Helen's Fruitcake

It's Christmas time and the stores were all out of those little bricks of fruitcake that my husband loves. It made me sad because he really wanted some. I decided that after searching several stores that the best alternative was to make him one myself.

A while ago I purchased a large lot of recipes from an estate sale of a woman named Helen from Burns, Oregon. She had faithfully collected recipes for years. How the family let them slip out of their hands I have know idea but I am glad they slid into mine.  One of the recipes was her version of a fruitcake. It was contained in a sweet letter she wrote to a friend named Gail and her husband (?) Chuck. Truthfully, I made my adaptations on the recipe, but I followed the bones of it.

Here is what I did:

(1) 8 oz. container of green cherries
(1) 8 oz. container of pineapple wedges (candied)
(1) 4 oz. container of diced candied orange peel
(1) 4 oz. container of diced candied lemon peel
(1) 4 oz. container of diced candied citron
(1) 8 oz. package of dried mango
(1) package of Craisins (dried cranberries)
(12) ounces of seedless raisins
(1) 4 oz. of dried cherries
(1) 8 oz. maraschino cherries
Mix all the above in a large bowl with 1/2 cup of flour.

In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together as follows:
(3 1/2) cups of flour
(1) teaspoon of salt
(3/4) teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
(3/4) teaspoon of ginger
(3/4) teaspoon of cinnamon

In separate bowl cream one pound of butter (Helen says use shortening but I used butter, because, well...BUTTER) with (2) cups of sugar.

Separate (6) eggs from their yolks and whites. Beat the egg yolks and add them to the creamed butter and sugar.

In separate bowl (I know, this recipe gets a lot of dishes dirty!) combine the following:
(3/4) cup of honey
(1/4) cup of unsulfured molasses
(1/3) cup of juice (Helen says you can use wine, brandy or grape juice. I used pear juice because it was all that I had)

Alternate adding honey/molasses/juice mixture to the creamed butter/sugar/egg yolks with the sifted dry ingredients until combined. (I did this in my Kitchen-Aid but it was a struggle because it is a large amount of batter)

Once the above is combined, take the leftover egg whites and beat to stiff peaks. Fold in the fruit and the egg whites into the batter. Okay....let's get real right here. It was HARD at this point. I had to go get my 19 year old son to do the stirring. Combining that much fruit (and yes, it looks like TOO much fruit but it's not) is very difficult into that much batter. It takes a very strong arm. I was worried when I started to fold in the egg whites but discovered it was essential as well.

Place into a greased tube pan and bake in a 250 degree oven for a minimum of 2 1/2 hours.

Underneath the fruitcake, keep a pan of hot water for the first 1 1/2 hours of baking time. Be careful taking the hot water out of the oven.

Check the fruitcake with toothpicks to see if it comes out clean. Be patient. It takes time. Depending on your oven it may take longer to bake than mine did (or shorter, start checking for doneness at 2 hours).

Take out of the oven when done, loosen the sides with a butter knife and flip out on to a plate after about 10 minutes.

The verdict? My husband likes it. Even my son, who does not like fruitcake likes it. It's too much candied fruit sweetness for me BUT my men are happy so I am happy!! Thanks Helen!

Heritage....

Sometimes I wonder what has happened to families in America? Very few are actually "americans".  We come from many different countries.  My family, for example, hails from Ireland, Scotland, England and many other countries.  My geneology research has been quite extensive.  Yet, none of our traditions were saved.  There is not one thing that I can point to that we do because we are Irish or Scottish.  We barely have traditions we keep for holidays.

African Americans have Kwanza.  Jewish people have so many things they observe and keep.  What did my my family teach me to keep? There is really nothing I can point to. What have I taught my children to keep? Nothing really.

What traditions shall I embrace? What ways shall I honor my heritage? Is it really important? Do traditions add value to one's life, one's existance?  I am not really sure.

There are things I hold sacred.  These things were imparted to me by my mother and I hope I have imparted them to my children.  They are so important to me that when others do not observe them, I get annoyed.  What are these things?

1.  During the church service, while the pastor is preaching, one should remain seated and quiet, listening to what he is talking about.  This is not the time to get up and go to the bathroom.  My goodness, the service only lasts an hour, bathroom time should wait until after or go before.

2.  During the offertory, it is NOT a time to chat and catch up.  Be reverent.  Be quiet.

3.  During the invitation, this is the most sacred time.  It is time for the Holy Spirit to urge people to accept Jesus.  This is not bathroom time.  This is not time to cut out early so you can get to Red Lobster before everyone else.  Be quiet.  Pray.

These things I have listed are so very sacred to me.  When others do not observe them, I get upset.  My children get sharp reminders from me when they forget, and they seldom do as they have been taught how important these things are to me.

SO....I am not sure what traditions I will keep.  I think 2012 will be a new year and a time to establish new traditions for my family.  I am not sure what they will be yet, but I can assure you that I will share them with you.....