Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1            package  margarine -- softened
  2 1/4           cups  sugar
  6              large  eggs
  3        tablespoons  lemon extract
  4               cups  flour
  8             ounces  candied cherries -- cut in half
  1              pound  white raisins
  1              pound  walnuts or pecan pieces

Preparation:

1.Cream margarine and sugar until slightly "fluffy"; mix in yolks of eggs and then the lemon extract. 2. Mix in flour; batter should be very heavy and start to stick to tself and not the bowl (like play-doh). 3. Add fruits and nuts; mix thoroughly (by hand). 4. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks 5. Fold in egg whites--suggest you use your hands. Batter will now be extremely gooey--and so will your hands. 6. Have greased and floured pans ready nearby; fill by handfuls. 7. Bake at 300 degrees (original recipe says 'in a slow oven') about 1 8.hour and 10 minutes for "baby" loaves. Cakes should be a LIGHT golden brown; the raisins on the outside will turn black. If you 9.break open a sample cake, it should be extremely moist inside but 10.no longer liquid. Eggs being the only leavening, they don't rise 11.much. Serving suggestions and Notes: Cool to touch and then pop out of the pans; completely cool about 4-5 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil (for gifts). They freeze nicely. The fruitcake for those who hate fruitcake--and don't we all! My grandmother cut this recipe out of the paper in the 1920s when it won a contest held by a margarine company; "oleo" had just been invented. We've been making it ever since--I make about a dozen batches a year for relatives and friends. It's very easy and quick and EVERYBODY loves it. Makes five disposable aluminum foil "baby" loaves (greased a

Nutritional Information:

5078 Calories (kcal); 123g Total Fat; (21% calories from fat); 86g Protein; 902g Carbohydrate; 1122mg Cholesterol; 1522mg Sodium