2 cups whole red candied cherries
2 cups white seedless raisins
2 cups bourbon
5 cups sifted flour
4 cups pecan halves
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 cups butter -- softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups firmly-packed dark brown sugar
8 eggs -- separated
|Combine cherries, raisins and bourbon in a large bowl; cover tightly. Let
fruit marinate in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Grease large tube pan and 1 loaf pan; line bottoms of both pans with waxed
paper. Grease and flour waxed paper.

Combine 1/2 cup flour with pecans.

In a large bowl sift remaining flour with baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

Place butter in large mixing bowl; beat with electric mixer at medium
speed until light and fluffy.

Add sugars gradually, beating until well blended.

Add egg yolks; scrape sides of bowl occasionally with rubber spatula.

Add 2 cups sifted dry ingredients to creamed mixture; mix thoroughly.

Drain bourbon from fruit; add bourbon alternately with remaining sifted
dry ingredients to creamed mixture, ending with dry ingredients, beating
well after each addition and scraping sides of bowl often.

Beat egg whites stiff but not dry; fold gently into cake batter, blending
thoroughly.

Pour into prepared pans.

Large tube requires nearly 2 hours in preheated 275 degree oven; the
smaller pan needs less time.

Cool cakes in pans on wire rack 10 minutes.

Remove from pans and peel off waxed paper; cool completely on rack.

Wrap cakes in cheesecloth saturated with bourbon; then wrap in plastic
wrap.

Store in tight containers up to several weeks.

NOTE: Some people do not like the cheesecloth completely saturated with
the bourbon, it does come out a little strong tasting.