Black Bourbon Fruitcake

Toni in Colorado's Note:

If you like fruitcake, you will really like this one. A co-worker at my husband's office said this is the best she's ever had. I got it from a magazine back in the 80's and again found it posted on the internet by Cheri Hahn, Rocky River. There were so many fruitcake recipes on Recipezaar I hope this isn't a duplicate.

• Total Time: 3 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 14

Yield: 2.0 loaves

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup butter , at room temperature
• 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar , firmly packed
• 3 eggs , slightly beaten
• ½ cup dark molasses
• ½ cup coffee , black, brewed
• ½ cup bourbon whiskey
• 15 ounces raisins (one box)
• 1 1⁄3; cups red cherries , candied, chopped
• 1 1⁄3; cups green cherries , candied, chopped
• 1 ½ cups citron , chopped
• 1 ½ cups dates , chopped
• ¾ cup orange peel , candied, chopped
• ¾ cup lemon peel , candied, chopped
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 cup currant jelly
• 24 pecans (halved pecans)
• ¼ cup cherry , candied, halved

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray two loaf pans. (The internet recipe specified lining the bottoms of the pans with waxed paper and grease the paper. I did not.) Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, salt and nutmeg onto a piece of waxed paper. Set aside. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, flour mixture, molasses, coffee and bourbon. Fold in raisins, red cherries, green cherries, citron, dates, orange peel, lemon peel and pecan pieces. Divide batter evenly between the two pans. Bake on the center rack of your oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until cake tester inserted comes out clean. Remove cakes from pans to wire rack to cool. For the topping, melt the jelly. Brush with jelly and arrange pecan and cherry halves on tops. Wrap carefully in triple layer of cheesecloth soaked in bourbon. Seal tightly with foil. Refrigerate.
2. Note: I do not have my clipping that I originally used. That's why I went to the internet to find it. The internet recipe calls for different amounts of the candied fruits and the amount of jelly, so you might want to look it up to compare. Also I did not mix in the bourbon when I made it, nor did I soak it with bourbon. It is still good, but be sure to refrigerate.
3. I do not remember how long it took to make this.