Civil War Fruitcake

Dense, heavily spiced fruitcake with lots of evenly distributed dried fruit

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City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1860

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For centuries, heavily fruited cakes were very popular and lasted for months or even years. They were essentially the hardtack of cakes (clack clack).

In the 20th century, the invention of the lighter chiffon cake and growing popularity of other sponge cakes prompted the decline of the fruitcake. The dense texture became rather old-fashioned, and while still popular, it became the butt of many jokes.

My modern palate prefers the texture of those sponge cakes, though the flavor of this is really nice. The fruit and spices really come through (I used a lot of spices in the recipe because I like it that way; feel free to adjust to your taste). It tastes much like a plum pudding, but the texture is very different. Mine was kind of dry, though I didn’t let it age, so maybe that would change things. Many people say to let a fruitcake age for at least a month, adding some brandy or rum every day, which I imagine must make a difference in the dryness of it.

“Common Fruit Cake
Two cups of butter, two of molasses, two of sugar, six eggs, two small teaspoons of soda, a little salt, one pound of raisins chopped and stoned, one of currants, half a pound of citron, flour sufficient to make as stiff as soft gingerbread, spice to taste. Bake in three sheets or loaves.”

— Godey’s Lady’s Book, 1860

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb (225 g) raisins
• 1/2 lb (225 g) currants
• 1/4 lb (113 g) citron
• 3 cups (360 g) flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon mace*
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup (227 g) butter
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1 cup (235 ml) molasses
• 3 eggs
• Brandy or rum, optional

*See notes below.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Grease two standard loaf pans well.
2. Soak the raisins and currants in water for a few minutes. Drain them and toss them and the citron with a bit of the flour.
3. Whisk together the rest of the flour with the salt, soda, and spices.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until it’s nice and fluffy. Add the sugar and cream them together until smooth.
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the molasses until fully incorporated.
6. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing each egg in fully before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl throughout the process.
7. Add a few spoonfuls of the flour mixture and mix it in on low until just incorporated. Continue to mix in a few spoonfuls of flour at a time until all of the flour has been added.
8. Mix the fruit in by hand 1/3 at a time until evenly distributed.
9. Divide the dough evenly between the two prepared loaf pans. They should be one-half to two-thirds full. Smooth the tops. Bake for 2 hours. Start to check for doneness at around 90 minutes by inserting a wooden skewer or toothpick in the center of a loaf. If it comes out clean, then it’s done.
10. When they’re done, remove the cakes from the oven. While they’re still hot, brush them generously with brandy or rum, if you’re using it. You can brush some more on every day until you eat the cake, or for the first few weeks if you’re making them way ahead of time. Fruitcake aficionados say to age them for at least a month or up to a year. I didn't want to wait quite that long to try it, so age it for a long or as short a time as you like.
11. After the cakes have cooled and (optionally) aged, slice and serve them forth.

Notes

• Mace comes from the outside of a nutmeg seed and tastes similar to nutmeg with notes of cinnamon and black pepper. It's used in a lot of historical recipes and is definitely worth getting.
• Link to mace: https://amzn.to/3SMkVJ5

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