Emily Dickinson's Black Cake

Ingredients

190 gr sugar
220 gr butter
5 eggs
60 ml molasses
120 gr flour
2 gr baking soda
1/2 nutmeg
1 clove
2 gr mace
3 gr cinnamon
55 gr brandy
325 gr raisins
140 gr currants
5/8 citron

Instructions

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and molasses. Beat well. Add flour, soda, and spices. Add brandy, then raisins, currants, and citron. Pour dough into 2 loaf pans [4 fruitcake pans*] lined with waxed paper and bake 3-4 hrs at 150ºC [60-70 min at 160ºC *]. Place shallow pan of hot water on bottom of oven, but remove for last hr of baking. [Test with toothpick.*] Let loaves cool before removing from pan. [*suggestions of a practiced experimenter (not myself!)] Posted By bhsiung@uhs.bsd.uchicago.edu (Dr. Bob) On rec.food.recipes or rec.food.cooking