Indeed.
age does improve them and the earlier
your fruit cakes are made the finer and
more mellow. their flavor. The making Of
the Thanksgiving fruit cake should be a
family affair. An old southern custom is
that everyone should have a stir Of the
cake batter for good luck and so the old
black cook takes the big cake bowl around
to each member of the family: but / think
1t would be ever so much better luck not
only to stir the cake but to help shell the
nuts and slice the citrOn and chop up the
fruit. Mother can pass these jobs around
and the boys and girls will really have
helped.
The foundation of many of our fruit
cakes is a pound cake recipe which calls
80 - Jun VI Ga|n VI LMC AASACuAEmLH duA
was popular in our GrandmOther's day.
The recipe given below is for a dark fruit
cake and / am giving half measurements
so you may double the recipe If you wish
to make more:
Thanksgiving Fruit Cale
u Id. butter; - Id. brown sugar;
y ID. Rex Flour q cups) u lb. citron;
y ID. Rex flour q cups); y lb. citron
/ ID. r%aisins; 1 lb. currants; Y lb. almonds;
o eggs; 1 tsp. cinnamon; 1 tsp. mace; u
tsp. nutmeg; u tsp. allspice; "A tsp.
cloves; "A cup fruit juice or wine or vine
gar; 1 tsp. salt.
Shave and chop heated citrOn. Chop
%raisins, blanch and cut almonds. Mix all
these together and dust with flour. Mix
and sift remainder Of flour with salt and
spices. Cream butter and add sugar gradu-
ally. Add egg yOlks well beaten. Add dry
ingredients and fruit juice. Stir in fruit
and nuts. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg
whites. Have pans creased and lined with
three layers of oiled paper. Spread cake
hours in moderate oven. This makes 4 to 5
pounds Of cake or 2 bread loaf pans full.
translate the pounds: u pound brown
Is 1 l3 cups; y pound Rex flour
with the cooks multiplication table, I viii
is 2 cups; u pound citrOn is 2'cups.
For the liquid any kind of fruit Juice
may be used: grape, oranges, lemon, cider
or vinegar. The vinegar is not too sour and
dOei give a delicious flavor.
English walnuts or hickory nuts may be
substituted Tor the dlmOnQS. II clCrOE rs
not purchased already sliced. to warm
it uD a little will make It more easily
handled. The ans are lined with oil paper
so that the cake can be turned out easily,
and also so that it win not form a dry
crust from the long baking.
Since this mixture is heavy ard full Of
fruit and since there is no baking powder
in e, It requires very slow baking. If
small tins are used, It win not be neces-
sary to bake 1t the full two hours, but
leave it in the oven a little longer than
you think 1t needs so as to be certain Il
/ sthOroughly lone. The top of the cake
may be decorated with red and green
cherries and almonds to give a very gay
appearance.
If you are rather puzzled what to give
your city friends for a Christmas present
and those people who are able to get for
themselves everything they need, a fruit
cake will solve the Christmas present prob.
lem. The white fruit cake, which recipe
Is given below, has been a f~avOrite one fol
a Christmas present also many wOmeT
lhave baked a good many pounds Of It <
sell during the Holidays and to bring II
a little Christmas money:
Agnes Choice White Frat Cake
I ID. sugar.; y ID. butter; i cup water
I ID. Rex flour "a cups sifted) 2 tsp. bak
ing powder; ~ tsp. salt i ID. seeded
white ~raisinss 4 Id. blanched almonds. 3
llb. citron; y 10. red cherries; 4 largl
lcocoaia ut grated; "a ID. cryskallized pine