Applesauce Fruitcake

I made this fruitcake for my husband's birthday cake in January. This was not only money-saving (the glace fruit always goes on sale after Christmas) but it helped keep the festivities going well into the New Year.

You Will Need:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup port wine or whiskey
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 lb. raisins
1 cup diced citron
1 cup candied orange peel
1 cup halved glace cherries (I used the green ones because they are less expensive)
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
brandy for brushing

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift dry items together and reserve three tablespoons.

Stir in dry items alternating with alcohol. Stir in the applesauce. Toss the fruit and nuts with reserved flour and add to the mixture.

Spoon carefully into a greased and floured three quart cake-tin. A springform pan works well. I used a tube pan this year and was lucky it did not fall apart-but I do consider that luck, and unless your are very deft with your tube pans, go for the springform.

Bake one and a half hours or until it tests done.

Cool. Before wrapping tightly in waxed paper and cellophane (yes, use both) brush the top and sides with brandy. Do this daily for about a week. The cake is best if permitted to "ripen" for a week to ten days. This process will also help if the cake didn't quite come away from the pan as neatly as you'd have liked. The brushing and tight wrapping practically molds it back together and no one will be any wiser.