Here’s the last of a series of articles related to the food writing of Arden H. Duane on fruit cakes. I regularly use the contributions of food writers in African-American newspapers in my publications. The wrote for papers such as like the Chicago Defender, the Afro-American and others. These are food writers whose careers happened during the height of white supremacy in the US publishing industry. As a result their audience had largely been African-American readers. They offer tremendous contributions to the field of food writing and insights into African-American food traditions and recipes.
Duane had been a syndicated food writer with a column in the American Negro Press called "Chatting with Arden H. Duane." He published Several fruitcake recipes in the Atlanta Daily World in December 1936. Duane called "fruitcake the all-star" of any holiday feast.
Dark Fruitcake Recipe
Ingredients
1 pound butter
1 pound sugar
10 eggs
1/2 cup wine or grape juice
1 pound flour
1 cup molasses
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon mace
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 pound pecans
1 pound raisins
1 pound candied pineapple
1 pound candied cherries
1 pound dates
1/2 pound citron
1/2 pound orange peel
1/2 pound lemon peel
Instruction
Cream butter, sugar, and molasses add baking soda. Use 1/2 of the flour for the cake and 1/2 with which to dredge the fruit. Combine other ingredients, mix thoroughly, bake at moderate temperature for 2 hours in pans lined with several thicknesses of parchment paper, the top one greased. Turn on rack to cool, wrap in wax paper and several thicknesses of newspaper and tie tightly. Unwrap and sprinkle with wine once or twice while settling. (Atlanta Daily World December 1, 1936)
