This recipe starts 24 hours in advance with the soaking of the fruit in the brandy. I soak the fruit in a shallow airtight glass or plastic container. Stirring them several times during the day. After 24 hours the fruit should have soaked up practically all of the rum. You can do this days or weeks in advance if you want. It makes no difference as long as the fruit is stored in an airtight container.
Grease a 10 inch springform pan well and line it with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 149°C.
Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and all of the spices. Set aside.
Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Next blend in the molasses until well combined.
Fold in three-quarters of the dry ingredients mixture, until almost incorporated. A few streaks of flour should remain, so that it isn’t over mixed.
Add the soaked fruit and any remaining brandy. There should be very little if any left.
Fold the fruit for several turns before adding the last of the dry ingredient mixture. Fold until the batter is smooth.
Add the batter to the prepared pan, spread evenly and bake for 2 hours or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Test it with a clean wooden toothpick at two or three points near the centre to be absolutely sure the cake is baked.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes before releasing the sides of the pan and sliding the cake onto a wire cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
At this point you can poke small holes in the top and bottom of the cake with a fork and pour on 4 ounces of dark rum or your favourite whiskey, half on the top, wait 10 minutes, then flip it over and pour the remaining half on the bottom.
Soak several layers of cheesecloth in additional rum if you like and wrap completely around the cake, then cover with several layers of plastic wrap and store in a cool place.
