Friendship Fruit Cake {plus Starter Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

How long should I soak my fruit for a Christmas cake? ›

Most recipes call for dried fruit to be soaked overnight. I take a speedy approach: just microwave the dried fruit with juice and/or brandy, then stand for 1 hour to soak up the liquid. So much faster – and just as effective! Other than that, there's nothing unusual about how this fruit cake is made.

What alcohol should you use? Strong, flavourful spirits with a high ABV are ideal for feeding fruitcakes. You can use rum, brandy or whisky for spice, or if you like citrus flavours, try an orange liqueur. Cherry brandy and amaretto will also work well if you prefer these.

Whiskey serves as a great substitute for brandy in a fruitcake. Although whiskey comes from fermented grain mash while brandy is made from fermented grape mash, the process is so similar, that the flavor will be similar as well.

Combine eggs and oil in a large bowl then mix well. Add cake and pudding mixes then mix until combined (batter will be thick). Stir in fruit, nuts, coconut and raisins. Divide batter evenly into pans.

Put your dried fruit in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes, and then strain the fruit and discard the water. The fruit will be plumper, juicier, and softer. To give your fruit some extra flavor, swap the water for fruit juice or a liquor, like rum, bourbon, or brandy.

Fruitcake aficionados will tell you that the best fruit cakes are matured – or “seasoned” in fruitcake lingo – for at least three months before they are cut. Seasoning not only improves the flavor of the fruitcake, but it makes it easier to slice.

Wrap it in several layers of cheesecloth and saturate the cheesecloth with rum or brandy. Place in a sealed container or zip bag. If the cloth starts to dry out, add more booze. Your fruitcake should be ready to eat in 7–10 days but it will keep for many weeks when properly aged in alcohol.

Evenly pour 1.5 - 2 ounces of your favorite bourbon, rum, brandy, or cognac, over the fruitcake.

Is it advisable to leave cake batter overnight before baking? No, you need to cook it straight away. If it has raising agents in it. If you are doing a yeasted cake it can go in the fridge for a few hours.

How to Store Fruitcake Without Alcohol? Fruitcake without alcohol won't last as long, however, its shelf life can still be maximized through proper storage techniques. Our fruitcake can last up to one month on your countertop, four months in the fridge, and six months in the freezer.

How to cure a fruitcake? ›

How To Cure Fruitcake With Alcohol. You can age your fruitcake using alcohol as a preservative for about 1 to 3 months. Take about a yard of cheesecloth and soak it in brandy, whisky, bourbon, rum or some other liquor. Then wrap it around your cooked (completely cooled) fruitcake before wrapping it in plastic.

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I think it's normally recommended for about 12 hour to give the fruit time to plump up nicely. I usually put my fruit in the alcohol the day before and leave overnight, so sometimes mines been soaking for up to 24 hours before I bake! Soak it for as long as you like.

So you can soak them even for a month, 15 days, 5 days or even the night before you bake. I would recommend, if you don't have much time and want to soak the fruit asap, you can warm the alcohol, ever so gently as you don't want to evaporate the alcohol in the liquid – before adding it to the dried fruit.

The first step of making the Rich Christmas Fruit Cake or plum cake requires soaking the fruits in liquor. The dry fruits rehydrate and turn plump and juicy lending a boozy, decadent, and rich flavor to the fruit cake.

Submerge the fruit or vegetables in the baking soda water. Let soak for 12 to 15 minutes. The time will help the baking soda do its job. Swish the produce around in the water or push it down several times to ensure all sides of the produce is being cleaned.