[Sca-cooks] Useful things to do with fruitcake

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Micaylah:
>Sherry is also another alcohol to consider. I don't think I would recommend
>actually putting it in the cake as one of the ingreds, but to marinade the
>fruits, and for cheesecloth soaking, it sounds like it would be very good.
>YMMV
>
>Micaylah

Okay, so this one uses sack. Close enough, IMO. It also uses only 
raisins and currants, but in profusion, and I don't think it suffers 
for it.

ANOTHER VERY GOOD CAKE

Take four quarts of fine flower, two pound and half of butter, three 
quarters of a pound of Sugar, four Nutmegs; a little Mace; a pound of 
Almonds finely beaten, half a pint of Sack, a pint of good Ale-yest, 
a pint of boiled Cream, twelve yolks, and four whites of Eggs; four 
pound of Currants. When you have wrought all these into a very fine 
past, let it be kept warm before the fire half an hour, before you 
set it into the oven. If you please, you may put into it, two pound 
of Raisins of the Sun stoned and quartered. Let your oven be of a 
temperate heat, and let your Cake stand therein two hours and a half, 
before you Ice it; and afterwards only to harden the Ice. The Ice for 
this Cake is made thus: Take the whites of three new laid Eggs, and 
three quarters of a pound of fine Sugar finely beaten; beat it well 
together with the whites of the Eggs, and ice the Cake. If you please 
you may add a little Musk or Ambergreece.
	--The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelm Digby, 
Knight, Opened, etc., London, 1669

Does anybody besides Andrea MacIntyre remember the 12th Night 
subtlety thingy in Nordenhall a few years ago? This was my entry, so 
it's conceivable somebody here may remember eating this.

Adamantius

-- 






"S'ils n'ont pas de pain, vous fait-on dire, qu'ils  mangent de la 
brioche!" / "If they have no bread, you have to say, let them eat 
brioche."
	-- attributed to an unnamed noblewoman by Jean-Jacques 
Rousseau, "Confessions", pub 1782

"Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?"
	-- Susan Sheybani, assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry 
Holt, 07/29/04