I tried my hand at a fruit cake a few weeks back. The traditional kind you know, with a chockfull of nuts and fruits… very heavy and dense. This was the cake that you get at Christmas and weddings…and conventionally soaked in a strong liquor like brandy or rum. But I didn’t want to bake the liquored-up version of fruitcake cos not many in my family like booze-except me of course. *grin* But even I don’t fancy the likes of brandy and rum, and especially when it’s in cake. So I tried this non-alcoholic version, which seemed to work out fine. The smells that engulfed the house when it was baking was really yummy…so warm and heady, what will all the spices that went into the batter. And it was quite a fuss-free recipe too. I just had to boil most of the ingredients together and once the mixture had cooled, stir in the flour and eggs. Really, that was all. The only finicky bit was lining the tin and wrapping the sides with newspaper but I’m certain you could do that in under 30 minutes…15 even if you’re used to lining baking tins.
The only query I had was to do with the maturing of the cake. Fruitcake tastes best when it’s left to sit for weeks or even months, with frequent brushing of brandy or rum. The liquor will soak through into the cake and moisten it. Well, what does one do for a non-alcohol version? My fruitcake has been tightly wrapped in clingfilm and stored in an airtight container but there’s no ‘feeding’ to be done! Any suggestions anyone?
I may just brush the cake over with freshly-squeezed orange juice over the next few weeks to moisten it and see what happens…
Boiled fruit cake (from AllRecipes)
2 cups dried mixed fruit*
1 cup chopped glace cherries*
¼ cup candied mixed peel*
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 ½ cups white sugar
¾ cup butter, cubed
1 cup milk
¼ tsp each of ground cinnamon, cloves, coriander, nutmeg and ginger
½ tsp baking soda
2 2/3 cups self raising flour, sifted
2 eggs
*These were the proportions in the original recipe but you can change it around to suit your tastes. I love candied fruit peel so I added more of that and reduced the mixed fruit. Just as long as the quantity of fruits remains at 3¼ cups I think alls good.
1. Preheat oven to 325 degree F. Line sides and bottom of a 8” round tin with baking paper and grease the paper.
2. Combine all ingredients except the flour and
eggs in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Stie in eggs (beaten) and flour. Pour into tin.
4. Wrap the outside of the tin with newspaper and carefully place in oven. I secured the newspaper with a rubber band but I think the recommended way is to do it with twine.
5. Bake at 325 degree F for 40 minutes, then reduce temperature to 300 degree F and continue to bake for 1½ hours, until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
6. Cool in tin, turn out and peel off lining paper. Tightly wrap in clingfilm and store in an airtight container. If you want a boozed up fruitcake, brush the cake with brandy/rum once every week. Technically, this cake lasts indefinitely but I think a good time to mature it would be about a month.
Taste Goblet 
wow yr cake is so high and it looks so fab! anyway i was wondering what gave yr cake a brown colour… mine was very light. the fruit cake i made didn’t contain alcohol either. what my mum does is wrap it in foil and store it in the fridge. if you wanna eat, just thaw it a while outside.
next time you should try steaming it… it’ll be more moist. 🙂
Thanks maya! Actually, its the simmering of the fruit mixture that gives it the dark brown color…After it cools down, the mixture becomes very dark.. And I’ve just given my cake the first brushing of orange juice…hopefully it turns out okay! haha. I’ll keep everyone updated..
And I’ve been wanting to make a steamed cake for a long time..mebe I’ll try that soon…
BTW, I made your blueberry cheesecake last night and while I haven’t tasted it yet I must say it LooKS fantastic! Thanks so much for the recipe…I’ll post pictures soon! =)
Wow, i didnt know fruit cakes have to be aged for so long! Btw, those r really nice cupcakes!
whee! i hope it’ll taste as good! i’m waiting for the pictures! 🙂
Maya: I had my first slice today and it was super yummy!! Thank you so much for the recipe!! =)
Yummiedummies: Thanks! And ya, its quite scary how long these cakes can keep. I read an article on a fruitcake lasting an YeAR, with monthly brushings of brandy! A full year! *shocked disbelief*
great! i’m waiting for the pictures. hee. anyway today i used yr brownies recipe to make a brownie-cake for my bf. i’ll post up pictures after i give it to him tmrw. 🙂
A year! wahahahahahaha! U can plan very very far ahead for next Xmas then lol
YummiedummieS: Haha…ya man. But you know what, the idea of cake lasting a year is quite scary. I dun noe if I could eat smthg that’s been sitting around for that long without imagining mould and fungus growing out of my mouth…haha.
Maya: I’ve uploaded the pictures of your amazing recipe!
I have read an article thats says you should not store your cake in cling film because it will sweat, is this true ? I make a lot of fruit cakes and only wrap them when they have cooled fully. I add the alcohol when cool and repeat this process a few times during the next few weeks. I then wrap in clingfilm.
Is this ok ? long term ? can anyone help please ? Many thanks Lee
Hi Lee…
I think it def makes sense to let your cake completely cool before cling-wrapping because the moisture released when it sweats will spoil the cake.
As for the brushing of alcohol, you should tightly wrap the cooled cake with cling film and foil, and then every week, unwrap, brush liberally with booze, let it soak in for about ten minutes, then tightly rewrap with cling film and foil. Continue doing this for about a month or two and the cake will be ready for serving. Btw, I think if you store fruitcake in the fridge tightly wrapped, it can last pretty much indefinitely.
Also, I tried a trick somewhere about keeping fruitcake moist. After baking, let it cool in the tin itself, with a plate over the top of the tin. This prevents the top of the cake from drying out while its cooling… After its completely cool, wrap and store..
Hi Taste Goblet
I am new to cake decoration but have tried a few cakes. I would like to know the process of maturing the fruit cake. Is brushing the cake after few days the only way or there are aslo other methods of maturing the cake. I want to make wedding cake using fruit cake. Do help me.
Hi Anamika, traditionally fruitcakes are brushed with brandy or rum every few days to keep them moist. You can refer to my previous comment on how to go about brushing the cake with liquer. Just remember to always wrap the cake up tightly after the liquer has soaked through. When you are ready to frost the cake, simply remove all the wrapping.
If you rather not use alcohol, you can double wrap the completely-cooled cake in clingfilm and store it in an air-tight container in the fridge. Leave the cake in there for at least one month for the flavors to develop. A day before you intend to frost the cake, remove from fridge and allow to thaw at room temperature overnight. After that your cake will be ready to be frosted.
Hey, will definately try this recipe, I have a big gig coming up and so I’m looking fwd to try this and see if I can use oit for the gig!
Thank you so so much ive been hunting for this recipe for the past few weeks. Apparently best to make Christmas cake atleast 3 months ahead of time.
I did a teetotaler version last year and fed it apple cider. It turned out good for being sober.