MeMa's JAPANESE FRUITCAKE

Christmas didn't come to MeMa and PaPa's house without one of these big, beautiful cakes on the counter.

Cake

1 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spice Layer

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup raisins, dusted with a little flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

Filling and Topping

2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
One 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup coconut
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup maraschino cherry halves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl. Add flour mixture alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and mix well.

3. Divide batter into thirds. Pour one third into each of the two prepared pans. To the remaining one third of batter, add the spice layer ingredients, folding in well. Pour into the remaining prepared pan. Bake all layers 25 to 30 minutes. Cool layers in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4. To prepare the filling and topping, stir together sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Add water, pineapple, coconut, and lemon juice and zest. Stir together and cook over medium heat until thick enough to spread onto cake layers. Remove from heat; stir in cherries, and allow to cool slightly.

5. To assemble cake, stack one plain layer, top with a thin layer of filling; add spice layer and more filling. Top with remaining plain layer. Spread remaining filling over the top and sides of cake. Spread cake with 7-Minute Frosting (recipe below) if you like.


Serves 16 to 20


7-Minute Frosting

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup wate
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


Place sugar, cream of tartar or corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. Beat with a handheld electric mixer for 1 minute. Place pan over boiling water, being sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top pan. (If this happens, it could cause your frosting to become grainy.) Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

Editor's Note: MeMa used 3 1/4 cups "Dixie Lily" self-rising flour, 2 cups chopped pecans, 1/2 pound seedless raisins and 2 large oranges (grate pulp and all). The spices were added to the cake batter. The cake was baked in 4 or 5 thin layers.
For the filling she used:
2 grated lemons
2 large cans coconut
3 cups sugar (you could use up to 4 cups)
1 cup boiling water
6 tablespoons cornstarch

Mix all together except cornstarch. Let come to a hard boil and add cornstarch mixed in small amount of water. Let boil until thick enough to spread between layers.

Editor's Origin Note:
Why this sweet holiday celebration cake should bear this curious and confusing name is a mystery. Nothing about it is remotely Japanese, nor does it qualify as a fruitcake in any traditionally Southern definition of the word. Like classic fruitcake, it is enjoyed widely throughout the South as a holiday-season celebration cake. It contains raisins, spices, lemon and orange zest, and fresh coconut, so let's all welcome it to the fruitcake family with a big ol' hug. Think of it as a luscious layer cake containing spices, pecans, and raisins in two of its four layers. A coconut-orange glaze adorns the surface of the cake in a lacy, citrus-kissed curtain, tempting you to ask for a big slice of it, no matter what it is called.