Christmas Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound homemade citron
• 1 pound raisins
• 1 pound currants
• 1 teacup firm preserve
• 4 ounces homemade candied peel
• 4 ounces preserved ginger
• 1 cup nutmeats
• 3 oranges
• 3 lemons
• 1/2 pint whiskey
• 1 gill rum
• 1 tumbler cordial
• tart jelly
• 1 pound butter
• 4 cups sugar
• 10 fresh eggs
• 4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon essence
• vanilla or rose water
• sweet cream or boiling water or cordial

Instructions

1. Prepare fruit first. Cut small half a pound of homemade citron drained from syrup; wash and seed one pound raisins; pick, wash and dry one pound currants; mince a teacup of any firm preserve — quince, peach or pear — or use a cupful of preserved cherries whole.
2. Shred fine four ounces of homemade candied peel, also four ounces of preserved ginger, and add a cupful of nutmeats — pecans or English walnuts, or even scalybarks — cutting them in bits.
3. Mix all well together, then pour upon them the strained juice of three oranges, and three lemons, also add the grated yellow peel.
4. Next pour on half a pint of whiskey, a gill of rum, and a tumbler of cordial — peach or blackberry, and homemade if possible.
5. Let stand overnight, in a warm place — the fruit should take up the most part of the liquor. A glass of tart jelly is held an improvement by some; the author leaves it out, preferring the preserves.
6. Cream a full pound of butter with four cups sifted sugar, beat into it one at a time, ten large fresh eggs.
7. After them put in four cups dried and sifted flour, mix smooth.
8. Then put in the fruit, drained from the liquor and lightly dredged with hot, sifted flour. Mix well.
9. Then add the liquor drained from the fruit, along with a tablespoonful of lemon essence, and as much vanilla or rose water.
10. If the batter is too stiff to stir well, thin with either a little sweet cream or boiling water, or cordial.
11. Pour into pans buttered and lined with five thicknesses of buttered paper, set the pans in other pans of hot water inside a warm but not brisk oven, shield the tops with double paper, and let rise half an hour.
12. Increase heat then, but the baking must be slow. Four to five hours is required, according to the size of pans.
13. Keep covered until the last half hour — then the heat may be sensibly increased.
14. Test with straws — when they come out clean, take up, set pans on racks, cover with thick cloth and let cool thoroughly.
15. Frost next day, with either plain or boiled frosting.
16. By baking the cake in rather small square molds, set close in a larger pan, the squares can be cut without waste and frosted to make individual cakes.