by Volecia Plafcan

Created on: December 21, 2009

Through the years at Christmas, my grandmother made this cake recipe.  I suppose it could be either cake or candy, but, she called it her ice box fruitcake.  What a treat with all the delicious candies and sweets it contains and imagine the fun of her bringing out half of it in July 'just because' so we could partake of the rich winter dessert in the blazing, humid heat.

It is so versatile, you can add what you like or discard what you don't like.  I have always had a sweet tooth and I have to believe that she made this yummy dessert just for me.  At least, I liked to think she did because she did not add citron which, over the years, I have taken a vast dislike to.

For the base (cake) you can use vanilla wafer or graham cracker crumbs (as many as you like or don't like)

A can or whatever it takes of sweetened condensed milk

There's your cake...

snip orange candy slices into small bites and add these

throw in a can of or use frozen coconut

snip dates (if desired) and add

as many nuts of as many kind as you wish (grandmother always used pecans for they are plentiful in the south and delicious)

mini marshallows

maraschino cherries

If you want, add citron, but, I don't like it so I don't - grandmother didn't either

Cram it as full of treats as possible without the cake losing it moisture and knead, knead, knead and pack, pack pack.   I suppose you could throw in some chocco chips, but, we saved those for the fudge and they would take away from the cake in my opinion.

Refrigerate in a bundt pan or whatever you like and it is especially good around Super Bowl time, also.

This year, I will be making one of my all time favorites - rum cake.

One yellow cake mix

one package vanilla pudding pie filling

1 cup Bicardi

1 cup nuts

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup oil

5 eggs

maraschino cherries

grease and flour a bundt pan.  Heat oven to 325.  Mix cake mix, pudding mix, 1/2 Bicardi, nuts, oil, eggs.  Turn mixed cake into pan and cook for 1 hour. 

Mix butter and  1/2 cup rum with brown sugar in pan over medium heat approx. 5 minutes.

When cake is done, move to cooling rack and use pick to make holes in cake.  Pour rum mixture over cake holes.  Let cool and move from pan to cake plate.

Garnish with cherries and a dusting of powdered sugar if desired.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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