Our Favorite Holiday Fruitcake

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 cup cup heavy whipping cream sour
• 1 cup dates chopped
• 2 cups raisins 
• 0.5 cup glazed cherries dried sweetened chopped (can sub cranberries)
• 1 cup walnuts chopped
• 2 cups flour all-purpose divided ( into)
• 0.5 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1  eggs room temperature
• 1  rind of orange grated
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 ounces brandy 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• baking paper
• oven
• plastic wrap
• loaf pan
• baking pan
• skewers

Directions

1. Preheat oven, prepare loaf pan: Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with greased parchment paper or brown baking paper, cut to fit the pan.
2. Place one piece to run the length of the pan and stand up above the rim about an inch.
3. Place the other piece or pieces to cover the other sides.
4. (When the cake comes out of the oven, you can easily remove it by holding the sides of the paper and lifting the cake out of the pan.)
5. Mix together sour cream and baking soda: In a small bowl, mix together the baking soda and sour cream; set aside.
6. Toss dates, raisins, cherries with flour:
7. Combine the dates, raisins, cherries, and nuts with 1/4 cup of the flour and toss to coat the fruit and nuts. Set aside.
8. Beat butter and sugar, add egg, orange rind, sour cream and baking soda, add flour and salt, add fruit and nuts: Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
9. Mix in the egg, then the orange rind, then the sour cream/baking soda mix.
10. Add the flour and the salt and mix together.
11. Combine fruit/nut mixture with creamed ingredients and mix well to distribute the fruit and nuts evenly.
12. Pour batter into baking pan and bake:
13. Pour batter into a prepared 5x9-inch loaf pan.
14. Place the batter filled pan into the preheated oven.
15. Place a separate pan of water in the oven either on a rack underneath the fruitcake or beside it. (The water will help with a more even, gentle cooking.
16. Bake at 325°F for one and a half to two hours or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
17. Water may need to be replenished during baking.
18. Cool on a rack:
19. Remove to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Use the edges of the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan.
20. Let cool completely. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum to store. If you want, you can sprinkle on a few ounces of brandy or bourbon, especially if you would like to store the fruit cake for a while.