Brew Bakers Cafe

We are a house divided…over a Karo® syrup fruitcake recipe.

Ever seen the reaction when you mention, “”?  The children make a face and beg for “any other dessert” at the mere mention of the word. 

Yet, any cake with fruit as an ingredient is a fruitcake right?  Moreover, they do not realize that they literally devoured a wedding cake made with apples and candied fruit – at their aunt’s wedding – and then went on to eat it many more times, as it became a family favorite.  We will probably add the apple cake recipe to our personal cookbook.

On the other hand, Dad and Grandpa expect a gift of fruitcake during the Christmas season – the old fashioned, dark fruitcake laden with pecans, golden raisins, currants, candied cherries, pineapple, and citron – made even tastier with the generous addition of rum or brandy.

Yes, there are so many variations on the old fashioned fruitcake that we have narrowed them down to those we know will not cause a family revolt.

Here is a very special recipe…one that must have passed muster at home during the late 40′s and early 50′s.  After all, here we are some 60 years later, reading – and preparing – a recipe my mother-in-law kept tucked away in her cookbook along with a few other old company cookbooks, and newspaper inserts from the Philadelphia Enquirer. 

We found the Fall 1939  Sealtest© food advisor, an edition of the Joys of Jell-O© and a used copy of Recipes for Happy Holidays and Goodies for Giving, no doubt an promotional cook booklet distributed by Reynolds Wrap©, Mazola© Corn oil and Karo© syrup.

It includes a recipe for a “Fabulous Fruit Cake” which we are sure everyone will enjoy.  In fact, the editors added a subtitle to the recipe.

Fabulous Fruit Cake (Everyone will want this recipe)

• ¼ pound seedless raisins
• ¼ pound finely cut dates
• ¼ pound finely cut candied citron
• ½ pound finely cut candied cherries and pineapple
• 1 ¼ cups sifted flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon each of allspice, cloves and nutmeg
• 1/3 cup Mazola Corn Oil
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup Karo syrup, Red or Blue label
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

Weigh and prepare the fruit.  Mix and sift the dry ingredients.  Drege the fruit with 1/4 cup of the dry ingredients.

Combine Mazola oil and sugar.  Add the Karo syrup and m ix well.

Add 1/2 cup of the dry ingredients and then beat until smooth.  Add the eggs, beating in well.  Add the orange juice and mix well.

Add the fruit mixture then fold in the remaining ingradients.

Turn into a well greased medium size loaf pan lined with Reynolds Wrap.

Bake in a slow oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 to 5 hours, depending on the size of the cake.

Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven during the baking period.  Remove the water during the last hour of baking.  Cool the cake.

The fruit cake improves with age so you can prepare it well in advance.  Wrap tightly with Reynolds wrap and store in a cool place in a covered decorative tin. 

Makes about 2 1/4 pounds.

Enjoy and expect that “everyone will want this recipe”.

De Ashton lives in Woodbridge, Virginia.  Cooking and baking are long time hobbies.  An avid collector or all things vintage and antique, she enjoys giving old recipes a new twist.  Everything old is new again, including recipes.

Karo®, Reynolds Wrap® and Mazola® are registered trademarks and copyright of their respective owners.