Going through a old spiral notebook that I began when I married in 1973, I found this recipe which my neighbor gave me when she moved in a few houses down from me. She was from Lampasas, Tx and was a really good cook. We would sit in the yard watching the kids play and talk about recipes we loved and what our kids would eat. This recipe was handed down to her from her grandmother and her family had been making it ever since. I am not a big fruit cake lover, but this one sounded like something that I would enjoy, with a big scoop of whipping cream or ice cream during the summer. Give it a try. It is so different from a traditional fruit cake. Here’s hoping you like it also.
2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, at room temp
1 can flaked coconut
1/2 cup milk
1 large box vanilla wafers, crushed in a plastic bag or blender
1 cup of chopped pecans
8 oz candied cherries, or dried apricots, cut up, or 1 cup of golden raisins
In mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add coconut and blend. Add the milk. With a spoon, add the crushed vanilla wafers, 1/3 at a time until all is incorporated.
Add the nuts and fruit (cherries or raisins or apricots). Put in a greased and floured tube pan. Bake in a preheated 250 oven for about 2 hours. Cake can be frozen.
*Depending on your oven, Jo told me that she usually baked hers about 2 1/2 hours, although her directions said 2 hours. When cake tests done, remove from oven and allow to cool before transferring out of pan onto a platter to serve.
Chocolate Castles as wel 