Dessert - Baked Plum Pudding

This recipe came from a newspaper clipping - Iowa Rural Electric News dated December 1964.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
6 eggs
1 cup chopped dates
14 cup finely chopped candied lemon peel
1/4 cup finely chopped candied orange peel
1/4 cup currants
1/2 cup light raisins
1/2 cup dark raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup orange juice

Cream sugar and butter.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Plump dry, hard currants and raisins in hot water.  Pat dry between paper towels and combine with other fruits, candied rinds and nuts.  Sift flour and spices together and stir into fruits.

Fold bread crumbs and orange juice into the sugar - butter - egg mixture and finally, fold floured fruits into the batter.  Mix well, but gently.  Pour batter into buttered and lightly floured 2-quart ring mold.  It will about fill the pan but it doesn't matter because this kind of cake does not rise much.

Bake 50 - 60 minutes at 250 degrees or until tester comes out clean.  Let cool on a rack a few minutes before turning out.  When cold, wrap in foil to store in refrigerator or freezer.  Serve plum pudding warm and top with Hard Sauce (the recipe is below).