Okay this year I am going to make Christmas cakes to give to family and friends. I personally have never really like traditional fruit cakes but I have come across a fruit cake recipe that I think is just divine!

It is mostly raisins, sultanas, dates & dried apricots, brandy, treacle, brown sugar, cold tea and fresh lemon and orange peel (flour etc). It is so moist rich and yummy.

My question is after cooking it how should you store the cake?

How long before Christmas should I decorate?

Do I need to feed this cake with more brandy? If so how do you do this?

Any help would be gratefully received.

PS: Anyone wanting this recipe feel free to PM me

My mom is English born and raised and she makes her fruitcakes and plum pudding mid Oct., wraps them in cheesecloth soaked brandy, then seals it with tin foil. Mid Nov. she takes the fruitcake and resoaks the cheesecloths for a 2nd time. I don't think she ever measures the amount of brandy. She pours it into a large mixing bowl, dumps the cheese cloth in, and without wringing it, wraps the cloth around the fruitcake at least 2 times. She makes THE BEST fruitcake and I'm sure it's because of the brandy.

Hi Katharry, I store mine kept in the wraping it was baked in, it keeps it more tightly sealed and moist and just add a couple of extra layers of greaseproof paper as well as a final layer foil, I feed it about every 10 days, I just prick over the surfice with cocktail stick an drizzle on the brandy, I put about a tablespoon on,(well maybe a little more sometimes ) not sure when to say about when in advance to decorate as I dont know what you are using, but I do mine about 2 weeks before, I use fondant, hope this helps.

Thanks so much for your replies. I guess I I'll wait until a couple of weeks out from christmas to decorate.

Appreciate the advice!

I normally make mine about September. It's up to you if you want to drizzle with alcohol or not. I normally decorate about the beginning of december but you can start now if you wish. The cake keeps as it is sealed in with marzipan and icing. The only thing you have to be wary of is colours can run

What some commercial businesses call 'fruitcake' and what a homemade fruitcake is are light-years apart. It seems you found a good traditional fruitcake recipe. It sounds like what we used to call 'Black Cake'... Very different from that sold in stores.
Share?

katharry,

Your recipe sure sounds a heck of a lot better than any fruitcake I've ever received!!!

Would you mind sharing the recipe.

My husband enjoys fruitcake at Xmas, but I've yet to find a recipe that makes one I also like.

Hi JanH

Just PM'd the recipe to you

Could I get the recipe also? TIA. Also, anyone else have one they love?

I also store my fruit cakes in the paper they were cooked in. I do have to hide them from the family as they mysteriously disappear.

I am running a bit late this year in making my cakes as I have been without a kitchen for a month or so. Once my children go back to school I will make my cakes (only 3 this year) and leave them to improve. I leave my cakes upside down and when I remember I pour extra brandy on the cake using a spoon, not exactly an exact science.

I normally mazipan my cakes early December and cover them in sugar paste (fondant) after a few days. Fruit cakes never last long in my house.