KENTUCKY PECAN CAKE
2 cups Bourbon or Seagram's 7 Crown
1/2 lb. golden raisins
1 lb. red candied cherries, halved
3 sticks butter
1 lb. granulated sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 lb. light brown sugar
2 tsp. nutmeg (grated)
1 tsp. baking powder
5 cups sifted flour
1 lb. pecans, chopped
more bourbon to soak cake
1. Pour 2 cups bourbon or whiskey over raisins and cherries.
Soak in covered container 48 hrs. Before mixing in cake, drain
well and reserve bourbon.
2. Soften butter at room temperature and cream until light. Add
granulated sugar and beat until fluffy.
3. Beat egg yolks until very light, than add brown sugar and beat
well to dissolve sugar.
4. In a very large bowl, combine 2 sugar mixtures and blend well.
5. Mix nutmeg and baking powder with 4-1/2 cups flour. Mix other
1/2 cup flour with nuts. Add flour mixture alternately with
bourbon to sugar/butter/egg mixture, mixing well after each
addition.
6. Add soaked fruit and fold in, and then the nuts and fold in.
7. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter
until evenly distributed.
8. Pour into greased 10" tube pan lined with greased brown
paper (from grocery bag).
9. Place pan of water in bottom of oven and bake 4-5 hrs. at 275
degrees. Watch baking time as ovens vary. Test with toothpick
about 2" from outer edge of cake. May take longer than 5
hrs.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before
turning out. When almost cool, sponge sides and inside hole
heavily with bourbon-saturated cheesecloth. Cover the cake with
this cloth, then in plastic wrap. Let set overnight and saturate
again. Recover with plastic wrap and then with foil and store for
at least 2 weeks (a month preferred, if you can wait that long--I
never can!).