Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

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asked September 30th 2014

Fruit Cake Recipe for Christmas & Weddings & Steeping Fruit

Hi is there a good recipe for a rich fruit cake suitable for wedding or christmas cakes?

How long is the ideal time to steep fruit in alcohol for maximum results.

Do you put the spice in with the steeping fruit.

Many thanks

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accepted

No, the muslin is only if you intend storing the cake for a very long period. I soak the muslin and wrap the cake in it which then goes into an airtight container. The alcohol in the square drip feeds the cake slowly and stays moist for quite a long time. When the fabric starts to dry out it gets soaked again, cakes gets wrapped and so forth. If you don’t want to do the muslin method, prick the cake all over while still warm and feed it with alcohol.
Wrap it up really well in parchment paper first, then in foil and place it in an airtight container and store in a cool place. Don’t let foil come into contact with the cake because a reaction occurs between the foil and fruit. Every week or every two weeks feed the opposite side, re wrap and store. Keep doing this up until a week or two before you need to decorate. Don’t feed too close to decorating to avoid a wet cake. Cake can be decorated as soon as you’re ready because it will continue maturing under the marzipan and icing. Keep it in a cake box so it doesn’t get dusty. If you go to you local pharmacy they may be able to let you have some needless syringes which can be used for the feeding. Tell them what it’s for and they’re usually quite obliging. It’s a lot more precise than spooning the feed over the cake.
I’ve read in Q & A that the Mich Turner recipe is very moist. If you think you’re a bit late starting that might be the one to use??

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Hi UltraViolet

You can start soaking fruit with the spices as soon as you like. Pop it all in an airtight container add your alcohol and give it a mix daily until required. I soak mine for months on end which makes for an extremely moist cake. It is not to everyones taste because of the strong alcohol smell and taste. This is how I do mine, any recipe can be used:
http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/preparing-for-a-moist-christmas-cake
Mrs Jones her recipe here:

Fruit Cake


Information on feeding and storing a cake to maturity can be found here:
http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/storing-fruit-cake
I’ve read other members experiences with celebrity fruit cake recipes, most people seem to like Delia Smith, Mary Berry and Mitch Turner. I use my mum old recipe which I’ve tinkered with over the years.
The most important thing is to use the best ingredients you can afford, soak the fruit even if it’s for a week. Feed the cake and store it for a good few months.

TIP: If you use the big speciality fruits chop them up before soaking to prevent large holes in the cake.
Hope this helps.

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Thank you madeitwithlove.

Great tips.

I’m going to get going on asap with soaking some fruit for this years cake – so will soak for a week to have time to ice & decorate. Late start but better than not doing it.

I’m a little confused about the muslin square. When soaking fruit in an airtight container do you mean soak the muslin and lay on top of the soaking fruit, or is it just for wrapping the cake when feeding, or both?

Looking forward to getting back into baking so thanks for you help!

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Great thanks.

I will go with the Mich Turner recipe and just tweak the ingredients to add some more variety and do the combo of alcohol you suggested. I’ve only used brandy and steeped the cake by pricking & feeding before, so will try the muslin cloth method too.

Looking forward to getting started tonight I can smell it already!

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