AHi fruit cake bakers, have you started on your Christmas cakes yet?

I'm about to start baking the fruit cakes for Christmas and I like mine to age for at least 3 months. I've tried and loved the effect I got with using cheese cloth BUT those suckers left lint all over my test cakes. Is this typical or is there a brand of cheese cloth that doesn't do this?

I read online and saw recommendations for using wax paper instead. I have some test cakes aging just to see how that works out. Does anyone here use or prefer wax paper? What coverings do you use to age your cakes?

I start fruitcakes in July. I've used cheesecloth with no problems so your excess lint might be related to the manufacturer. Try another brand; or use a thin cotton fabric (which never occurred to me until I ran out of cheesecloth one year).

AWow. You're way ahead of me MimiFix; I really should stop procrastinating. Thanks for the tip on the thin cotton fabric. I tried 2 brands of cheese clot-- one from two different grocery stores. They were no-name brands. I'll see if I can find one from a well known brand. Maybe that would be better.

AI've never heard of this, but I am intrigued. Do you age them in the freezer?

ANo, a cool dark place like the pantry works. I've read that you can freeze them after you've aged them appropriately but this has gotten mixed reviews. The cakes are soaked in alcohol and then wrapped with a covering like cheese cloth dampened with more alcohol. And then I put mine in foil and a ziploc bag. For the first moth those babies get a coating of alcohol every week, and then less frequently after that.

I store fruitcakes in Rubbermaid or Tupperware containers. These keep so well at room temp, I wouldn't take up valuable freezer space.  

AMimi do you use foil or just place the cheesecloth-wrapped cakes in the Tupperware containers? I like that idea since you can stack them neatly.

I first line the tub with a very long piece of poly-wrap. After putting all the fruitcakes into the tub, I make sure they are covered with the wrap. If needed, I use another piece over them. The only drawback to this method is the number of tubs to have on hand. Sometimes a fish store or deli will give me a few tubs. I soak them in bleach water to rid the fish smell. Christmas is right around the corner!

I generally only make mine a couple of months in advance.  I soak my fruit heavily in alcohol before I start (anywhere from a couple of days to weeks), brush the top with alcohol when it comes out of the oven and then wrap in tinfoil until I am ready to ice.  I like to look at them iced for a couple of months and I have never had any trouble with one going off or stale with the icing on.  It seems to seal all the moistness and deliciousness in.

I wrap my fruit cakes in baking parchment and then foil.

I NEVER put into a tupperware or ziplock... they need to be able to 'breath' or else they are more likely to sweat and (even with all the booze) there's a chance mould can form.

Once mine is cut it can sit in a tupperware container for months (only when I have made a few at a time) wsithout anything on it and I have never had a problem with mould.

Same here. Never had any mold problems.

While cheesecloth works, muslin works just as well.  It is a cheap cotton cloth used for linings.  You can buy a yard for a couple of bucks.  Wash it. Rinse it thoroughly. Cut it up and use it.

The key to preservation is the alcohol.  Brush, or soak them regularly.  Keep the cheesecloth or muslin moist with alcohol.

Has anyone else tried a pressure cooker fruitcake?

Didn't know you could pressure cook them.  Have you done one?  Do tell.

AWow, I definitely need to fins a recipe and try this for Christmas

Just checked my notes from last year.  Made a top tier fro a wedding cake as fruitcake.

I use an electronic, stand-alone pressure cooker with a rack to elevate the cake out of the water.  Alton Brown's recipe is nice as a fruitcake.  We also liked an amaretto cherry pecan fruitcake.

Once the batter was prepared, I baked it in the pressure cooker on high for 35 minutes.  I used a 7 inch springform pan.  The layers were 2 inches high and weighed about 2 pounds.

Put two cups of water in the pressure cooker.  Place a rack or overturned bowl in the pressure cooker to raise the cake above the water.  Lay strips of foil in a cross shape on the rack to use as a lifter to remove the hot cake from the cooker.  Cover the cake pan with an inverted plate to prevent excess water from getting in the cake.

I made a note to try bake even strips the next time.  That was only because it domed and i was making a layer cake.

If you use a different size pan or make it thicker, you will need to add more time.  However, it cuts the bake time down to minutes instead of hours.

Also note - if you are making many fruitcakes, baking in a traditional oven will save you time since you can fit many more.  A pressure cooker only holds one at a time.

Anytime.  My cookbook looks like a college text with all of the notes scrawled in it.  They often save me time when I get back to the recipes.  Hopefully they can help someone else!
 

A

Thank you so much for this suggestion. It appears Hobby Lobby might have some muslin so I'll check that out as well when I go looking for cotton cloths.

Wow, how cool is that?! I had no idea one could use a pressure cooker. Once I get the cloths I plan to bake (6) 6-inch rounds-- as many as I can get away with putting in the oven considering how long these take to bake. I'm so excited!

Here you go - best recipe you will find

https://www.facebook.com/notes/applegum-kitchen-celebration-cakes-catering/rich-fruit-cake-suitable-for-wedding-or-christmas-cake/550255115009600

A

ATurns out muslin is cotton. Duh. I bought 2 yards today. I'm glad to be rid of the lint. Thank you MimiFix and Matthewkyrankelly for the suggestions.