Olga’s Fruit Cake is the kind of substantial fruitcake that brings to mind the big Christmas tins that used to appear every holiday season. Packed with raisins, dates, figs, citron and nuts, it has many of the familiar ingredients of a traditional dark fruitcake, but with a recipe all its own. One charming bit of old-fashioned shorthand calls for a “small glass of jelly,” without specifying the flavor or exact amount—apparently something Olga and anyone she shared the recipe with would simply have known.
2½ cups white sugar
1½ cups lard
2 cups water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon salt
Small glass of jelly.Boil together for 5 minutes and let cool.
Add to cooled mixture:
4 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon soda dissolved in 4 tablespoons hot water
2 rounding teaspoons baking powder
4½ cups flour (3 cups into mixture & balance into fruits)
1 lb. (3 cups) nuts
1 lb. (2 cups) raisins
1 lb. (2 cups) dates
½ lb. (2 cups) figs
1 lb. (2 cups) citron
Cut (do not grind) and add 1½ cups flour.
Combine with above mixture.
Bake in slow oven 2½ hrs.
250° to 275°