I know I know, I shouldn't put up a review of a recipe if I bastardized it so much but... I wanted to let everyone know that the batter portion of this recipe did an amazing job with my results! I kept the same spices and at first, thought the clove was a bit heavy but after about three weeks of aging (with brandy splashed over it weekly), the spice combination was perfect.
In lieu of a lot of the candied fruit, I used equal portions of dried fruit (apple, cranberry, apricot and pear - pre-soaked and 'reconstituted with brandy [notice a theme here?!]) - I measured the amount after being soaked!. I like the color and texture of candied cherries so those stayed in the recipe and I used currents only and replaced a lot of the raisins with dried cranberries (non flavored). I toast all my nuts before baking with them - I used a combo of pecan and almond slivers. And no dates, but I did use some dried figs, after being soaked a bit in brandy - I diced them into small bits before soaking. And I also added about 1/2 C of candied ginger - this added a wonderful dimension to this cake.
As I said, the batter portion I left unchanged and although the cake didn't turn out as dark as I was familiar with upon baking, after aging for the short time that I did, it was darker than my light cakes and it had a nice denseness to it that fitted the bill. Over all - 5 stars! Fruit cakes depend so much on the fruit and nut you add, but the batter recipe is what I was after and it did the job splendidly!

My mom used to make fruit cake for my dad every year. It was a recipe that would convert even non-fruitcake lovers. After she passed away this last summer, he asked me to make it. I couldn't find her recipe anywhere, but I remembered a few key things about it as I used to make it for him when I was a child and still living at home. I remembered the fruit was covered in the dry ingredients first and that there was molasses in the recipe. I found this recipe on Cooks.com and it was a winner. My dad loved it and he is VERY picky. Thanks Cooks.com for saving my Christmas and making my dad happy!