someone gave us a small one (must weigh a pound even it being
small). i had to cut a slice off to sample it. i couldn't
even see any cake, it's about 95% fruit and nuts 3% air and 2%
a very minor amount of what might be cake.

it must be a very old recipe for that i'm thinking. going to
have to say thank you again (as i already did say thanks this
morning) and tell him how much i enjoyed it. :)

songbird

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 9:39:35 AM UTC-10, songbird wrote:
> someone gave us a small one (must weigh a pound even it being
> small). i had to cut a slice off to sample it. i couldn't
> even see any cake, it's about 95% fruit and nuts 3% air and 2%
> a very minor amount of what might be cake.
>
> it must be a very old recipe for that i'm thinking. going to
> have to say thank you again (as i already did say thanks this
> morning) and tell him how much i enjoyed it. :)
>
>
> songbird

If you thank them profusely, they might give you another one next year. You might like a Costco fruitcake. Some people think it's kind of disgusting. I think it's awesome but can only eat a small slice.

https://www.costcuisine.com/post/costco-kirkland-signature-christmas-fruit-cake-review

dsi1 wrote:
> On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 9:39:35 AM UTC-10, songbird wrote:
>> someone gave us a small one (must weigh a pound even it being
>> small). i had to cut a slice off to sample it. i couldn't
>> even see any cake, it's about 95% fruit and nuts 3% air and 2%
>> a very minor amount of what might be cake.
>>
>> it must be a very old recipe for that i'm thinking. going to
>> have to say thank you again (as i already did say thanks this
>> morning) and tell him how much i enjoyed it. :)
>>
>>
>> songbird
>
> If you thank them profusely, they might give you another one next year. You might like a Costco fruitcake. Some people think it's kind of disgusting. I think it's awesome but can only eat a small slice.
>
> https://www.costcuisine.com/post/costco-kirkland-signature-christmas-fruit-cake-review

not available this season.

songbird

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 11:05:50 AM UTC-10, songbird wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
> > On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 9:39:35 AM UTC-10, songbird wrote:
> >> someone gave us a small one (must weigh a pound even it being
> >> small). i had to cut a slice off to sample it. i couldn't
> >> even see any cake, it's about 95% fruit and nuts 3% air and 2%
> >> a very minor amount of what might be cake.
> >>
> >> it must be a very old recipe for that i'm thinking. going to
> >> have to say thank you again (as i already did say thanks this
> >> morning) and tell him how much i enjoyed it. :)
> >>
> >>
> >> songbird
> >
> > If you thank them profusely, they might give you another one next year. You might like a Costco fruitcake. Some people think it's kind of disgusting. I think it's awesome but can only eat a small slice.
> >
> > https://www.costcuisine.com/post/costco-kirkland-signature-christmas-fruit-cake-review
> not available this season.
>
>
> songbird

That's unfortunate, Christmas just ain't Christmas without me buying at least one for my brother. Sometimes, I even buy one for myself.

On 2022-12-13 2:39 p.m., songbird wrote:
> someone gave us a small one (must weigh a pound even it being
> small). i had to cut a slice off to sample it. i couldn't
> even see any cake, it's about 95% fruit and nuts 3% air and 2%
> a very minor amount of what might be cake.
>
> it must be a very old recipe for that i'm thinking. going to
> have to say thank you again (as i already did say thanks this
> morning) and tell him how much i enjoyed it. :)
>
>

Glad you liked it.A good fruitcake is a wonderful thing. It is a damned
shame to waster good fruitcake on people who don't like it. My friend
dropped by this afternoon and I gave him a fruitcake. I know he has
been looking forward to it for a while, but I never give them out until
they have had a chance to age a bit. He called less than 15 minutes to
say he had tried to resist but ended up cutting two slice, one for him
and one for his wife.... knowing she does eat gluten or dairy, so he had
to eat that one too. He loved it.

On 2022-12-13 2:49 p.m., dsi1 wrote:
> On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 9:39:35 AM UTC-10, songbird wrote:

>> it must be a very old recipe for that i'm thinking. going to have
>> to say thank you again (as i already did say thanks this morning)
>> and tell him how much i enjoyed it. :)
>>
>>
>> songbird
>
> If you thank them profusely, they might give you another one next
> year. You might like a Costco fruitcake. Some people think it's kind
> of disgusting. I think it's awesome but can only eat a small slice.
>

It's true. I give mine only to people who I know like it. There are a
lot of people who really love that stuff and so many that don't. I get a
lot of positive feedback from some of my friends and relatives and hints
that they would like some.

I only make the light fruitcake. I can make that without nuts because I
can't eat them. The dark stuff should have nuts. My compromise is to
buy one chunk of dark from my butcher. A chunk about 4" thick sells for
$12. It sounds like a lot but, given the cost of ingredients, he is not
making much money on it.

On 2022-12-13 4:33 p.m., dsi1 wrote:
> On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 11:05:50 AM UTC-10, songbird wrote:
>> dsi1 wrote:

>>> https://www.costcuisine.com/post/costco-kirkland-signature-christmas-fruit-cake-review
>>
>>>
not available this season.
>>
>>
>> songbird
>
> That's unfortunate, Christmas just ain't Christmas without me buying
> at least one for my brother. Sometimes, I even buy one for myself.

You should learn to make them. My mother and my grandmothers made great
fruitcake. It was an essential Christmas season food. I could never
understand why so many people hated Christmas until I had commercially
made stuff. My gawd the stiff is horrid. My baker makes a darned good
one and I have found a couple other bakeries that make good ones, but if
you get them from a grocery store, a service club or mail order they suck.

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 12:03:10 PM UTC-10, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2022-12-13 4:33 p.m., dsi1 wrote:
> > On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 11:05:50 AM UTC-10, songbird wrote:
> >> dsi1 wrote:
>
> >>> https://www.costcuisine.com/post/costco-kirkland-signature-christmas-fruit-cake-review
> >>
> >>>
> not available this season.
> >>
> >>
> >> songbird
> >
> > That's unfortunate, Christmas just ain't Christmas without me buying
> > at least one for my brother. Sometimes, I even buy one for myself.
> You should learn to make them. My mother and my grandmothers made great
> fruitcake. It was an essential Christmas season food. I could never
> understand why so many people hated Christmas until I had commercially
> made stuff. My gawd the stiff is horrid. My baker makes a darned good
> one and I have found a couple other bakeries that make good ones, but if
> you get them from a grocery store, a service club or mail order they suck..

I can make fruitcake - no problem at all. It's just not something that I care to do. My mom and I made the Christmas fruitcake every year. It was our only special activity that we did. My mom could always count on me to be her little helper. I wonder if she had my little brother help her when I left home... I'll have to ask him.

My auntie was bringing me fruitcake but she didn't this year. She made my mom's recipe for light fruitcake. I thought it tasted pretty good. It was buttery with a moderate amount of fruit. I'm a little disappointed that she had no fruitcake for me this year. I may have to just make some of my own. I can use my mom's recipe but it's going to have more fruit in it and no peel! Well, maybe just a little.

Dave Smith wrote:
....
> It's true. I give mine only to people who I know like it. There are a
> lot of people who really love that stuff and so many that don't. I get a
> lot of positive feedback from some of my friends and relatives and hints
> that they would like some.

:) for the price of ingredients and the time it takes to
make them for sure you don't want to give one to someone who
hates it.

> I only make the light fruitcake. I can make that without nuts because I
> can't eat them. The dark stuff should have nuts. My compromise is to
> buy one chunk of dark from my butcher. A chunk about 4" thick sells for
> $12. It sounds like a lot but, given the cost of ingredients, he is not
> making much money on it.

yeah, the guys up north at the monatstery charge an arm
and a leg for theirs as part of their fund raising. no
idea how they are doing lately since they've lost their
two founders (who i knew the best). i've not been able to
get back up there to visit in recent years so i'm not sure
when i'll be back - it's a long haul from here to there...

songbird

Dave Smith wrote:
....
> Glad you liked it.A good fruitcake is a wonderful thing. It is a damned
> shame to waster good fruitcake on people who don't like it. My friend
> dropped by this afternoon and I gave him a fruitcake. I know he has
> been looking forward to it for a while, but I never give them out until
> they have had a chance to age a bit.

i asked to make sure they didn't have to age it and was
told to eat it when i wanted - not too long after that i
decided to have brunch and dessert... :)

> He called less than 15 minutes to
> say he had tried to resist but ended up cutting two slice, one for him
> and one for his wife.... knowing she does eat gluten or dairy, so he had
> to eat that one too. He loved it.

haha! proper planning there. :) i won't have to share
this with Mom, she hates fruitcake.

songbird

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 3:48:55 PM UTC-6, Dave Smith wrote:
> >
> It's true. I give mine only to people who I know like it. There are a
> lot of people who really love that stuff and so many that don't. I get a
> lot of positive feedback from some of my friends and relatives and hints
> that they would like some.
>
> I only make the light fruitcake.
>
That's all I make, too, but now I just make it in cookie form, and it seems to
go over quite well.

Friday after Thanksgiving I was at my brother's house and our ex-sister-in-law
was there as well. (We've all loved her even though she and my deceased
brother have been divorced for 30+ years). She said she remembered the
light fruitcakes I would make and how much she enjoyed them. I told her I'd
make her fruitcake cookies this year.

On 12/13/2022 17:03, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2022-12-13 4:33 p.m., dsi1 wrote:
>>
>> That's unfortunate, Christmas just ain't Christmas without me buying
>> at least one for my brother. Sometimes, I even buy one for myself.
>
> You should learn to make them. My mother and my grandmothers made great
> fruitcake. It was an essential Christmas season food. I could never
> understand why so many people hated Christmas until I had commercially
> made stuff. My gawd the stiff is horrid. My baker makes a darned good
> one and I have found a couple other bakeries that make good ones, but if
> you get them from a grocery store, a service club or mail order they suck.

Dave, if you don't mind, post your recipe some time. I don't care for
the commercial stuff, but I'd like to try to make it at some point.

On 2022-12-14 9:27 a.m., Michael Trew wrote:
> On 12/13/2022 17:03, Dave Smith wrote:
>>
>> You should learn to make them. My mother and my grandmothers made great
>> fruitcake. It was an essential Christmas season food. I could never
>> understand why so many people hated Christmas until I had commercially
>> made stuff. My gawd the stiff is horrid. My baker makes a darned good
>> one and I have found a couple other bakeries that make good ones, but if
>> you get them from a grocery store, a service club or mail order they
>> suck.
>
> Dave, if you don't mind, post your recipe some time.  I don't care for
> the commercial stuff, but I'd like to try to make it at some point.

Mom’s Fruit Cake

3 cups Seedless white raisins
2 cups red glazed cherries
2 cups green glazed cherries
2 cups candied pineapple
2 cups pitted dates (optional)
1 cup coarsely ground pecans (optional)
5 ½ cups All purpose flour
½ tsp Baking Soda
¾ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. mace
2 cups soft butter
2 cups granulated sugar
8 eggs
½ pint sour cream
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 tsp. Grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp. Lemon juice

- Blend butter and sugar and add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream,
vanilla, lemon juice and granted rind.

- Place the fruits in a large bowl, sift dry ingredients over the fruit
and stir together. Add liquid mixture to the dry and stir to mix thoroughly.

- Line loaf pans with paper and pour batter into pans to a little more
than half way. NB. Recipe makes enough for 6-7 loaf pans.

- Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours.

Allow loaves to cool. Sprinkle a little brandy, rum or sherry over each
loaf, wrap them individually in aluminium foil and let them sit for at
least a few days before eating. If not using them within two weeks
they should be frozen.

On 2022-12-14, Michael Trew <michael.trew@att.net> wrote:
> On 12/13/2022 17:03, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2022-12-13 4:33 p.m., dsi1 wrote:
>>>
>>> That's unfortunate, Christmas just ain't Christmas without me buying
>>> at least one for my brother. Sometimes, I even buy one for myself.
>>
>> You should learn to make them. My mother and my grandmothers made great
>> fruitcake. It was an essential Christmas season food. I could never
>> understand why so many people hated Christmas until I had commercially
>> made stuff. My gawd the stiff is horrid. My baker makes a darned good
>> one and I have found a couple other bakeries that make good ones, but if
>> you get them from a grocery store, a service club or mail order they suck.
>
> Dave, if you don't mind, post your recipe some time. I don't care for
> the commercial stuff, but I'd like to try to make it at some point.

Here's my recipe. First the original as I received it, then the way
in which I modified it to suit my particular taste.

Gretchen's Fruitcake

1 cup raisins
0.5 cup citron, chopped
0.5 cup candied lemon peel, chopped
0.5 cup candied orange peel, chopped
0.5 cup candied pineapple, chopped
1 cup dried, shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.)
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
0.5 teaspoon salt
0.5 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs plus 1 yolk
0.5 cup brandy or rum
2 tablespoons sherry
3 tablespoons orange juice

The dry team:
Combine candied fruit and nuts.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Combine flour mixture with fruit mixture.
The wet team:
Cream butter and sugar.
Beat eggs and add to butter/sugar.
Add booze and orange juice to butter/sugar/eggs.
Add the wet team to the dry team and stir.
Fill some unspecified number of greased loaf pans.
Bake at 250 F for 1.5 hours or until the cake shrinks from the sides
of the pans. Let cool, de-pan, then wrap in brandy- or rum-soaked
muslin, then aluminum foil.

Cindy's Fruit Cake

As above, only with these substitutions:
No candied fruit. Instead:
0.5 cup dried cherries
0.5 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
0.5 cup chopped dried apricots
0.25 cup dried blueberries
(Or any other dried fruit that seems enticing)
Soak the dried fruit in a little hot booze to plump it.
Where brandy, sherry, and orange juice are specified, use bourbon,
rum, or any other congenial spirit of choice.
Use mini-loaf pans and fake the cooking time.

--
Cindy Hamilton

On 2022-12-14, Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>
> - Blend butter and sugar and add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream,
> vanilla, lemon juice and granted rind.

Ooh. Sour cream. That sounds scrumptious.

--
Cindy Hamilton

On 2022-12-14 7:58 a.m., Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2022-12-14 9:27 a.m., Michael Trew wrote:
>> On 12/13/2022 17:03, Dave Smith wrote:
>>>
>>> You should learn to make them. My mother and my grandmothers made great
>>> fruitcake. It was an essential Christmas season food. I could never
>>> understand why so many people hated Christmas until I had commercially
>>> made stuff. My gawd the stiff is horrid. My baker makes a darned good
>>> one and I have found a couple other bakeries that make good ones, but if
>>> you get them from a grocery store, a service club or mail order they
>>> suck.
>>
>> Dave, if you don't mind, post your recipe some time.  I don't care for
>> the commercial stuff, but I'd like to try to make it at some point.
>
>
> Mom’s Fruit Cake
>
> 3 cups Seedless white raisins
> 2 cups red glazed cherries
> 2 cups green glazed cherries

I've been making florentines and substituting cranberries for the glacé
cherries. They look too damned artificial to me, especially the green ones.

Dave Smith wrote:
....
> - Blend butter and sugar and add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream,
> vanilla, lemon juice and granted rind.

grated instead of granted.

only thing i would do different is not chop the pecans. :)

the rest of it sounds good to me. :)

thanks!

songbird

On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 9:58:42 AM UTC-5, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2022-12-14 9:27 a.m., Michael Trew wrote:
> > On 12/13/2022 17:03, Dave Smith wrote:
> >>
> >> You should learn to make them. My mother and my grandmothers made great
> >> fruitcake. It was an essential Christmas season food. I could never
> >> understand why so many people hated Christmas until I had commercially
> >> made stuff. My gawd the stiff is horrid. My baker makes a darned good
> >> one and I have found a couple other bakeries that make good ones, but if
> >> you get them from a grocery store, a service club or mail order they
> >> suck.
> >
> > Dave, if you don't mind, post your recipe some time. I don't care for
> > the commercial stuff, but I'd like to try to make it at some point.
> Mom’s Fruit Cake
>
> 3 cups Seedless white raisins
> 2 cups red glazed cherries
> 2 cups green glazed cherries
> 2 cups candied pineapple
> 2 cups pitted dates (optional)
> 1 cup coarsely ground pecans (optional)
> 5 ½ cups All purpose flour
> ½ tsp Baking Soda
> ¾ tsp. Salt
> ¼ tsp. mace
> 2 cups soft butter
> 2 cups granulated sugar
> 8 eggs
> ½ pint sour cream
> 2 tsp. Vanilla
> 2 tsp. Grated lemon rind
> 3 Tbsp. Lemon juice
>
> - Blend butter and sugar and add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream,
> vanilla, lemon juice and granted rind.
>
> - Place the fruits in a large bowl, sift dry ingredients over the fruit
> and stir together. Add liquid mixture to the dry and stir to mix thoroughly.
>
> - Line loaf pans with paper and pour batter into pans to a little more
> than half way. NB. Recipe makes enough for 6-7 loaf pans.
>
> - Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours.
>
> Allow loaves to cool. Sprinkle a little brandy, rum or sherry over each
> loaf, wrap them individually in aluminium foil and let them sit for at
> least a few days before eating. If not using them within two weeks
> they should be frozen.
With 20 plus cups of ingredients, what does one half tsp of baking soda do?

On 2022-12-14 10:33 a.m., Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On 2022-12-14, Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>>
>> - Blend butter and sugar and add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream,
>> vanilla, lemon juice and granted rind.
>
> Ooh. Sour cream. That sounds scrumptious.
>
That was my mother's addition and why it is Mom's Fruitcake and not Vera
May's Fruitcake.

On 2022-12-14 12:00 p.m., Thomas wrote:
> On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 9:58:42 AM UTC-5, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2022-12-14 9:27 a.m., Michael Trew wrote:
>>> On 12/13/2022 17:03, Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>
>>>> You should learn to make them. My mother and my grandmothers made great
>>>> fruitcake. It was an essential Christmas season food. I could never
>>>> understand why so many people hated Christmas until I had commercially
>>>> made stuff. My gawd the stiff is horrid. My baker makes a darned good
>>>> one and I have found a couple other bakeries that make good ones, but if
>>>> you get them from a grocery store, a service club or mail order they
>>>> suck.
>>>
>>> Dave, if you don't mind, post your recipe some time. I don't care for
>>> the commercial stuff, but I'd like to try to make it at some point.
>> Mom’s Fruit Cake
>>
>> 3 cups Seedless white raisins
>> 2 cups red glazed cherries
>> 2 cups green glazed cherries
>> 2 cups candied pineapple
>> 2 cups pitted dates (optional)
>> 1 cup coarsely ground pecans (optional)
>> 5 ½ cups All purpose flour
>> ½ tsp Baking Soda
>> ¾ tsp. Salt
>> ¼ tsp. mace
>> 2 cups soft butter
>> 2 cups granulated sugar
>> 8 eggs
>> ½ pint sour cream
>> 2 tsp. Vanilla
>> 2 tsp. Grated lemon rind
>> 3 Tbsp. Lemon juice
>>
>> - Blend butter and sugar and add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream,
>> vanilla, lemon juice and granted rind.
>>
>> - Place the fruits in a large bowl, sift dry ingredients over the fruit
>> and stir together. Add liquid mixture to the dry and stir to mix thoroughly.
>>
>> - Line loaf pans with paper and pour batter into pans to a little more
>> than half way. NB. Recipe makes enough for 6-7 loaf pans.
>>
>> - Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours.
>>
>> Allow loaves to cool. Sprinkle a little brandy, rum or sherry over each
>> loaf, wrap them individually in aluminium foil and let them sit for at
>> least a few days before eating. If not using them within two weeks
>> they should be frozen.
> With 20 plus cups of ingredients, what does one half tsp of baking soda do?

I always wondered about that myself. Bear in mind that it is mixed in
and working with the 5 cups of flour, about half of which is tossed
with the fruit to hold the magic colour in, so it is down to less than
three cups. The idea is to get a very rich, dense cake, more like a
pound cake than a regular cake.

On 2022-12-14, Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> On 2022-12-14 12:00 p.m., Thomas wrote:
>> On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 9:58:42 AM UTC-5, Dave Smith wrote:
>>> On 2022-12-14 9:27 a.m., Michael Trew wrote:
>>>> On 12/13/2022 17:03, Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> You should learn to make them. My mother and my grandmothers made great
>>>>> fruitcake. It was an essential Christmas season food. I could never
>>>>> understand why so many people hated Christmas until I had commercially
>>>>> made stuff. My gawd the stiff is horrid. My baker makes a darned good
>>>>> one and I have found a couple other bakeries that make good ones, but if
>>>>> you get them from a grocery store, a service club or mail order they
>>>>> suck.
>>>>
>>>> Dave, if you don't mind, post your recipe some time. I don't care for
>>>> the commercial stuff, but I'd like to try to make it at some point.
>>> Mom’s Fruit Cake
>>>
>>> 3 cups Seedless white raisins
>>> 2 cups red glazed cherries
>>> 2 cups green glazed cherries
>>> 2 cups candied pineapple
>>> 2 cups pitted dates (optional)
>>> 1 cup coarsely ground pecans (optional)
>>> 5 ½ cups All purpose flour
>>> ½ tsp Baking Soda
>>> ¾ tsp. Salt
>>> ¼ tsp. mace
>>> 2 cups soft butter
>>> 2 cups granulated sugar
>>> 8 eggs
>>> ½ pint sour cream
>>> 2 tsp. Vanilla
>>> 2 tsp. Grated lemon rind
>>> 3 Tbsp. Lemon juice
>>>
>>> - Blend butter and sugar and add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream,
>>> vanilla, lemon juice and granted rind.
>>>
>>> - Place the fruits in a large bowl, sift dry ingredients over the fruit
>>> and stir together. Add liquid mixture to the dry and stir to mix thoroughly.
>>>
>>> - Line loaf pans with paper and pour batter into pans to a little more
>>> than half way. NB. Recipe makes enough for 6-7 loaf pans.
>>>
>>> - Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours.
>>>
>>> Allow loaves to cool. Sprinkle a little brandy, rum or sherry over each
>>> loaf, wrap them individually in aluminium foil and let them sit for at
>>> least a few days before eating. If not using them within two weeks
>>> they should be frozen.
>> With 20 plus cups of ingredients, what does one half tsp of baking soda do?
>
> I always wondered about that myself. Bear in mind that it is mixed in
> and working with the 5 cups of flour, about half of which is tossed
> with the fruit to hold the magic colour in, so it is down to less than
> three cups. The idea is to get a very rich, dense cake, more like a
> pound cake than a regular cake.

It adjusts the pH. Perhaps to offset the lemon juice. The
effect of pH in various baked goods is left as an exercise for
the student.

--
Cindy Hamilton

On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 7:00:56 AM UTC-10, Thomas wrote:
> With 20 plus cups of ingredients, what does one half tsp of baking soda do?

It's used as a leavening agent. I suppose you could make the fruitcake without the baking soda, it would probably be a little weird - or would it?

Here's mine for Fruitcake Cookies which is the same recipe for the cake
that would be baked either in a loaf or angel food/Bundt pan.

Recipe makes about 9 dozen

1 cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb. fruitcake mix
4 cups chopped nuts
1 cup raisins
1 tablespoon orange extract
3 cups self-rising flour

Preheat oven to 300°

Beat sugar, butter, and extracts at medium speed with a heavy-duty mixer
until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended. Add flour and
beat until just combined. Stir in fruit cake mix, nuts, and raisins; batter will
be stiff. Drop dough by tablespoons one inch apart onto lightly greased
baking sheets. Bake 18-20 minutes until lightly browned.

On 2022-12-14, dsi1 <dsi123@hawaiiantel.net> wrote:
> On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 7:00:56 AM UTC-10, Thomas wrote:
>> With 20 plus cups of ingredients, what does one half tsp of baking soda do?
>
> It's used as a leavening agent. I suppose you could make the
> fruitcake without the baking soda, it would probably be a little
> weird - or would it?

It probably isn't leavening. As Thomas points out, 1/2 teaspoon
is bupkis.

Baking soda is a readily available acid neutralizer.

--
Cindy Hamilton

On 2022-12-14 5:10 p.m., Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On 2022-12-14, dsi1 <dsi123@hawaiiantel.net> wrote:
>> On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 7:00:56 AM UTC-10, Thomas wrote:
>>> With 20 plus cups of ingredients, what does one half tsp of baking soda do?
>>
>> It's used as a leavening agent. I suppose you could make the
>> fruitcake without the baking soda, it would probably be a little
>> weird - or would it?
>
> It probably isn't leavening. As Thomas points out, 1/2 teaspoon
> is bupkis.
>
> Baking soda is a readily available acid neutralizer.
>

He compared it to the total amount of ingredients. As a leavening agent,
it's only really acting with the flour, so 5 1/2 cups, not 20. But
you're right, it balances the acidity of the fruit. Seems to me it is
pretty much standard to use baking soda when there is fruit or acidic
ingredients in a recipe. This cake has a rich, dense texture so you
don't want a lot of leavening.