Easy Fruitcake Recipe - Foxy Folksy (2024)

FAQs

What two ingredients help fruitcake last longer? ›

Sugar and alcohol create a hostile environment for microorganisms. One ingredient that bolsters fruitcake's longevity is alcohol, says Bryan Quoc Le, a food scientist and faculty research fellow at Pacific Lutheran University.

You can either soak cheesecloth in brandy, bourbon, whiskey, rum or other liquor and then wrap it around the cooked, cooled fruitcake before wrapping in plastic wrap and storing, or simply brush the cake with an alcohol of your choice and wrap tightly.

How much alcohol do you soak fruit it for Christmas cake? The amount of alcohol you soak fruit in for Christmas cake depends on your personal preference. If you want a strong alcohol flavor, soak the fruit in a cup of brandy or rum. If you prefer a milder flavor, soak the fruit in a cup of orange juice or apple cider.

Like Fine Wine, Fruitcake Get Better With Time

The most common duration to properly age a fruitcake is about three months.

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.

Spiced Rum: Spiced rum has hints of ginger, cinnamon and allspice making it ideal for this festive fruit cake. Gold rum can also be used in place of spiced rum. The cake takes its deep color and fragrance from rum. The longer you soak the cake in rum the darker and stronger it will be.

If you have too much flour in a recipe and not enough fat, like butter or oil, your cake is going to be dry and hard. For best results, I would encourage you to use a scale when baking, but if you don't have a scale, then just make sure you're using measuring cups correctly.

For best quality, a fruit cake that is tightly wrapped with aluminum foil or saran warp can be stored for up to 1 month in a cool, dark pantry, 6 months in the refrigerator, and 12 months in a freezer. Check often for signs of spoilage, and if mold or off-odors develop, discard the cake.

Preheat oven to 140 °C (285°F) with the fan on (see note 3 on recipe card below if you don't have a fan function) and grease an 8×3 inch cake pan (I use my homemade cake release), and line the bottom with baking paper.

I made Christmas candle cakes, fruitcakes with way too much alcohol, like you the fruit soaked all the alcohol but it made the cakes too moist. I covered them in fondant and I had continual leakage from under the fondant.

Can you add brandy to store bought fruitcake? ›

After you've covered your cake in holes, pour a small amount of alcohol into a bowl; I used about 1/3 of a cup for a small cake. As for what alcohol, rum or brandy is pretty traditional for soaking fruitcake, but almost anything will work. I had two cakes, and used madeira on one and marsala on the other.

But to answer your question, the cake is heavy because it's very dense. The dried fruit, for instance, is soaked in syrup, then there are nuts and usually a cup or so of shortening to mix into the eggs and flour. It doesn't rise much because it's compact and that's what makes it heavy.

“Low water activity is important because many microorganisms, including foodborne illness-causing bacteria, need moisture in order to reproduce. “In practical terms, this makes most fruitcakes extremely shelf stable, so they would be safe to eat for a long time – a really long time,” Chapman says.

Fruit cakes should be baked at least three months in advance to allow time for maturing. Some people bake on Boxing day for the following year. I baked mine in August and have been feeding them brandy every two weeks.

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

For the home baker extending shelf life by a few days can be achieved by adding glycerine or golden syrup to the cake batter. If you type in the search box 'lengthening the shelf life of cakes' and 'shelf life' you'll see some answers there. Other preservatives are Sorbic Acid and Potassium Sorbate.

The easiest way is to seal the cake in an air-tight container that has a tiny fire in it (or a remotely ignited lighter). This flame will utilize all of the oxygen and extinguish itself. You can coat it in an apricot glaze which is super easy to make at home and keep your fruits fresh!