Friendship Fruit Cake {plus Starter Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

What alcohol is best in fruitcake? ›

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.

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.

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.

Put the flour, grated nutmeg, mixed spice, butter, sugar, eggs, chopped almonds, black treacle and the citrus zest into a large bowl and beat well to mix thoroughly. Fold in the soaked fruits. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and spread out evenly with the back of a spoon.

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

Fruitcake with alcohol can last years, and in some rare cases, it can last decades. For those looking to prepare fruitcakes with alcohol for storage, you'll want to make sure to brush the fruitcake with alcohol fairly consistently across its time in storage.

Allow cakes to cool in pans on racks. When cooled, remove cakes from pans and remove parchment paper. Brush cakes generously with sweet sherry, brandy, rum, port, liqueur or fruit juice; do not use wine.

A simple syrup, preferably one flavored with cognac or brandy, will work wonders on dry cake. If the cake is hard, you're probably best off turning it upside down in the pan and using a wooden skewer to poke holes in it, then brushing on the syrup and letting it soak in.

Rich fruit cake can be cut and eaten as soon as it's absolutely cold. It is a moist cake. However, it shouldn't be wet or sticky, if it is it is probably undercooked.

The trifecta of sugar, low moisture ingredients and some high-proof spirits make fruitcakes some of the longest-lasting foods in the world.

Can you leave fruit cake mix overnight? ›

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.

You can repeat the feeding process every couple of weeks for three or four feeds. However, if the cake makes the work surface damp, appears wet or stodgy, discontinue feeding.

Dense, moist, fruit-studded cakes are sandwiched between layers of light, fluffy, delicately sweetened frosting for a combination that's as impressive to view as it is to eat.

In an oven that's too hot, the outside of the cake cooks at a much faster rate than the inside. A crust forms early on, but as the inside of the cake continues to cook and rise, this crack crusts. You might experience the same problem if the cake recipe has too much leavener or if you've used a pan that's too small.

Why do cakes crack when baking? A: Oven too hot or cake placed too high in oven; the crust is formed too soon, the cake continues to rise, therefore the crust cracks.

We do this by adding alcohol (or fruit juice or even a mix) bit by bit until the fruit is plump, or you can just soak overnight and add the rest of the alcohol after the cake is baked.

You can replace the alcohol with fruit juice, such as orange juice or apple juice, to soak the dried fruits, adding flavor and moisture to the cake.

Most fruitcakes are composed of cake batter, dried or candied fruits, and nuts. Basting fruitcake with rum or other alcohol also provides moisture and helps preserve the cake. You add rum to fruitcake both before baking through soaking the fruit and after baking by applying directly to the cake and to a cheesecloth.