Mother Church’s Spirited Dark Fruitcake

Name: Mother Church’s Spirited Dark Fruitcake
Yield: Makes two 9-x-5-inch loaves; each serves 8 to 10
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 2-3 cups brandy, dark rum or Scotch, as needed; 2½ cups (about 1 pound) golden raisins; 3½ cups (about 1 pound) chopped walnuts; 1 pound pitted prunes, coarsely chopped (about 2⅔ cups); 1 cup chopped crystallized ginger; Pinch salt; 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened; 2¼ cups sugar; 6 large eggs, separated; 2 tablespoons lemon extract; 2 cups all-purpose flour; ½ teaspoon baking powder

Preparation info

Makes two 9-x-5 inch loaves; each serves
8 to 10

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Home Desserts

By Richard Sax

Published 1994

About

This cake may make you rethink fruitcake. It’s dark, very moist and soaked with plenty of spirits. What makes it distinctive is its lavish use of prunes, golden raisins and crystallized ginger instead of the ghoulish red and green stuff.

Mother Church isn’t a religious institution—it’s the Reverend Susan Campbell Church, vicar of the Episcopal Mission in Newport, Oregon, who developed this recipe. If you really want to taste something special, make this cake with prunes from