Hard Times Fruitcake

In company with Poor Man’s Pound Cake and Hard Times Molasses Cake, this emergency recipe gained widespread circulation in the North following the Civil War—emergency in that it makes do with cheap, local ingredients during times of shortage.

The recipe originated in South Carolina about 1862 under the name of Confederate Plum Cake. There are several versions of it. Most of the wartime Confederate versions were made with sorghum syrup instead of molasses and various mixtures of chea