KENTUCKY BOURBON CAKE

Steps:

• Pour 2 cups bourbon or whiskey over raisins and cherries.
• Soak in covered container for 48 hours.
• Before mixing in cake, drain well, reserve bourbon.
• Soften butter at room temp.
• cream until light.
• Add sugar,beat until fluffy.
• Beat egg yolks until very light, than add brown sugar.
• Beat well to dissolve sugar.
• In a very large bowl, combine the 2 sugar mixtures blend well.
• Mix nutmeg baking powder with 4-1/2 cups flour.
• Mix other 1/2 cup flour with nuts.
• Add flour mixture alternately with bourbon to sugar,butter, egg mixture, mixing well after each addition.
• Add soaked fruit, fold in, then add the nuts fold in.
• Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
• Fold into batter until evenly distributed.
• Pour in greased 10" tube pan lined with greased brown paper.
• Place a pan of water in bottom of oven.
• Bake 4-5 hours at 275.
• Test with toothpick about 2" from outer edge of cake.
• May take longer than 5 hours.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out.
• When almost cool, sponge sides inside hole heavily with bourbon-saturated cheesecloth.
• Cover cake with this cloth, then in plastic wrap Let set overnight saturate again.
• Recover tightly with plastic wrap.
• Store at least 2 weeks.