Japanese Fruitcake (sometimes called Oriental Fruitcake) bears almost no resemblance to its much maligned whiskey-soaked, candied-fruit-studded traditional ancestor. Rather, it's a four-layer, two-toned cake with an ambrosialike filling.

It's uncertain where the interesting title comes from, given that there is nothing particularly Asian about this recipe. Nancie McDermott, author of the soon-to-be-published "Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations" (Chronicle Books, spring 2007), suspects that it refers to the fact that the orange, lemon and coconut were once considered wildly exotic, and therefore deemed Japanese. It was most likely served during holidays, she says, because years ago citrus and tropical fruits were available only during the cold winter months. So this was a special cake utilizing these precious fruits for a special occasion.

LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC Staff (ENLARGE)

The 21st-Century Japanese Fruitcake subs two layers for four.

see caption (ENLARGE)

Family photo Jeannie Holstein poses with her grandmother Mary Brumbelow around 1956.

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Our Southern Recipe Restoration Project has received more than a handful of these recipes, and they all are fairly similar. But several of the contributors lamented that they no longer made it anymore because it was too complicated. So for this installment of our ongoing series, we decided to produce a more modern adaptation that would be relevant for today's cooks.

Here are two of the stories along with the rather sketchy recipes that accompanied them, and the version they inspired.

— Susan Puckett and Virginia Willis

The contributor: Jeannie Brumbelow Holstein of Alpharetta, a mother of four grown children. She graduated from Milton High School and Kennesaw State University with a degree in history.

The story: "The only recipe my grandmother wrote down for me was her recipe for fruitcake," wrote Holstein, who grew up down the road from her grandparents in rural north Fulton County in Alpharetta. "Everyone came into her house through the kitchen door, sat down at her kitchen table and enjoyed a glass of very sweet iced tea.

"I can remember my mother baking this fruitcake every year before the holidays. My mother remembers a neighbor, Mrs. Winfrey, giving my grandmother the recipe and helping them to bake it for the first time. I gathered, from my mom, this cake was gaining popularity in our small community of Newtown between 1948 and 1953. The women called it a Japanese fruitcake. ...

"Ma [as we called my grandmother] needed a very large dish pan to mix all the nuts and fruits and flour. I loved watching her cook and listening to family stories. I would dance around the table, and we would sing Hank Williams' song, 'Hey Good Looking, What You Got Cooking?'

"I have never attempted to bake this four-layer cake. My mother only baked it once. Perhaps your panel can find a smaller version for today's busy cooks."

Ma's Fruitcake [as written]: 1 cup each: fruitcake mix, black walnuts, pecans, English walnuts, figs, raisins and cherries; 1 teaspoon each cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Then mix all with 4 cups flour. Then beat and cream together 4 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 2 sticks butter and 1 cup sweet milk. Add floured fruit; mix well. Grease and flour four regular cake pans, and fill evenly with batter. Bake at 325 degrees until done. For the icing, boil 2 grated oranges, 2 grated lemons, 1 can pineapple, 1 cup coconut, 1 stick margarine and 2 cups sugar till thick.

"My grandmother added one thing to the recipe, according to Mom: After icing the cake, she used the leftover coconut, cherries and pecans to decorate the top of the cake."

The contributor: Janice Sibley of Moreland, a Newnan native with four children and eight grandchildren. A retired teaching assistant, she is the field editor for Country Magazine and regularly dresses up like Mother Goose to read to children in kindergartens, elementary schools and libraries.

The story: "This recipe was used frequently during the holiday season. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's was never complete without [my mom's] homemade cakes. To keep them fresh, she placed her cakes and pies under bowls and dishpans to wait for that special day when they would be cut.

"The best part of her cooking was getting to lick the bowl; she would leave a dollop in the bottom so five little children could run their fingers around and get a taste of the batter.

"Mom was a great cook, and most of her recipes were made with a dash and a scant, her special way of measuring ingredients.

"As I send this memory, I can see Mom in her bibbed white apron over her dress, stirring the batter and counting. She counted to know how many beats to give the mixture to make sure all the ingredients were thoroughly mixed. She must not have counted wrong many times, as everything she prepared for her family was good to the last crumb."

Martha Cole Stapler's Japanese Fruit Cake [as written]: Mix as for any cake 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 1/4 cups flour, 1 scant cup of water or milk, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Divide batter into two parts. To one part add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon cloves and 1/4 pound raisins, chopped fine. Bake each part in 2 layers. For the filling, bring to a boil the juice and rind of 2 lemons and 1 orange, 1 grated coconut, 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. When mixture begins to boil, add starch dissolved in 1/2 cup cold water. Cook until mixture lumps. Top with white icing.

"Her white icing was usually a seven-minute icing."

Chef's interpretation: Atlanta culinary instructor Virginia Willis of our Saving Southern Food chefs panel writes:

"My challenge was to marry these recipes into a well-written recipe with clear instructions for today's readers. Many of today's cooks are lucky to have two cake pans, much less four. So I reduced the number of layers and am also suggesting an option of making an orange marmalade filling using store-bought marmalade as well as using freshly whipped cream beaten until stiff with confectioners' sugar as an icing instead of the more traditional Boiled Icing or Seven-Minute Frosting."

21st-Century Japanese Fruitcake

Makes 1 (8-inch) cake, about 12 servings
Hands on: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Virginia Willis suggests as an alternative to the traditional filling a Shortcut Marmalade Filling: In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup marmalade with 1 cup grated coconut and 2 tablespoons slightly drained canned crushed pineapple.

For the cake
Nonstick baking spray
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, plus more for decorating
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
For the Lemon-Coconut-Pineapple Filling
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup grated fresh coconut or frozen coconut, defrosted
2 tablespoons canned crushed pineapple
For the frosting
2 cups heavy cream, well-chilled
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 heavy-duty 8-inch cake pans with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk (yes, whisk, not sift!) the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine raisins, pecans, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Toss 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture with the raisin mixture to coat (this will keep the raisins from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Set aside. In a large liquid measuring cup with a spout, combine milk, eggs and vanilla. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add milk and flour mixtures, a little at a time and alternating between the two, stirring well after each addition, starting and ending with flour.

Remove 2 cups of the batter to the bowl of flour-tossed raisins and pecans. Stir to combine, and transfer to one of the prepared cake pans. Pour remaining plain batter into the other prepared pan. Bake until sides start to pull away from the pan and the cake springs back when touched, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove to a rack. When cool enough to touch, invert on a rack to cool completely.

While the cake is baking, make the Lemon-Coconut-Pineapple Filling: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the lemon zest and juice, sugar, water and cornstarch, and stir until smooth. Add coconut and pineapple, and stir to combine. Cook until mixture thickens and drops from spoon in lumps, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool, and set aside. (Or make the Shortcake Marmalade Filling as suggested above.) Also, meanwhile, chill the bowl of the mixer and the whisk in the freezer until cold.

Once the cakes have cooled completely, place the vanilla layer on a cake plate. Using a paring knife or fork, pierce the top of the cake all over so the filling will seep into the cake. Spoon the Lemon-Coconut-Pineapple Filling (or Shortcut Marmalade Filling) over the cake, using as much filling as necessary, starting at the middle and spreading it to about 1 inch from the edge. Top with the second, spiced layer. Set aside.

Just before serving, remove the chilled bowl and whisk from the freezer, and place on the stand of a heavy-duty mixer. Add the cream and turn the mixer to high. While the heavy cream is mixing, add the confectioners' sugar, a little at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not overbeat.

Using an offset spatula, lightly coat the assembled cake with a thin layer of whipped cream to protect against crumbs in the frosting. Finish with remaining whipped cream. Garnish with additional pecans, coconut and raisins, if desired. Store in the refrigerator until serving.

Per serving: 757 calories (percent of calories from fat, 45), 8 grams protein, 99 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 38 grams fat (22 grams saturated), 170 milligrams cholesterol, 223 milligrams sodium.