- Poke several holes in the top and sides of the fruitcake using a skewer.
- Pour 1⁄4 cup of your choice of sherry, brandy, or rum over the fruitcake, ensuring that the liquor gets into the holes.
How do you moisten a dry fruit cake?
All you need to do is brush a little milk or cold water over the cake. Then, place in a preheated, medium heat oven (around 350F/175C) leave for around for up to 20 minutes or until it crisps.
What should I soak my fruitcake in?
You can either soak cheesecloth in brandy, bourbon, whiskey, rum or other liquor and then wrap it around the cooked, cooled fruitcake before wrapping in plastic wrap and storing, or simply brush the cake with an alcohol of your choice and wrap tightly.
How long do you soak a fruitcake?
To cut the sweetness and add amazing flavor, we’ll soak the dried fruit mixture in dark rum the day before baking. Note: I recommend soaking the fruit for a minimum of 12 hours or as long as 24 hours . The dried fruit will hydrate and plump up and soak up all of the dark rum during this time. Don’t skip this step!
Why is my fruit cake dry?
My fruit cake is too dry? Often, over-baking a fruit cake is the cause of dry fruit cakes. A fruit cake must be baked at the right temperature. The too-high oven temperature will dry the cake.
Why is my fruitcake crumbly?
One of the major reasons why your fruit cake is moist but crumbly is the gluten content of the flour you use to bake . ... The lack of gluten means the cake is unable to form a firm texture, and you end up with a moist, crumbly cake.
How long can I soak fruit in alcohol?
No matter which version you choose, all you have to do is chop the fruit, put it in a bowl, cover it with your alcohol of choice, and let it sit in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours .
Why is my fruit cake soggy in the middle?
Too much baking powder causes the cake to rise too quickly , as the gas from the baking powder escapes the cake before the mixture has had a chance to cook in the middle. When this happens, the middle of the cake collapses. ... If you cake isn’t completely cooked, cover it in tin foil and bake for a further 5-10 minutes.
How do you soak a fruitcake in rum?
Soak the fruit in rum for at least 24 hours at room temperature before baking your fruitcake. 72 hours of soaking is ideal, but check the fruit each day and add more rum if needed so that it doesn’t dry out. Add rum soaked fruit to your cake batter and reserve the soaking liquid. Bake fruitcake and let cool completely.
What makes a homemade cake dry?
A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients , making mistakes while mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature. Once you understand how to avoid the common cake-baking blunders, you’ll bake a moist cake every time.
Why does fruit cake last so long?
Most fruitcake recipes include dried nuts, dried fruit, and “candied” fruit or peel (meaning the fruit has been both dried and preserved in sugar). ... “In practical terms, this makes most fruitcakes extremely shelf stable , so they would be safe to eat for a long time – a really long time,” Chapman says.
Should you wash dried fruit before baking?
When using dried fruit in a baking recipe, soak it first . If not done, it will absorb a lot of water from the recipe’s ingredients, which results in a drier outcome.
How do you cut a fruit cake without crumbling?
- Break off any decorations holding the cake to the board before slicing.
- Use a sawing action with the serrated blade.
- Avoid pushing the knife down.
- Cut all the way to the baseboard.
- Wipe the knife between cuts.
Why is my Christmas cake dry and crumbly?
Sugar attracts the moisture in the recipe, drawing it away from the flour and preventing the formation of gluten. ... However if too much sugar is present, the cake is so tenderised that gluten is unable to maintain the volume of the cake and it begins to crumble when cut.
What makes a cake crumble and fall apart?
What Causes Crumbly Cakes? ... One of the most common causes of a cake becoming too crumbly will be because there is something going on with the dough of the cake. This could be that there is too much gluten in the cake flour . Gluten plays a role in cake-making too, just as it does with many facets of baking.
Does fruit go bad in alcohol?
They will begin to lose their bright color and some flavor after one year but they will not “go bad” because the alcohol is the preservative . I usually have no problem using them up within one year.
