Easy Fruitcake Recipe - Foxy Folksy (2024)

FAQs

What ingredient in fruitcake makes it last so long? ›

#4: If you want your fruitcake to last even longer, preserve it with alcohol. That's right, adding alcohol to your fruitcake will not only make it taste like your favorite adult beverage, but it will greatly increase the shelf life. Alcohol acts as a food stabilizer to help delay the growth of bacteria.

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.

The most common duration to properly age a fruitcake is about three months. Any quicker will limit the development of complex flavors attributed to the maturing process. You can certainly age your cake for much longer than several months if you'd like, but we know how busy everyday life can be.

Here are some tips to help you make a moist fruit cake: Ingredients: Fruits:Use a variety of dried fruits such as raisins, sultanas, currants, chopped dates, and candied peel. Soak the dried fruits in a liquid (like alcohol or fruit juice) overnight to plump them up and infuse flavor.

Be cautious, though. Some people may find the alcohol flavor more noticeable in a whiskey-soaked fruitcake. Many don't notice any difference while others may find the flavor preferable. When using whiskey, simply use the same amount as you would brandy, and you should be in good shape.

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

According to supply and demand, as demand goes up, prices usually go up as well. The rest of the year, very few people are buying fruitcake, and as a result they lower the prices to entice people to buy it outside of their regular patterns.

Fruitcakes were so rich, they were considered sinful and were outlawed in Europe in the early 18th century. Restrictions eased later in the century.

The top of the cake sets too quickly then as the centre of the cake cooks and rises it pushes through the set surface, creating cracks.

The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake's moisture level. If there's simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry. On the other hand, if there's too much milk and not enough flour, a cake will taste too wet. Finding the right balance between wet and dry ingredients is key.

Can a fruit cake be too moist? ›

If the cakes are too moist, remove them from the container and all wrapping. Allow them to stand at room temperature for 24 hours, then rewrap in plastic wrap and freeze. Do not continue seasoning. Dark cakes usually take 4 to 6 weeks to season; light cakes usually take 3 to 4 weeks to season.

The top can overcook before the middle even gets started. * The cake pan could be overfull. A full cake pan takes a lot longer to cook, and you can very easily end up with a cake that is both under, and over cooked.

Unwrap and baste the fruitcake with rum every 1 to 2 weeks if you do not plan to store the cake long. You can sprinkle the rum directly over the cake or brush it onto the cake with a pastry brush.

Instead of brandy, you can use alternative liquids like apple juice, orange juice, or even tea to soak the dried fruits and add moisture and flavor to the cake.

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. Is it possible to make fruit cake without alcohol? Yes, it is definitely possible to make fruit cake without alcohol.

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.

Baking with booze—such as bourbon, rum, port and vodka—can add additional flavor, texture and even change the consistency of many baked goods. Take pie dough for example, adding a splash of vodka produces a super flakey dough and develops less gluten in the dough than water.