Never made a real Christmas cake before . am 60 next year ! and I have decided to do the real deal this year . the recipe calls for soaking the fruit in the booze for a day or 2 before proceeding further . I have been soaking my fruit since this morning . and the blooming booze has been soaked all up . completely . do I leave things as they are and proceed in the morning with the cooking process OR do I feed the hungry fruit more booze :-) Thanks in advance . and cheers
sampa,
Nov 15, 5:41am
Oh what a lush (the fruit, not you lol). Good on you for tackling a Chrissie cake after all these years! What's the recipe you're using/following? The potential danger of passing another drink - hic - to your fruit at this stage is possibly unbalancing the dry to wet ratio of your recipe. However, I'll leave this question to others more experienced to advise you on further. me, I'd take pity on it and agree to one for the road so to speak. ;-) Maybe not the best idea though.
Hope it all works out for you and you have the best ever Christmas Cake to share with friends and family!
village.green,
Nov 15, 5:49am
I personally wouldn't add any more booze to the fruit and good that it has all soaked up, will hopefully ensure a lovely moist cake. However it wouldn't stop me from pouring a bit over the finished cooked cake a couple of times if you are going to store for a few weeks. Gosh! I haven't made mine yet, I normally get it done by end of October. Oh well we'll see.
maximus44,
Nov 15, 6:21am
As above, probably don't add any or too much more but pour some over the cooked cake.
ljayl,
Nov 15, 6:45am
Thank you so much people . I might give thirsty fruit a little more. thanks Sampa . but the recipe does call for feeding it once it is cooked . so more booze will be added then . I am enjoying making a real Christmas cake and with all the booze that it seems to require . well it has to be good . doesn't it ;-)
whitehead.,
Nov 15, 7:06am
give it a good stirr .when you come to cook the cake drain your fruit for a few minutes then toss it in your mix
nauru,
Nov 15, 7:23am
You can then feed any surplus liquid onto your cake after baking. It should be a good one with all the added booze. Sometimes If time permits, I leave my fruit marinating for a couple of weeks in the fridge before baking the cake, giving it a stir every day.
woody89,
Nov 15, 7:25am
I follow nanas recipe (what she told me as opposed to what is written down lol). As the fruit soaks up the drink, a bit more is tipped in. Takes a week or so. Just make sure when you come to cook it that everything is soaked in & no excess is pooling in the bottom of the basin, if it is just stir & wait another day or two :) Lovely moist cake guaranteed- never gluggy.
sampa,
Nov 15, 7:40am
It will be brilliant, guaranteed! You're entering into the spirit (no pun intended) of the season so how could it be otherwise?
griffo4,
Nov 15, 7:46am
l have mine soaking on the bench in a plastic bag and if it soaks up the booze l just pour more in and let it soak it up again and cook it when there is no more liquid in the bag and they all turn out nice l have made about 8 cakes this year and have another couple to make up and they all turn out nice When l make the Alison Holst golden Christmas cake l let the fruit soak for about 4 to 5 days so they plump up nicely and look so beautiful when you cut the cake
My latest one is the Chelsea sugar favourite Christmas cake on their web site which has golden syrup or treacle in it makes a nice big cake (30cm) and very nice it has been eaten already after sharing it with friends and family and some are going to make it as well lovely and moist
Okay . all cooked and looking very nice . has been brushed with 1/4 cup brandy (yum yum . hic ) . so what is the best way to store and feed it till Christmas >>>>Thanks to all :-)
uli,
Nov 16, 5:26am
Personally I keep everything like that in the fridge as it is too hot and humid in northern NZ to keep for weeks without going moldy . however from the alcohol content you describe it won't go moldy I guess :)
gabbysnana,
Nov 16, 6:26am
Gingerale is what you are suposed to use for the fruit in the xmas cake and brandy, sherry or rum for the steamed xmas pudding. Thats because yonks ago kids ate the cake but were not important enough or didnt like to have xmas pudd. The xmas pudds also had theepences and sixpences in them.
wendalls,
Nov 17, 4:22am
Well all this is very helpful. I couldn't wait and had to sample my cake! Well it's probably mostly me that's going to eat it anyway. Mine might be a little on the gluggy side. Looks undercooked? I probably didn't soak it long enough. ? Still tastes yum to me though.
uli,
Nov 17, 5:34am
wendalls - DO NOT eat it all at once please :)
wendalls,
Jun 21, 4:50pm
It's a biggy too! One small piece for afternoon tea. Should last me. hmm two months if I don't share! My girls will help me though I'm sure!
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