Fruitcake to End All Fruitcakes

Submitted by LizP5885

"I know....you hate fruitcake. So do I. In 40 years I never tasted a fruitcake that I didn't spit out. Homemade, store bought....GROSS! A friend of mine from an online community shared this recipe with me and swore it wasn't the fruitcake I was used to. I decided to give it a try and it was so delicious that we only gave away 1 of the 4 loaves and kept the rest for ourselves! I make it way ahead of time and keep brushing it with brandy for a few months and rewrapping it and storing it in the fridge. Please try it.....it is delicious."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs 20mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Yields: 4 loaves

ingredients

• 2 cups butter (1 pound)
• 2 1⁄4 cups brown sugar (1 pound)
• 1 cup honey
• 10 eggs
• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1⁄2 cup light cream
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup apricot nectar
• 3 lbs dried apricots, sliced
• 1 1⁄2 lbs dried cherries
• 1 lb seedless golden raisin
• 2 lbs pecans
• 1 cup brandy
• 1⁄2 cup Grand Marnier

directions

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar and honey.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, allspice and cinnamon. Fold HALF of this mixture into the batter.
4. Combine cream, lemon juice, apricot nectar and stir into the batter and mix well.
5. Dredge apricots, cherries, raisins and pecans in the remaining flour and add to the batter and stir to blend.
6. Pour batter into 4 greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans and bake in a very slow oven (250 degrees) for 3 hours or until done. Time can vary greatly based on ovens. Cool in pan before removing.
7. Sprinkle cakes with brandy and Grand Marnier. I use apricot or cherry brandy.
8. Wrap well and refrigerate until Christmas.
9. I unwrap them and brush apricot brandy over them about once every couple of weeks until ready to eat.