Christmas Keeping Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup butter or margarine (I use butter)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs separated
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 cup red plum jam
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup brandy, bourbon, or sherry (I use peach brandy)

Preparation

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolks until light and fluffy. Dissolve soda in buttermilk. Beat into butter mixture. Combine 2
1/2 cups flour and spices. Add to creamed mixture with jam. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into batter. Combine remaining flour with pecans, raisins, and dates. Fold into batter. Pour into well greased and floured 10 inch tube pan. Bake 3 to 3
1/2 hours or until tooth pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Place cake on wire rack to cool. When completely cool, take piece of cheese cloth large enough to wrap cake completely. Soak cloth in Brandy. Remove cake from pan. Wrap cake tightly with soaked cheese cloth. Tightly wrap in aluminum foil and allow to age 4 to 6
weeks in cool place.