Christmas Fruit Cakes

Christmas is the time of giving and sharing. Fruit Cakes and Log Cakes are my favourite during this festive season. My mum love the Christmas Fruit Cake and I promised her I will bake one for her. I have baked a few of these fruit cakes to give as gifts to family and friends. These cakes have been fed daily with rum for a week. In actual fact, they have to be fed for a month. I find the taste is strong enough though is fed only for a short period of time. This recipe is a keeper. The texture and sweetness is just nice and I personally liked it too.

Recipe Source: Li Shuan

Ingredients:

Christmas fruit soak

(make the soak 5 weeks in advance)

55g caster sugar

55ml water

160ml brandy ( I used Rum instead)

90g sultanas (golden raisins)

80g currants

80g pitted prunes, chopped

80g fresh pitted dates chopped

150g raisins

55g mixed peels

135g chopped dried fig

Cake:

100g plain flour

½ tsp mixed spice

15g ground almonds

110g unsalted butter

100g brown sugar (I used 70g)

2 tbs honey

2 tbs treacle (I used golden syrup)

1 tbs marmalade

3 eggs, lightly beaten

150ml brandy for feeding ( I use Rum)

Method:

1.) To make fruit soak, put the sugar in a saucepan with the water and bring to boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Pour the rum and cooled sugar syrup into an airtight container and add fruit, mixing well to coat. Cover and keep at room temperature for about 5 weeks.

2.) Preheat the over to 190 C. Greased 2 x 12.5cm round cake tins and line the base and side of each tin with baking paper. ( I use square and rectangle tin)

3.) Sift the flour, mixed spice and ground almonds together in a bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, honey, golden syrup and marmalade until pale. Add the eggs, a little at a time, ensuring each amount is completely incorporated before adding more (take care the mixture doesn’t curdle at this stage). With the motor still running, add the flour and stop as soon as it is combined. Using a gloved hand fold in 900g of the fruit soak until combine.

4.) Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared cake tines, tapping heavily on the bench to settle. Place the cake tins on an oven tray and place in the oven. Immediately lower the temperature to 160C and bake for about 40 mins. Turn the trays and continue to cook for another 20mins until the cake is cook. (It may take up to 1 hour and 20mins to bake). Cover loosely with baking paper if the top starts to brown.  Remove the cake from the oven and leave in the tins to cool.

5.) Make about 20-30 holes in each cake using a skewer and pushing it about ¾ of the way through the cake. Cut two large sheets of foil and two large sheets of baking paper. Place each piece of foil on the bench and lay a sheet of baking paper over each foil. Place the cake on the baking paper and draw the paper and foil around the cake scrunching it together on top to form a container that will hold any alcohol.

6.) To feed the cakes, open up the top of the foil wrapping and brush over about 1 tsp of brandy. Repeat this every 3-4 days for 8-10 weeks or until the alcohol seems not to be soaking in anymore. Once the cakes are fed, wrap them well and store them in the container in a dark cool place until ready to serve.

                                                                                  

This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate (Christmas 2014) organised by Yen from Eat your heart out,Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids