Due to the untimely death of my computer I was not able to follow up with the rest of the fruitcake operation. Back to the class: Once the fruit has marinated for a day, I mixed up the batter for the cake, tossed the fruit with some of the flour mixture and then stirred it all together with the jam/pineapple mixture. I had to bring home some giant bowls from the restaurant. 
I divided the mixture up into 23 foil containers and then baked them in a 350 oven with a pan of water on the floor of the oven. It took about 3 1/2 hours to cook all of these babies…my oven was really full.
Here they are after baking. Golden brown and ready to be wrapped in cheesecloth and then doused weekly in brandy.
Hello ,
I hope that I have the right person. My name is Carol Krukowski, Mark Krukowski’s sister in law. Mark told me about your site so I looked it up. I love to cook and just recently renovated my kitchen.
I see here on your site that you make up your own fruitcakes./ I belong to a volunteer organization where in I adopt deployed soldiers and make up care packages to them. It is a 10 to 12 day post adventure. Would your recipes keep in hot waether until they reach their destinations of Iraq and Afghanistan?
Thanks in advance should you reply.
Carol Mulligan Krukowski
p.s. love your site. You are doing what I had always dreamed of doing…….
Hi Cora Ann,
Thanks for dropping by.
The fruitcakes would definitely survive the travel. I mail mine to my brother in law in California every year. Make sure to soak them in brandy or rum as a guarantee that they’ll be moist. I have one left in the fridge from the 23 that I made for Christmas this year. I often make them with friends so that we can share the workload. Makes the whole thing seem like fun rather than work!