Here's 'Mom Miner's Fruitcake recipe'-Our family has been using this since 1949 or 50. Mom doesn't remember where she got it. I thought from my Father's aunt. Mom thinks from a cookbook but...isn't sure.
Ingredients-
2cups nuts, 1lb raisins, 1lb dates, 1lb candied fruit, 1/4 cup honey or molasses, 1/4cup sherry or orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon of mace, 2 cups flour, 1 1/4cup brown sugar, 1cup margarine, 4eggs, 1teaspoon salt, 1/2teaspoon baking soda, 1/2teaspoon cloves, 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Mix fruit, nuts, honey and sherry together.
Cream margarine, add sugar, mix well, add eggs, mix well.
Mix flour, spices, soda and salt together.
Add cream mixture to fruit, stir well until mixed in good.
Add flour and spices and stir well.
Have ready 3, 9x5 pans paper lined and greased. Pre heat oven to 275. Put above mix in pans and bake for 2 1/2hours. Have a pan of water on bottom shelf during baking period.
After cooling wrap [we usually double wrap] in foil. And we always kept the paper liner on the fruitcake, part of the reason the pans were lined to begin with. Store in cool place. DOES NOT need to be refrigerated but can be. Will last well over a year. We always waited six months to a year before eating. I have 3yr old fruit cake unopened that is still moist and old opened fruitcake that is in my pack-its kind of crumbly but still quite tasty.
Its not a simple or easy or inexpensive recipe but it is good.
FYI-We over cooked one batch and after scraping off the burnt crust it was still quite edible just not as moist.
Enjoy.