Traditional Fruit Cake Recipe

Fruit cake, is a conventional Christmas cake recipe which is made authentic style with dried fruits soaked in alcohol. This fruit cake is made with dried fruits, butter, sugar, eggs and flour & spices made traditional way. Christmas Fruit Cake which is made the standard way with rum and caramel and that is one among my favorite and it seems to be so moist. Haven’t got time to soak dry fruits, then try my no soak-no alcohol plum cake recipe. Learn how one can make fruit cake with step-by-step pictures, detailed instructions and video.

Fruit Cake

Despite the fact that I even have three variation of plum cake recipe in my blog. My viewers have been asking for the standard fruit cake which has rum in it. So I made a decision to bake it this 12 months and share it. I made it couple days back and that i am telling you it turned out to be super yummy and loved it to the core.

After I baked this, the home was full of the aroma of the wealthy dry fruits and it was totally heavenly. Loved it a lot i could not resist smelling it.

About Fruit Cake

Traditional fruit cake is baked many months ahead of Christmas. The cake is feed with more alcohol every week and let  to mature. The matured cake is decorated on Christmas day sliced and served.

Traditionally greater than a kilo of dried fruits is utilized in the making of 1 fruit cake. The Christmas cake doesn’t have any raising agent as a substitute eggs are used. The proportion to dried fruits to flour makes the cake a bit dense and pudding like. Also this cake is baked low and slow for a lot of hours.  That is how they bake Christmas fruit cake in the course of the victorian era. 

These many days I assumed that the plum cake which is sold in shops has cocoa powder in it from the dark color. But recently I discovered that the color comes from the dark caramel and never from the cocoa. Making the caramel is crucial, because it will possibly get burned quite easily and the cake color will depend on it. Talking about caramel, check my caramel fruit cake.

Similar Recipes,

Chocolate plum cake, White fruit cake, Christmas Pudding, Rum Raisan Cake, Rum Fruit Cake

Watch Fruit Cake Recipe Video (small batch)

Fruit Cake Ingredients

Plain Flour – for best tasting fruit cake, use plain flour which ends up in tender yet moist fruit cake. For those who want fruit cake made with wheat flour, check this whole wheat fruit cake recipe.

Sugar – sugar is utilized in caramel in addition to within the cake batter. I used refined white sugar on this recipe. 

Eggs – eggs is crucial for making the cake soft and tender. You’ll be able to check my eggless fruit cake for vegetarian option.

Butter – use soft butter which helps with the moistness of the cake. You need to use salted or unsalted butter. For those who are using salted butter, skip adding salt.

Raising Agent – you would like each baking soda and baking powder for making the cake soft.

Dry Fruits – you need to use any number of dry fruits on this cake. I used a mix of raisins, dates, apricots, kishmish, prunes. Chop dry fruits finely and soak them in rum for few weeks. This makes the dry fruits soft and provides the unique aroma to the cake.

Nuts – You’ll be able to add cashews, almonds and walnuts within the fruit cake. Don’t soak them in rum, add them within the batter.

Spice Powders – ground spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger are the essential spices that goes in a fruit cake.

Dried Fruits Used for Fruit Cake

Soaking dry fruits has been celebrated as an enormous tradition in just about all countries. Dry fruits are soaked for all most a 12 months prior. Liquor like rum, brandy, red wine is used for soaking of fruits. For those who don’t need to make use of alcohol you need to use orange juice for soaking.

I soaked the dry fruits for two days, by which period the fruits soaked up the rum and was beautifully soft and plumped up. You’ll be able to soak them for 1 week to 2 months. I added 1 cup of dark rum, you possibly can increase it or decrease as you want. For those who don’t need to make use of rum, just soak the dry fruits in orange juice. As an alternative of rum you need to use brandy or red wine as well.

You’ll be able to check my No Soak Fruit Cake Recipe. Learn More about this Process. Tips on how to Soak Dried Fruits for Christmas

• 1 ½ cup seedless black raisins
• ¾ cup dates chopped finely
• ¼ cup apricot chopped finely
• ½ cup prunes chopped finely
• ¼ cup candied cherries chopped finely
• ½ cup kishmish / sultanas
• 1 cup dark rum

You too can use currants, candied orange peel, candied ginger, orange zest and lemon zest.

Tips on how to Make Christmas Fruit Cake (6 easy steps)

Pre Preparation

Take two 20 cm round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Line the perimeters with parchment paper if needed. Preheat oven to 180 degree C.

Soaking Dried Fruits in Liquour

Take all dried fruits in a bowl, Add in rum and blend well. Leave it to soak over night or two months. .

Make Caramel

Take sugar in a sauce pan and cook till it’s golden brown. Swirl the pan so the caramel is smooth. Pour in ¼ cup water and blend till the caramel is smooth. Put aside to chill.

Dry Ingredients

In a mixing bowl, take flour, add salt and all of the spice powders and blend well. That is your dry ingredients. Put aside.

Fruit Cake Batter

Take butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and cream well. Add eggs and blend well. Add in half of the flour and half of caramel. Fold gently. Add remaining flour and remaining caramel and fold gently. Add soaked fruits and nuts mix well. Now spoon this in your prepared baking pan and bake within the oven.

Baking of Fruit Cake

Bake the cake. Once the time is up, remove the cake from oven and check whether it’s baked. You’ll be able to insert a tooth pick to examine whether it comes out clean. If it comes out clean then the cake is baked.  The cake might be barely springy to the touch.

Feeding the Fruit Cake (optional)

Remove the cake from oven and use a tooth pick to prick holes everywhere in the cake.. Pour 100 ml brandy or rum over the cake while it remains to be hot. Leave it to chill completely.

Maturing Fruit Cake (optional)

Unwrap the cake and serve immediately or wrap the cake for Christmas. (See below, how one can feed the cake)

Similar Recipes,

Feeding Christmas Cake & Maturing 

You’ll be able to bake this cake 2 to three months upfront. For those who are doing that way. You’ve gotten to feed the cake every week until Christmas to make the right Christmas fruit cake. Follow the below step. 

• Once the cake is baked and cooled completely. Remove from the tin. Wrap it in fresh piece of parchment paper and additional sheets of aluminium foil. Store it in a container at room temp. 
• Every week remove the cake and use 50 ml of rum of brandy and brush this everywhere in the cake generously. Wrap again and store.
• Repeat this process every week until Christmas.
• You’ll be able to bake this cake 2 to three months upfront.
• This process will mature the fruit cake. Also prevents it from spoiling. 

Tips on how to Make Fruit Cake (Stepwise pictures)

Soaking Dry Fruits in Alcohol

Take all dried fruits in a bowl or container. Pour in 1 cup rum and blend well. Leave it to soak over night. Dried fruits might be soaked every week in prior.

Pre-preparation

1)Preheat oven to 180 degree C. This recipe makes two 8 inch round cakes. You’ll be able to bake this into one 8×16 cake pan as well.

To organize the pan. Line two baking pan with parchment paper and grease with oil. Set this aside.

Dry Ingredients

2)Take plain flour in a sieve. It’s best to sieve dry ingredients together so there isn’t any lumps and the cake might be airy.

3)Add in baking soda and baking powder.

4)Add in salt and sieve it well.

5)I added spice powders into the flour. I used cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, dry ginger and cardamom. Add it directly over the sifted flour and blend well. That is your dry ingredients.

Coat dry fruits with flour

6) This step is optional but I highly recommend you to do it. I added 2 tbsp of plain flour over the soaked dry fruits and tossed well. This makes the dry fruits disperse evenly into the cake.

Make Caramel

7)Take sugar in a saucepan and warmth it gently. The sugar will begin to melt down. Don’t stir the pan just swirl it gently so the sugar melts evenly.

8)Now you possibly can see the sugar has reached dark caramel in color.

9)Pour in ¼ cup of water into the caramel and stir gently. It might splatter so watch out when pouring water. Mix water with the caramel so it melts evenly. Put aside to chill.

Fruit Cake Batter

10)Take butter in a mixing bowl. The butter must be softened.

11)Add in sugar.

13)Add in a splash of vanilla extract.

14)Use a hand blender or electric beater to combine butter with sugar and vanilla till creamy.

15)The mixture looks creamy.

16)Add in eggs. I added two eggs first and mixed it till creamy.

17)Egg is incorporated into the butter, sugar mixture.

18)Add within the remaining three eggs and whip till creamy.

19)Now the mixture is light and fluffy.

20)Add in half of the dry ingredients.

21)Pour in half of the cooled caramel water and gently fold the batter using a spatula.

22)Add within the remaining flour mixture.

23)Pour the remaining cooled caramel water.

24)Fold batter till the batter is smooth.

Adding Dried Fruits

25)Add within the flour coated dried fruits. At this point you possibly can add chopped nuts as well. You’ll be able to add ½ cup of chopped nuts. Almonds, cashews, walnuts might be used.

26)Fold the dry fruits and nuts into the batter. you possibly can see the dried fruits is evenly distributed within the cake batter.

Baking Fruit Cake

27)Divide the batter between two cake pans. Spread the cake batter evenly.

28)Bake till cooked. Remove from oven and funky completely.

29)Once cooled invert the cake on a cooling rack.

30)Slice and serve.

Expert Suggestions

• For those who don’t need to soak the fruit cake or forgot to soak the fruit cake a day upfront. You’ll be able to mix the fruit cake with the remaining ingredients add 200 ML of rum and blend it well and bake.
• Dried fruits might be soaked every week in prior.
• You’ll be able to add as much liquor as you want on this cake.
• Dried fruits quantity might be increased or decreased as per your preferences.

Regularly Asked Questions

Tips on how to Make Caramel for Fruit Cake?

Take sugar in a sauce pan and warmth it on low heat. Now it is going to begin to crystalize. Keep stirring and it is going to slowly begin to melt. Keep heating on low heat till it gets nice dark color. Now take it off the warmth and add in water and warmth till the sugar dissolves again. Put aside cool.

Tips on how to Use Rum or alcohol in Fruit Cake

Take dry fruits in a bowl, pour 1 cup of dark rum, you possibly can increase it or decrease as you want. I didn’t add any nuts on this cake, but you possibly can add any nuts of your alternative. Just add it together with the dry fruits and soak it together. For those who don’t need to make use of rum, just soak the dry fruits in orange juice.

Tips on how to Feed Christmas Cake for Maturing?

You’ll be able to bake this cake 2 to three months upfront. For those who are doing that way. You’ve gotten to feed the cake every week until christmas to make the right Christmas fruit cake. Follow the below step.

1. Once the cake is baked and cooled completely. Remove from the tin. Wrap it in fresh piece of parchment paper and additional sheets of aluminium foil. Store it in a container at room temp.
2. Every week remove the cake and use 50 ml of rum of brandy and brush this everywhere in the cake generously. Wrap again and store.
3. Repeat this process every week until Christmas.
4. You’ll be able to bake this cake 2 to three months upfront or 6 months to 1 12 months upfront too.
5. This process will mature the fruit cake. Also prevents it from spoiling.

Tips on how to Store Fruit Cake?

You’ll be able to bake this cake 2 to three months upfront. Once the cake is baked and cooled completely. Remove from the tin. Wrap it in fresh piece of parchment paper and additional sheets of aluminium foil. Store it in a container at room temp.

Tips on how to Decorate Christmas Cake?

• Christmas fruit cake might be served because it is on Christmas day. You’ll be able to decorate it with marzipan and fondant as well. Cover the Christmas fruit cake with a sheet of rolled marzipan. Then cover it with a layer of rolled fondant.
• Use Christmas cookie cutters to chop out different shapes within the fondant and decorate the cake as per your liking.

What’s the oldest known fruit cake?

Fruit cake has magnificent shelf life. The oldest Existing fruitcake was baked in 1878.

What’s the story behind fruit cake?

In England, it was customary for single wedding guests to place a slice of fruitcake under their pillow at night in order that they could dream in regards to the person they might eventually marry. The connection was that fruitcake was traditionally the type of cake served at British weddings.

Why is fruitcake just for Christmas?

The American tradition of eating fruitcake around the vacations stemmed from the British tradition, when the dessert was sometimes called Christmas cake or plum cake. This fruitcake was incredibly popular in Victorian England, when it became an important a part of celebrating holidays and weddings.

How long should a fruitcake mature for?

 Fruit cake can mature anywhere from 3 months to a 12 months. You’ve gotten to properly feed the cake and permit it to mature.

Tips on how to Serve Fruit Cake?

Christmas fruit cake might be served because it is on Christmas day. You’ll be able to decorate it with marzipan and fondant as well.

More Fruit Cake Recipes

📖 Recipe Card

If you will have any questions not covered on this post and in the event you need assistance, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.

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