Are you one of those who labour over your Christmas Fruitcake for over 6 months, soaking, checking and re-soaking your dried fruits? You needn’t, anymore! Meet this super-moist, decadent, boozy and supremely rich Christmas Fruitcake, which requires neither prior soaking nor months of struggle! I started baking this cake, a few years ago, and I haven’t looked back eversince. It tastes wayyyy better than the cakes that require prior soaking and lasts just as long. What’s more, you can choose to bake it with either rum or fruit juice. Bake your rum cake now and top with some more rum every week, to keep it moist and extra boozy! And if you choose to bake a non-alcoholic version, bake it less than a week before Christmas. Either way, you’ve got yourself the best, traditional Christmas Fruitcake, you can ever have! Merry Christmas!
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Makes: 1800gms
Ingredients
The Spice Mix
1tsp each:
- Cloves
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Green Cardamom
Fruit ‘n’ Nut
- Candied Fruit Peel- 150gms
- Black Raisins, seedless- 75gms
- Dried Cranberries- 75gms
- Black Dates, seedless- 150gms
- Walnuts- 75gms
- Cashewnuts- 75gms
Cake
- Sugar- 400gms
- Water- 365ml (or 1.5cups)
- Vanilla Extract- 2tsps
- Cake Spice Mix- 1.5tsps
- Baking Soda- 1.5tsps
- Dark Rum / Orange Juice- 45ml
- Butter- 200gms
- Eggs, large- 3 (or 4 small)
- All Purpose Flour (Maida)- 250gms
- Dark Rum / Orange Juice- 2tbsps + More Dark Rum
Method
- Prepare the cake spice mix by grinding the spices and pass the powder through a sieve. Store in an airtight container
- Chop the dried fruits and nuts into small bits. You can use any dried fruits and nuts of your choice
- To a large vessel, add the sugar, water, vanilla extract, cake spice mix, baking soda and chopped fruits and nuts
- Simmer on low flame for 10 mins, stirring continuously
- After 10 min, turn off the flame. The mixture will be frothy and will thicken slightly, and the fruits will turn plump and juicy
- Let the mixture cool completely. Do not place under the fan, let it cool slowly
- Once completely cooled, add in the dark rum (or orange juice) and mix well
- Evenly grease a 9″ cake mould with butter and dust with flour. Line the bottom with 2 sheets of parchment paper
- In a big bowl, beat the butter at high speed for 5 mins until it turns pale and smooth
- Add in the eggs, one by one, beating continuously at high speed until the batter turns thick and creamy
- Now gently fold in the flour and fruit mixture alternately, in 4 batches. Do not overmix
- Pour the batter into the cake mould and tap thrice to burst any air bubbles
- Pre-heat and bake at 160°C for 60 mins. Now cover the top with aluminium foil and bake at 140°C for another 30-35 until a tester inserted comes out clean
- Once baked, remove the foil and let it cool in the pan for 10 mins
- After 10 mins, run a butter knife around the sides and demould
- Poke holes in the upside down cake and top with 2tbsp dark rum or orange juice
- Turn the cake and cool completely
- Wrap the completely cooled cake with a layer of parchment paper and clingfilm at all times
- Once a week, top with 2tbsp dark rum and wrap again
Tips
- For this cake, the dried fruits do not need to be soaked in advance
- This cake can be baked a month before Christmas
- You could bake and eat it in a day or two, but keeping it to mature will improve its taste
- To prevent burning the bottom of the cake, the tin is lined with 2 sheets of parchment paper as this cake is baked for a long time
- At room temperature, a fruitcake with alcohol will stay fresh for 1-2 months, but a fruitcake with fruit juice will stay fresh for less than a week
- If using dark rum, top your cake with 2tbsp rum, every week, to keep the cake boozy and moist
- The cake must be tightly wrapped to prevent it from drying out
- The alcoholic cake can be refrigerated for 6 months and the fruitcake with fruit juice, for a week
Danielle's World 