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Beat in the molasses and vanilla, then beat in the egg whites one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Scrape down and remove the beaters. Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula just until moistened.

Stir this batter into the dried fruit. Pour and scrape the batter evenly into the two loaf pans. Decorate the tops of the cakes with 6 pecan halves each.

Bake until lightly browned and firm to the touch, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour and 40 minutes. (For what to do with the liquor, see below.)

To cool: Set on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the pans onto a cutting board, remove them, reinvert the cakes onto the wire rack, and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.

To ripen and store: Drizzle 3 tablespoons liquor over each of two clean kitchen towels. Wrap one towel around each fruitcake, then seal tightly with plastic wrap. Place the loaves in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks or up to 2 months, provided you peel off the towels and replace them with more liquor-soaked towels every 3 weeks or so. If you want to freeze the cakes, do so after ripening them with the liquor. Wrap the loaves simply in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.

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Cake flour? Whole wheat pastry flour? Bittersweet chocolate? Unfamiliar ingredients? See the Glossary.

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Sheet Cakes

A single-layer sheet cake is ideal for office parties, birthdays, or other celebrations because it’s easily transported in the pan and its large surface area is ideal for decorating. We’ve paired these sheet cakes with straightforward frostings: minimal fuss, maximum pizzazz.

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Vanilla Sheet Cake with Vanilla Frosting

Perfect for birthdays, this simple sheet cake needs a level oven to keep it even in the pan. Don’t try baking this cake in any other size pan than the one called for, often designated a “half hotel sheet pan” in cookware stores. Makes one 17 × 11-inch sheet cake

1 pound (4 sticks) cool unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus additional for greasing the pan

3½ cups cake flour, plus additional for dusting the pan

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

10 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Frosting (recipe follows)

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 17 × 11-inch sheet pan; dust it with flour, particularly in the crease between the bottom and the edges, before shaking out any excess flour.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Use an electric mixer at low speed to beat the butter in a large bowl until slightly softened. Add the sugar, raise the speed to medium, and continue beating until light, creamy, and pale yellow, about 5 minutes.

Beat in the eggs two at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary and ensuring that each addition has been incorporated before adding the next. The whole process should take about 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

Turn off the beaters, add the half the flour mixture, and beat at low speed until a light, smooth batter forms. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat just until moistened, no more than several turns.

Scrape down the beaters and remove them. Give the batter a few turns with a rubber spatula to ensure that all the flour has been incorporated from the bottom. Pour and scrape evenly into the prepared pan. Rap the pan a couple of times against your work surface to get rid of any air bubbles.

Bake until lightly browned but springy to the touch, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. When fully cooled, ice with the Vanilla Frosting.

To cool: Set on a wire rack until room temperature, a little over 1 hour, before icing.

To store: Do not ice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days; let the cake stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before icing.

Vanilla Frosting