Guest Author - Deborah Markus

Hating fruitcake is a running joke in American culture. I've always been a little closeted about enjoying the stuff. But when I started making it with chocolate chips, I got to stop worrying. Obviously, it was all about the chocolate.

Some people are put off by the very idea of chocolate chips in fruitcake. They're probably imagining a typical wine-soaked fruit-heavy leaden lump spiked with chips.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Chocolate chip fruitcake is a light, golden loaf with a delicate aroma of vanilla and sherry. It looks lovely sliced, and tastes even better, especially if you warm it just a bit and let the chips soften.

Start by getting out your biggest mixing bowl and pouring into it one 12-ounce package (which equals about two cups) chocolate chips, one cup chopped pecans, one cup chopped dates, one cup candied cherries, and one cup mixed candied fruit.

Any of these ingredients can be played with. You can put in a little more or less of any of the above. You can try slivered almonds or chopped walnuts instead of pecans. Using candied orange or lemon peel instead of the mixed candied fruit is lovely. And using chocolate chunks instead of chips is ambrosial.

Whatever you end up using, pour a cup or so of cream sherry over it. Stir well and let stand for at least an hour, returning to stir and sample now and then.

(You could also do this step the night before you bake, and let the mixture sit overnight. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap so you don't have to wake up to alcohol fumes.)

When you're ready to bake, heat the oven to 325 degrees. Beat six eggs in a good-sized bowl for at least five minutes. (If you don't have an electric mixer, this part may take longer. Take breaks as often as you need to, but don't consider this step finished until the eggs look like lemon pudding.)

When the eggs are good and thick, gradually beat in a cup of sugar and a tablespoon of vanilla extract. This should take another five minutes or so.

I'd like to belatedly point out how important it is to use the best-quality ingredients you can. Eggs from a farm where the chickens get to run around a little, real vanilla extract (that fake stuff should be illegal), and of course good chocolate.

You don't have to mail-order the kind that costs ten dollars a bag, but at least buy Nestle or Ghirardelli or Hershey's Special Dark -- almost anything, really, that isn't your supermarket's generic brand. This is a holiday cake, after all. Times are tight, but do it right. You'll be glad you did -- and so will the friends you're willing to share with.

Okay. Using a whisk, stir together 3 cups of flour (preferably cake flour), 2 teaspoons of salt, and a teaspoon of baking powder. Stir this into the fruit mixture. Then, with a rubber spatula, fold in the beaten eggs.

I like to buy little disposable loaf pans for these cakes; you can also use standard size loaf pans, but either way, make sure you have several, because this recipe makes a lot. (That way you can share and still have plenty left for yourself.)

Butter your pans (I worship that stuff you can spray into your pans and render them nonstick). Portion out your cake batter into the pans and put them into the oven. How long they need to bake depends on the size of the pans you're using, but start checking after fifteen minutes.

The cakes are done when they're golden-brown and a cake tester (I buy these by the box and call them toothpicks) comes out clean. Let them cool thoroughly on a rack. If you like the taste of sherry, drizzle just a little over the cakes while they're still piping hot.

Wrap them in foil and give them to people you like, or people who think they don't like fruitcake.