It’s Time To Soak The Fruit For Your Christmas Fruit Cake! Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. I had been wanting to make the traditional cake at home, but what with one thing and another could finally start the project just recently. Hi. Heat oven to 160c140c fangas 3. Non Alcoholic wine serves this purpose. However the soaking and storage process will be similar to soaking in juice or tea. Hi! Continue pouring until the liquid covers the top of the fruit. Sometimes, to entertain my cows, I dance in my gumboots. Stir in the fruit and nuts (I usually omit the nuts) and add more fruit to make up the volume. 2. Don’t let any metal touch the fruit. I’m sorry the cake top has got burnt. Thanks for visiting my blog. 2. I want to put the candied green & red cherries & citron in cake also? I had learnt alot from your page. In the one on How to Soak Fruits for Christmas Fruit cake, the volume/ proportion of dry fruits is before soaking in liquid. I did some online research, looked up old and reliable cookery books, talked to people who had been making a Christmas Cake for years. Hi Sujata, Soaking for a long time does give more flavour, but doing this a week or so before baking is till good! Do u keep adding alcohol when it soaks in.? Let me know if I can clarify anything further! Liquid for soaking should be sufficient to completely cover the sliced fruits. Hi do you need to pat dry fruit before putting on cake? There are 4 possible broad timelines you can follow to soak fruits for Christmas fruit cake. Its Aug 1 st lol. If you have already soaked them, then please ensure you have kept the fruits in their liquid in the fridge. Here are my two favourite Christmas Cake Recipes. Remove it every two days just to top it up with a little juice, and wrap and replace in the fridge The top level should be moist and not dry, so add as much liquid as you need to just cover the top. I made a little plum cake, for my grand daughter Natasha. If the liquid is completely absorbed you can add a little more, a tablespoon at each time, every few days. Cover the pot or jar with an air tight lid and store it in a dark place. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Press ESC to cancel. Also given on my blogs homepage and here below for quick reference. Rum) or other soaking liquid, one tablespoon at a time, every few days till you bake the cake. I make it a point to taste all the dried fruits and the alcohol before adding it to my mix. 3. Celebrate a time-honored holiday tradition: Make and gift (or eat yourself) a tasty fruitcake. The texture and aroma of this cake are so incredibly good. Pour half a cup of liquid onto the dry fruits, stir so the liquid settles in. A really quick question though. Gently stir once a week and keep topping with the same liquid. Both should open to the recipe on how to make a christmas fruit cake. However many people do soak their fruit for long periods, periodically adding more fruit and more liquor do not even refrigerate it. I soaked the fruits for Natasha's fruit cake in the 2nd week of December, and kept the soaked fruits in the fridge till I baked the cake. © Sujata Shukla and PepperOnPizza.com, [2015 to 2020]. I have not tried soaking them in rum mixed with juice and not sure how this will turn out or what benefit one can get. The fruit is heavier after soaking. Some people prefer this method, as the fruits are soaked but not overwhelmingly so. Hi Angela and thanks for visiting my blog. Thanks for visiting my blog. Wine could be used instead of rum, though I have not tried it with wine. Hey, loved your blog. Thank you so much! Is the recipe the same? Why 'unfortunately'? Add alcohol or tea. I only soak these dried fruits for my fruit cakes. (Im a bit eager lol), Hi! If so, do we need to store them in a refrigerator?? 2. Hi Srimoyee and thanks for visiting my blog. Looking forward. ?alongwith Run and brandy, Hi and thanks for visiting my site. The rest of the fruits … I prefer to use apple or cranberry for this topping. Hi Thanks for visiting my blog. All the other fruits should best be sliced to an even size. Traditionally alcohol was used to ripen the cake but orange juice works just as well. Check out my Author Page! Happy Baking and do let me know how the cake turned out! Full recipe is not to be posted - Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sujata Shukla and to PepperOnPizza.com with appropriate and specific links directing to the original content. ii. No matter what recipe you choose, or even if you already have a recipe of your own to follow, the first step is to soak the fruit to make it plump and flavoursome. Which alcohol is best to soak the fruitz? View our disclosure policy for details. If you do not want to soak the fruits ahead of time, I have given a short-cut method in the recipe for baking a Christmas Fruit cake. 1 cup raisins and sultanas. My 'learnings' are here in this post! Orange and Lemon peel - candied or plain (see kitchen hints, below). How much quantity of orange juice do use to soak the dry fruits and after a week of soaking do u add remaining orange juice to cake. There are two relevant posts on my blog. Sujata - you mentioned "Stir the fruit daily or at least once in two days, to help moisten the fruit at the top which starts becoming dry. Do keep an eye on the cake though, as foil, being thin, may heat up more and cause the cake to burn before the insides are fully cooked. This post is a detailed guide on How To Soak Fruits for Christmas Fruit Cake. The fruits are not the problem as much as the juice is. If the top was not covered by liquid, you may want to remove the fruit above the rum level and discard it, before stirring. More of figs, dates and prunes would give a richer, heavier one. The recipes I share with you are from fresh produce, vegetarian except for the occasional egg, usually made from scratch. In the post with recipe for How to make a Rich Christmas cake, the ingredients give the weight of soaked and drained fruits. Why not join us and make your own? When the soaking liquid is no longer visible on the top of the fruits, top it up with the same alcohol that you used for soaking (e.g. The copyright in this website (www.cauldronsandcupcakes.com) and the material on this website (including, without limitation, the text, computer code, artwork, photographs, images, music, audio material, video material and audio-visual material is, unless stated otherwise, owned by Nicole Cody, Cauldrons and Cupcakes. Also, is it ok to soak for 2 weeks? Slow cooking on low heat, and don’t open the oven door for at least 1.25 hours when baking at 150 C. Pl see my response to your earlier comment. Gumboot dancing is very under-rated. Aim for preservative free dry fruits. PepperOnPizza may earn a commission for purchases made after clicking these links. 1. Slice the dates a little larger. Dried fruits and nuts are mixed with oil, wine, and flour to create a humble yet tasty treat that is vegan to boot! Cooking can take several hours, even overnight after which cake is to be kept in the fridge Your email address will not be published. Thanks for visiting my site. Gives the fruits a good 4 months at least of soaking! Plastic may react with the soaking liquid. Alcohol soaked fruit may be kept at room temperature (unless its very hot outside) as the alcohol itself acts as a preservative. 2. Soak the tea leaves first in a cup of boiling hot water (add the water to the tea, you don't need to boil the tea). Glass or ceramic would be best. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Bake in a 300oF oven for an hour, but check the cake for doneness with a wooden tooth pick to make sure it is cooked. 45 mins plus another 20 mins as the stick didnt come out clear after 45 mins.