Chocolate Fruitcake

## Book Reference

Sugar Cookie Murder

Preheat oven to 300°F rack in the middle position.

*These cakes pack a punch, especially if you have than one piece.*

If you're planning to give them as Christmas gifts, bake them at least 3 weeks ahead of time, preferably right after Thanksgiving.

### Ingredients

* 3 sticks melted butter *(1 1/2 cups, 3/4 pound)*
* 4 cups white *(granulated)* sugar
* 8 beaten eggs *(just whip them up with a fork)*
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon cardamom *(or 1 teaspoon cinnamon, but cardamom's better)*
* 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
* 1/2 cup molasses
* 1 cup milk *(or light cream)*
* 4 1/2 cups flour *(you don 't have to sift it)*
* 1 cup brandy or rum\*\*\* *(you'll need an additional cup or two for the wrapping)*
	+ \*\*\*If you don't want to use alcohol, use a cup of fruit juice instead of the brandy, do not wrap in cheesecloth and either give the cakes as gifts within a day or two of baking or wrap them tightly in foil and freeze them in freezer bags.
* 1 cup chopped dried apricots *(or any chopped fruit)*
* 2 1/2 cups chopped nuts
* 1 cup chocolate chips
* 1 1/2 cups coconut flakes
* cheesecloth to wrap cakes

### Directions

* Preheat oven to 300°F rack in the middle position.
* Spray 8 baby loaf pans with Pam or other non-stick cooking spray. *(My pans are stamped 5 3/4 x 3 x 2 1/8 on the bottom.)* Line the pans with wax paper by cutting a strip to extend over the width of the pan, leaving "ears" on the side. You don't have to worry about the ends of the pans—they'll be okay unlined. Spray the whole thing again with Pam or other non-stick cooking spray, dump in some flour, and swish it around *(over the wastebasket or sink)* so that the inner surfaces of the wax paper and the pan are dusted with flour. Knock excess flour out.
* Melt butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add the sugar and mix it up. Allow it to cool slightly while you beat the eggs in another bowl.
* When the butter and sugar mixture is no longer hot to the touch, mix in the beaten eggs. Then add baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cardamom, and cocoa, stirring after each addition. Mix in molasses and milk.
* Add the flour cup by cup, stirring after each addition. Then add the cup of brandy and mix some more. Dump in the apricots, nuts, chocolate chips and coconut and stir until everything is thoroughly mixed.
* Fill the baby loaf pans 3/4 full with batter. This batch should make eight or nine mini-cakes.
* Bake at 300°F for 1 hour. Remove from oven, place pans on rack, and let them cool for 10 minutes Gently lift out cakes, put them back on the rack, and allow them to cool for another 10 minutes. Peel off the wax paper and finish cooling.
* Open a window near your work surface. This sounds silly, but you can get pretty light-headed doing the next step, as it involves some powerful fumes.
* Pour a cup of brandy into a bowl. Fold the cheesecloth over so it's double thick and cut lengths that are long enough to wrap around the cakes. Dip lengths of cheesecloth in the brandy, one at a time. Spread the cheesecloth out on a breadboard or on wax paper on your counter, wrap the cake in the cheesecloth, and place it in a gallon freezer bag. *(I put 2 cakes in each bag.)* Seal the bags and store them in the bottom of the refrigerator for 3 weeks, taking them out every week to add more brandy to the cheesecloth. *(I use a small bulb baster so I don't have to unwrap them.)*
* If you give these cakes for Christmas, just take them out of the refrigerator, leave the cloth on, and wrap them in Saran Wrap. Then wrap them again in foil and stick a bow on top. These cakes are wonderful sliced and topped with ice cream!

*NOTE: Cheesecloth has gotten really expensive. If you can't find any on sale, I've substituted one thickness of unbleached muslin from the fabric store. Just wash the muslin in hot water with NO SOAP and dry it in your dryer. Cut it into lengths AFTER washing and drying (it'll shrink in the washer and dryer) and it'll work almost as well as the cheesecloth.*

## Conversion Charts

See Baking Conversion Chart for non-USA baking conversions.