What is the best feeding liquor for Christmas cake baking?
The feeding liquor is all down to personal preference, just make sure you're complementing the rich flavours of the fruit. If you’re baking an alcohol-free Christmas cake you can use a few tablespoons of orange, cherry, cranberry or apple juice; something sweet to keep the moisture in the cake.
What can I use to make a Christmas cake without alcohol?
If you’re baking an alcohol-free Christmas cake you can use a few tablespoons of orange, cherry, cranberry or apple juice; something sweet to keep the moisture in the cake. You can also soak the fruit in tea if you prefer a less sweet flavour.
How often should I Feed my Christmas cake?
The frequency will also depend on how far in advance you want to make your cake. For a richer flavour, mature the fruitcake over 12 weeks. Feeding your Christmas cake once a week during this period should be more than enough time for it to reach its full fruity potential.
Why do you feed a fruitcake?
Why do you feed a cake? There are a lot of benefits to feeding a fruitcake. It will help keep your cake moist (especially if you are storing it for a while) as well as give it extra flavour – and, if you're a little heavy-handed, it will also develop that characteristic boozy kick.
Do you have to feed a Christmas cake with alcohol?
It's important to keep your cake soaked in liquor to stop it from drying out. Alcohol also acts as a preservative and is one of the reasons you can store it for months without it going rotten.
What can you feed a Christmas cake with instead of alcohol?
If you do not want to use alcohol then fresh orange juice is an alternative, though you should leave the fruits in orange juice to soak overnight in the fridge once they have cooled.
How do you feed a Christmas fruit cake?
MethodIt is best to feed your cake, every fortnight from when it has been baked. ... Using a skewer, prick several holes into the top of your cake. ... Spoon over 1-2 tbsp of the alcohol/fruit juice of your choice ensuring that the whole cake is evenly covered.More items...
What do you pour on Christmas cake?
Take 30ml/2 tablespoons of whiskey, rum, or brandy and pour on the warm cake surface fresh from the oven. The cake is then it is allowed to go completely cold. It should be stripped of its baking paper, be carefully wrapped, and stored in a cold place for 2 weeks.
What can I feed fruit cake with?
Strong, flavourful spirits with a high ABV are ideal for feeding fruitcakes. You can use rum, brandy or whisky for spice, or if you like citrus flavours, try an orange liqueur. Cherry brandy and amaretto will also work well if you prefer these.
What can I soak fruit in instead of alcohol?
You can soak in Rum, brandy or whisky for alcoholic options and orange juice, apple juice, grape juice or tea extract for non alcoholic option. You can add spices like clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and prepare tea extract and use it for soaking the dry fruits.
How many times should you feed a Christmas cake?
Wrap the cake in greaseproof paper or baking parchment then wrap it in kitchen foil. Store cake in a second layer of foil or in an airtight tin. You can repeat the feeding process every couple of weeks for three or four feeds. However, if the cake makes the work surface damp, appears wet or stodgy, discontinue feeding.
How much brandy should you put in a Christmas cake?
Feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp alcohol every fortnight, until you ice it. Don't feed the cake for the final week to give the surface a chance to dry before icing.
When should you start making a Christmas cake?
Christmas Cake Tip #1: Make it well in advance of Christmas It's best to get baking around two or three months before Christmas. This gives you plenty of time to let it mature and 'feed' your Christmas Cake regularly as the big day approaches.
What can I use instead of treacle in Christmas cake?
There are many alternatives to treacle that could be used in a Christmas cake. These include golden syrup, corn syrup, maple syrup, molasses, honey, or even agave nectar.
How do you moisten a fruit cake after baking?
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.
Why is my Christmas cake dry?
Check your oven temperature: Bakes often turn out dry because the oven is just too hot. Use an oven thermometer to ensure that when you program your oven to 350ºF, it actually is 350ºF. Measure your flour correctly: Cakes can become dry when you add too much flour.
How long can you keep fruit cake without alcohol?
Fruitcakes without any alcohol should be consumed within a few days of baking or tightly wrapped and frozen for up to six months.
What is the substitute for brandy in a fruit cake?
Whiskey serves as a great substitute for brandy in a fruitcake. Although whiskey comes from fermented grain mash while brandy is made from fermented grape mash, the process is so similar, that the flavor will be similar as well.
How do you preserve a Christmas cake?
Wrap the cake in greaseproof paper or baking parchment then wrap it in kitchen foil. Store cake in a second layer of foil or in an airtight tin. You can repeat the feeding process every couple of weeks for three or four feeds. However, if the cake makes the work surface damp, appears wet or stodgy, discontinue feeding.
How do you keep fruitcake moist?
To ensure you have a nice moist fruitcakeTake a muslin/cheesecloth soaked in rum, brandy or fruit juice Wrap the cake well with this liquor/fruit soaked cheesecloth.Cover the wrapped cake in aluminum foil.Do not let the aluminum touch the cake directly. ... Place the cake in an airtight plastic box.More items...•
What Is A Christmas Cake?
Traditionally, Christmas Cakes in Ireland and the UK are rich, heavy, and dense fruit cakes. The fruit for these cakes was carefully assembled, cleaned, stoned, and treasured. This type of cake is baked at a low temperature for many hours. This was originally a rare treat using the produce of the harvest.
The First Feed
Take 30ml/2 tablespoons of whiskey, rum, or brandy and pour on the warm cake surface fresh from the oven. The cake is then it is allowed to go completely cold. It should be stripped of its baking paper, be carefully wrapped, and stored in a cold place for 2 weeks.
The Second Feed
You’re not done yet! Two weeks later, poke holes in the cake with a long skewer. Again take 30ml/2 tbsps. of whiskey and slowly pour it over the cake. Wrap it up well again and rest it for another 2 weeks.
The Fourth Feed
You guessed it! Two weeks later, and this is the last time you will repeat the feed as above. This should be sufficient feeding for any heavy fruit cake like my Aunty Rosaleen’s Christmas Cake .
More Christmas Cake Tips
For a rich cake, the amount of feed and how often you feed it will depend on how early you make the cake — and how much time you have before Christmas. If you make it very early then it can be frozen after the last feed.
Decorating Christmas Cakes!
If you want to successfully decorate a Christmas Cake, here are a few things you might need… starting with the cake itself!
Meet Gemma
Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, and I want to help you bake with confidence anytime, anywhere!
How to store your Christmas cake?
Once you’ve baked and cooled your Christmas cake, you’ll need to store it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. It’s best to wrap your cake in parchment or greaseproof paper and then in foil twice. After wrapping, pop the cake in an airtight container. Do make sure you rewrap your cake properly after you feed it.
What should you feed your Christmas cake?
Traditionally Christmas cake has a rich, spicy fruity taste, often associated with brandy but whisky, sherry and fortified wine such as Madeira or port can be used. It’s best to choose a liquor with a high percentage of alcohol (ABV) as these tend to have a longer shelf life, which will help keep the Christmas cake from spoiling.
How to feed a Christmas cake
Poke holes in your cake using a thin skewer to help the liquid seep through the sponge. You only need to use about one or two tablespoons of your chosen liquor or fruit juice. Before you soak it in liquid each week, do check the texture of the sponge. If it feels damp or if it leaves a residue, it’s well fed and you can skip that week.
Why should you feed your Christmas cake?
To stop it from breaking out of the cupboard and gobbling up your family, of course! No, apart from the family peril there are many reasons why you should feed your Christmas cake, all of which are all thankfully less dramatic. It’s important to keep your cake soaked in liquor to stop it from drying out.
How often should you feed a Christmas cake?
This can be tricky as you don’t want to be left with a soggy cake, but you don’t want a stale one either. The frequency will also depend on how far in advance you want to make your cake. For a richer flavour, mature the fruitcake over 12 weeks.
Full question
Hi, I have simmered and soaked my Christmas fruit in 400ml of brandy and have run out. Instead of buying more brandy, can I feed my cake with whisky or rum (one or the other) up until Christmas? Should I feed the cake once a week? Thank you, Fay
Our answer
If you have run out of brandy then it is perfectly possible to use alternative liquors to feed the cake and you can use whichever you prefer. We would tend to err on the side of using a spirit with a higher alcohol content (such as rum or whisky) but a fortified wine with a long shelf life, such as a sweet Marsala or Madiera could also be used.
