Instructions: Lightly butter a 5- by 9-inch loaf pan. Line with cooking parchment.

In a bowl with a mixer, beat 1 cup butter with sugar until fluffy.

Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until well blended. Beat in molasses.

Mix flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, and allspice. Add to egg mixture; beat just until blended.

Set aside 6 to 8 apricots, 10 to 12 pecan halves, and 1 pineapple ring.

Cut remaining pineapple into 3/4-inch pieces and add to batter along with the remaining apricots and pecans and the cranberries and cherries. Stir until well mixed.

Scrape batter into parchment-lined pan, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; spread top level.

Bake in a 275 degree oven until cake is firm in center when touched, about 3 hours. If it browns too rapidly, drape with foil.

Cool in pan on rack at least 2 1/2 hours. Lift out cake; peel off parchment.

Mix apricot jam with liqueur and brush over top of cake. Decoratively arrange reserved apricots, pecans, and pineapple in apricot glaze; brush more apricot jam mixture over fruit. Wrap airtight and chill at least 1 day.

This recipe yields 1 cake; about 25 servings.

Comments: Bake cake at least 1 day or up to 2 months ahead; cool and wrap in cheesecloth or a thin towel saturated with orange-flavor liqueur. Chill airtight, and about every 10 days, moisten cloth with more liqueur. Serve thin slices of cake plain, with vanilla ice cream topped with rum-plumped raisins, or with rum-raisin ice cream. Wrap and continue to age extra cake.

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