Friendship Fruit Cake {plus Starter Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

What is the best liquor to soak fruitcake in? ›

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.

For a swift and sultry maturation, consider a steamy affair with your fruitcake. Place the cake in a covered container and steam it for a short duration. The steam helps open the cake's pores, allowing it to absorb flavors rapidly. This method is perfect for those who crave a moist and mature fruitcake in record time.

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.

Fruit cakes don't normally rise very much as long as you've used plain flour.

You can soak the fruit for days (or weeks) by adding alcohol and mixing as you go, allowing the dried fruit to soak up all the liquid. 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.

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.

That said, even though a decades-old fruitcake might taste like a leather shoe, eating it probably won't make you dangerously sick.

Fruitcake lasts longer than most other cakes because it is filled with nuts and candied fruit. It will last even longer if you sprinkle it with a spirit like brandy.

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

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.

What do you put between fruit cake layers? ›

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.

Grease and line pans with brown paper, waxed paper, or parchment. Grease again. Cut paper about 1 inch taller than pans. Fill pans a little over half full with batter.

You might not have baked long enough, at too low of a temperature or in too small of a pan. Your best bet is to just bake it longer and test the cake before you remove it from the oven. To test a cake stick a toothpick into the center of the cake, at least half way in and pull it out.

warming the fruitcake or slices can make them softer and soaking in some brandy or rum will help. Poke holes in top with a toothpick. The drizzle heated brandy or whiskey over the top. Wrap the cake in moistened cheesecloth….

There's a big chance your butter and sugar will over-cream, meaning the butter will trap more air than it should. As the batter bakes, that extra air will deflate and leave you with an overly dense cake. It's all science!

As for what alcohol, rum or brandy is pretty traditional for soaking fruitcake, but almost anything will work.

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.

Soaking fruits in alcohol is a common practice when making fruitcakes for several reasons: 1. Flavor Enhancement: Soaking fruits in alcohol imparts a rich, deep flavor to the fruits. The alcohol helps to infuse the fruits with its unique taste, creating a distinctive flavor profile in the fruitcake.