Placek Swiateczny

Ingredients

5 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
4 ounces orange peel, chopped fine
2 cups sugar, icing
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
1 C butter
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped fine
1 t vanilla
1 T lemon peel, grated
2/3 cup raisins
3 T vodka or brandy

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat eggs with sugar using an electric mixer for 5 minutes at high speed. Mix chopped nuts, raisins and orange peel with 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix remaining flour with baking powder and salt. Cream together the butter, lemon peel and vanilla extract until fluffy. Beat in vodka, then add egg mixture gradually, beating constantly. Add the flour mixture and beat for 5 minutes. Fold fruit-nut mixture into the batter. Turn into a greased and floured 9x5x3-inch pan or a 1 1/2 quart ring mold. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for ten minutes, then turn cake out onto rack and cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside to mellow for a couple of days. NOTES: Christmas Bread -- This recipe could be used as part of a 12-course meal known in Polish as Wigilia, or on its own. Wigilia is eaten after sundown on Christmas Eve.