Aunt Isabel's Bishop's Cake

"This is a very old recipe, that my Aunt Isabel (born 1900) used to make every year at Christmas. She made it for as long as I can remember. I was told it was a Methodist tradition. It is a dense, somewhat dry fruitcake, with chocolate bits in it. It is supposed to be sliced very thin. Well... I updated the recipe. I put the ingredients in order and gave better directions. The first time I made it, I was not doing it very smoothly, in fact, it was a disaster! The second time, I actually knew what to do, so here is what I've learned, and I also posted pictures."
 
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photo by Sweetiebarbara photo by Sweetiebarbara
photo by Sweetiebarbara
photo by Sweetiebarbara photo by Sweetiebarbara
photo by Sweetiebarbara photo by Sweetiebarbara
photo by Sweetiebarbara photo by Sweetiebarbara
photo by Sweetiebarbara photo by Sweetiebarbara
Ready In:
1hr 30mins
Ingredients:
10
Yields:
1 loaf cake
Serves:
20
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ingredients

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directions

  • Chop the dates, pecans, and cherries and set aside in individual prep bowls.
  • Dust dates lightly with about 1 teasp. flour or less.
  • Combine eggs and butter.
  • Sift together dry ingredients and add to egg mixture.
  • Stir in other ingredients one at a time, first the dates, then pecans, then cherries, and last the chocolate chips.
  • Make sure to stir thoroughly after each addition.
  • Pour into greased loaf pan, I used Pam and then lined with parchment paper.
  • Bake 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. (I baked it for 1 3/4 hours).
  • Let it rest and cool! The first time I tried to take it out of the pan -- I cannot begin to tell you of the mess I made. Then I decided it was not done, as I had only baked it 1 1/4 hours, so I tried to stuff it pack into the pan. That was not easy, but I did it, baked it another hour, and pried it out after letting it cool. It was ugly all the way around, but very good! So good that I am making lots more for sharing.

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Reviews

  1. My grandmother made this recipe every Christmas, but we have always used red and green candied cherries instead of maraschino cherries. We always loved it because it is fruitcake like, but not nasty like fruitcake because it does not contain ugly tasting ingredients. Sorry all you fruitcake lovers??.
     
  2. I had the privilege of trying this delicious cake while visiting Barbara's home during a Christmas Walking Tour. It was very moist and the flavor was fantastic! I made sure I came home and saved the recipe to my cookbook immediately! I can't wait to make it myself. :) It was lovely meeting you Barbara and Michael! And thanks for the goodies too! ;)
     
  3. I love making recipes that are family recipes and this one looked so good I had to make it. I pitted some bing cherries and froze them, so I used them in this recipe. We loved this cake and will have it again!
     
  4. I made this but used crushed pineapple instead of the cherries, and added 1 c. coconut to it too. We all loved it! Thank you!
     
  5. I am a fan of fruit cake but my family is not. However I decided to try this for christmas. And we all enjoyed it very much. These are the kind of ingredients I would have at holiday time. I followed the recipe excactly and took your advice on the shorter baking time. I baked this cake in a tube pan with removable sides so that may have helped the cake to cook more quickly. I have never had a fruit cake with chocolate bits in it but the chocolate went well with the fruits and nuts. Will definetly make this again. May even increase the fruit/nut amounts to make this even more chunky like a old fashioned fruit cake texture. Thanks for a good old fashioned recipe.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I made this but used crushed pineapple instead of the cherries, and added 1 c. coconut to it too. We all loved it! Thank you!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I live in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with my husband and our cat, Lizzie Borden. We had a wonderful dog, and now have 3 more cats to keep us company.
 
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