During her lifetime, Emily Dickinson was probably better known as a baker than a poet. Emily developed her own recipes and even though today she is portrayed as more of a recluse, she shared her baked goods with neighbors and friends, understanding well that food was a way to connect people and build community.
This bakes up into a large, moist fruit cake . It calls for a half sheet pan, so you could easily cut this recipe in half. Emily may have been portrayed as a recluse, but obviously she was feeding a crowd somewhere..lol... as this recipe is good for a large gathering. It also calls for an enormous amount of eggs! But, Emily Dickinson's household, like many rural homes in her era, did have a small working farm that included livestock, and chickens. The Emily dickinson museum rewrote most her recipes for more modern understanding, as below. This would be a lovely #holidayfruitcake and it can be aged with alcohol.
Emily Dickinson's Black Cake
1 ½ cups brandy, divided
3 cups sugar
1 ¾ pounds raisins
8 ounces currants
8 ounces dried apricots, cut in ½-inch pieces (size of raisins)
8 ounces pitted prunes, cut in ½-inch pieces
2 ounces dried pears, cut in ½-inch pieces
4 ounces pitted dates cut in ½-inch pieces
1 ½ pounds unbleached flour
4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt (or none if using salted butter)
1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cloves
1 ¼ teaspoons mace
1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoons ground cardamom
¼ teaspoons ground ginger
1 ½ pounds soft butter (salted or unsalted)
1 ½ pounds granulated sugar
19 eggs at room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
¾ cup molasses
The day before baking the cake, if possible, prepare brandy syrup:
In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, mix 3 cups sugar with 2 cups water until sugar dissolves. Let cool and add approximately 1 cup brandy (more or less to taste). The brandy can be a Cognac-type by itself, or a combination of flavors including amaretto or hazelnut liqueur, according to taste.
In a large bowl, toss all raisins, currants, apricots, prunes, pears and dates with ½ cup brandy. Let stand overnight, preferably, or an hour, or just while you get the other ingredients together.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Butter a 13-by-18-by-2 1/2-inch pan and line with wax paper or parchment: butter paper or parchment..
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt , cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger.
In a separate and very large bowl, cream the butter and gradually add the sugar, keeping mixture light. Add eggs 3 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping sides of bowl several times to keep mixture uniform. Add vanilla. With mixer going, pour in molasses. Mixture might look broken, but that's okay. On low speed, gradually add sifted dry ingredients, mixing just until flour is incorporated. Place fruit mixture on top of batter, leaving any liquid at the bottom of fruit in the bowl. (Save the liquid and add to the brandy syrup.) Fold fruit into batter, taking care not to overmix.
Turn batter into pan, smooth the top, and bake for at least 1 hour, or until the middle top of cake is firm to the touch. The cake will be very dark on top and slightly sunken.
Let cake cool in pan. Invert cake onto large wax paper-covered board and back again onto another board. The paper should prevent the top of the cake from sticking to the board. With a skewer, poke several holes through the cake at 1-inch intervals.
Begin brushing/tapping the brandy-sugar syrup evenly over the cake, allowing a few minutes for the syrup to soak in before brushing on more. If the cake seems moist enough, it may not be necessary to use all the syrup.
Wrap cake well in plastic wrap and allow to stand for at least 1 hour—or, preferably, a day or two, in a cool place. Slide cake carefully onto a large serving platter. Keep the cake covered until presentation time.
Emily decorated her black cake with fresh greens and flowers on top. I would say you could frost this cake if you wanted, or sprinkle with powdered sugar.
#fruitcake #blackcake #vintagerecipes #emilydickinson