[ladyseville]

Kentucky Bourbon Cake

2 cups Bourbon or Seagram's 7 Crown
1/2 lb golden raisins
1 lb red candied cherries, halved
3 sticks butter
1 lb granulated sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 lb light brown sugar
2 tsp nutmeg (grated)
1 tsp baking powder
5 cups sifted flour
1 lb pecans, chopped
more bourbon to soak cake

Pour 2 cups bourbon or whiskey over raisins & cherries. Soak in covered container 48 hours. Before mixing in cake, drain well, reserve bourbon.

Soften butter at room temperature & cream until light. Add granulated sugar, beat until fluffy.

Beat egg yolks until very light, than add brown sugar. Beat well to dissolve sugar.

In a very large bowl, combine 2 sugar mixtures & blend well.

Mix nutmeg & baking powder with 4-1/2 cups flour. Mix other 1/2 cup flour with nuts. Add flour mixture alternately with bourbon to sugar/butter/egg mixture, mixing well after each addition.

Add soaked fruit, fold in. Then the nuts & fold in.

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter until evenly distributed.

Pour in greased 10" tube pan lined with greased brown grocery bag. Place pan of water in bottom of oven.

Bake 4-5 hrs. at 275°. Watch baking time as ovens vary.

Test with toothpick about 2" from outer edge of cake. May take longer than 5 hrs. Remove from oven.

Allow to cool for 15 min. before turning out.

When almost cool, sponge sides & inside hole heavily with bourbon-saturated cheesecloth. Cover cake with this cloth, then in plastic wrap. Let set overnight & saturate again. Recover with plastic wrap & foil. Store for at least 2 weeks (a month preferred).