I am making a fruit cake for wedding anniversary and the recipe has sherry in it but the person I am making it for doesn't want alcohol in it. I know you can substitute orange juice for the alcohol but I am just wondering if I still cook it the 4 weeks in advance like the recipe says or will it not keep that long without the alcohol. The recipe says you are supposed to cook it at least four weeks earlier for the flavours to develop and best cutting results. So do I cook it now or wait closer to the date! Could you please only post if you have personal experience with this, not to sound bitchy, I just need this to work the first time cause it is a 12"/31cm cake and I am not buying that many ingredients again.
TIA
splitty,
Aug 29, 3:15am
I am thinking about doing a mini one and seeing how it lasts, I have googled it and there don't seem to be any time frames.
davidt4,
Aug 29, 3:29am
You don't need alcohol as a preservative - it is the sugar and fruit that preserves a heavy fruit cake.Sherry doesn't have much alcohol in it anyway.Just make sure that the cake isn't dry - use orange juice in place of alcohol and be careful not to overcook it.
auntlb,
Aug 29, 3:36am
Gingerale is another yummy alternative to orange juice (both work - I have made numerous alcohol free versions)
Edited to add - I have kept an alcohol free one for 1 year without any probs - just make sure you wrap it up well and keep in a cool dark place
splitty,
Aug 29, 7:59am
Thanks heaps for that, I'm off to soak the fruit in the orange juice. Who needs google when you have the wonderful cooks on the recipe thread. I have 2 more answers now than I had from doing numerous google searches.
kuaka,
Aug 29, 8:12am
any alcohol used in the cake will evaporate on cooking, so it shouldn't be an issue.To keep a cake really well and to retain an "alcoholic" flavour, the bulk of the alcohol is usually poured onto the hot cake when it is taken out of the oven.My best dark fruit "wedding-type" recipe uses alcohol, but only a small portion is put in the mix, the rest is poured over the top of the hot cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. The cake is then inverted onto a flat surface covered in tin foil, left in the tin, and covered with towels or tea-towels.The heat draws the alcohol up into the cake and gives it flavour and keeps it moist.
splitty,
Aug 29, 8:18am
It doesn't need to be kept for ages, as they are planning to eat it all on the night with maybe only a little bit leftover so it doen't need the alcohol. Thanks for the help, Always good to learn more.
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