Christmas Fruitcake – One Hundred Year Old Family

Ingredients

• 2 pounds cherries
• 2 pounds cherries green
• 2 pounds raisins seeded, separated
• 2 pounds pitted dates
• 2 pounds mixed fruit
• 1 pound pecans
• 750 milliliters port bottle inexpensive
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2/3 cup butter – the original recipe calls for vegetable shortening
• 8 eggs
• 1 cup molasses fancy
• 1 cup tea cold