Bourbon Pecan Cake

Difficulty: Hard
Serves: 16

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whole red candied cherries

2 cups seedless white raisins

2 cups Bourbon

2 cups butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed

8 eggs, separated

5 cups sifted all-purpose flour

4 cups pecan halves

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

RECIPE DIRECTIONS:

Combine the cherries, raisins and bourbon in a large mixing bowl. Cover tightly and let stand in the refrigerator overnight. Drain the fruit and reserve the bourbon. Place butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add sugars gradually, beating on medium until well blended. Add egg yolks, beating until well blended. Combine = cup of the flour with the pecans. Sift the remaining flour with the baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add 2 cups of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the reserved bourbon and the remainder of the flour mixture alternately, ending with the flour. Beat well after each addition. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold gently into the cake batter. Add the drained fruits and floured pecans to the cake batter; blend thoroughly. Grease a 10" tube cake pan, line with wax or parchment paper; grease and lightly flour the paper. Pour cake batter into the pan within 1" of the top. (The remaining batter may be baked in a small loaf pan, prepared in the same manner as the tube cake pan). Place in the oven 275:, bake tube cake 4 =-5 hours and loaf pan 2 hours or until cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack about 2-3 hours.
Remove cakes form pans; peel off the paper. Wrap cakes in cheesecloth saturated with bourbon; then wrap in foil or plastic wrap and store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for several weeks. Keep the cheesecloth damp with additional bourbon as needed.