[mcgill]

Medium Fruit Cake

1 lb. butter
2 c. sugar
10 egg yolks
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1 lemon
1 c. bottled grape juice
1/2 c. molasses
1 lb. currants
1 lb. seedless raisins
1 lb. sultana raisins
2 8-oz. pkg. cut-up mixed peel
2 8-oz. pkg. candied cherries
4 4-oz. pkg. candied pineapple
1 lb. blanched almonds
Grated rind of 1 orange
Grated rind of 1 lemon
5 c. sifted all purpose flour
2 tsps. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. soda
10 egg whites

Grease 2 9x5x3" loaf pans & 1 10" tube pan well. Line bottom and sides of all pans with greased heavy brown paper.

Cream butter. Add sugar gradually and continue creaming until fluffy. Blend in egg yolks and beat thoroughly. Add orange juice, lemon juice, grape juice and molasses. (Mixture will look curdled.)

Combine Fruit, nuts and orange and lemon rind in a large bowl. Sift flour, spices and soda over fruit and blend well so fruit is coated with flour. Add to egg yolk mixture. Beat egg whites stiff and fold in.

Fill each loaf pan about 2/3 full and put remaining mixture into tube pan. Let stand several hrs. or overnight.

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Bake loaves about 2 hrs. and tube cake about 2 hrs. and 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

N.B.: When baking the loaves and cake, place a large casserole dish on the lower rack of the stove to add moisture. If 300 degrees is too hot, cook loaves and cake at 250 - 275 degrees.

Once cake and loaves are cool enough to handle, wrap them in a double layer of cheese cloth and then cover them with a layer of tin foil. To keep cake and loaves moist, put in a piece of orange or apple after the cake has been cut to help preserve moisture.

Store in a cool dry place or in refrigerator wrapped in a second layer of tin foil.

Optional: To keep loaves and cake moist, stick a fork into them in several places on the top of the cake and drizzle light rum, orange juice or grape juice over the top of the cakes and loaves periodically.