Alaskan Sourdough Fruitcake
Ingredients
1 1/2 C. golden, seedless, and puffed seeded raisins, combined
4 C. white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 C. dried currants
1 tsp. salt
1 C. plus 2 Tbsp. blackberry cordial or other wine
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
1 C. Alaskan sourdough starter
1/2 tsp. mace
6 Tbsp. butter
3 C. candied fruit; green and red cherries, pineapple, orange, citron and ginger
1 C. white sugar
1 C. brown sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
1 C. chopped nuts
2 Tbsp. grated lemon rind
Cooking Instructions
Soak raisins and currants in 1 C. wine overnight. Remove starter from refrigerator and set, tightly covered, in warm place overnight. It should be in at least a two C. container, as it will just about double its volume overnight. In the morning, cream butter with sugar and beat in eggs and lemon rind. Drain wine from raisins into creamed mixture. Stir in starter and 3 C. of the flour sifted with the soda, salt and spices. Sprinkle the remaining 1 C. of flour over the fruit and nuts in a large bowl. Toss and shake until well-coated. Add to batter and mix thoroughly. Turn into loaf pans, which have been generously buttered. Let stand in warm place for 30 minutes. Bake in oven preheated to 300 with a pan of water on floor of oven and rack as near as possible in middle of oven. Bake about 2-1/2 hours for medium-sized loaves watching carefully to see that they do not brown to quickly. Test with toothpick. Remove from oven, turn pans on sides and allow to set for a few minutes before taking from pans. When cold drip 2 Tbls.. of wine over each cake. As soon as it is absorbed, wrap tightly in cellophane freezer paper and store in refrigerator or freezer. They improve with age.
My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalms 42:3)