Christmas Brandy Fruit Cake Recipe
What is fruit cake.
Christmas brandy fruit cake recipe. Tie a ribbon around the cake if you like before serving. The holiday season presents a prickly moral dilemma for my mother. Her signature dessert is a meticulously faithful execution of great aunt margaret s christmas fruitcake recipe which must be soaked in peach brandy. Recipe from mary berry s complete cookbook 25.
But mama s a southern baptist so drinkin s a sin. Preheat oven to 300. Decorate the cake with glacé fruit marzipan or ready to use icing. This recipe is started in october or november so as to let it mellow before the holidays.
Fruit cake is a traditional british christmas cake that is full of fruits and nuts and laced with alcohol usually brandy. Good cake texture and not too much fruit. This gives the fruit cake a subtle brandy flavor and a moist texture plus it also allows the fruit cake to be stored for a long time. Now wrap each cake with 2 layers of heavy duty aluminum foil.
In a large bowl combine the nuts dates and cherries. Combine fruit and nuts. Brandy and orange juice add extra flavor and you can adjust the amounts of fruit and add some chopped nuts if you like. This cake is a rich dark moist fruit cake very flavorful at christmas.
Wrap each cake in about 4 thicknesses of cheese cloth. This is the perfect fruitcake recipie. The only changes i made were to double the amount of brandy and used it to soak the fruits for 24 hours before making the cake. Try icing with almond paste for a more festive touch.
I remember very well my mother storing her fruit cake in an old butter churn that belonged to my grandmother and great grandmother. Store in a cool place for up to 3 months to mature occasionally unwrapping and spooning over 1 2 tbsp brandy. In another bowl cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Store the cakes in a cool place for at least 1 month before using this is when they are best a few days before serving unwrap the top of the foil and baste the cake through the cheesecloth with brandy or rum.
The cake mixture using four eggs filled an eight inch round tin and took three and a half hours to bake at the stated temperature. Add to nut mixture stirring until nuts and fruit are well coated. Put 1kg mixed dried fruit the zest and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon 150ml brandy or other alcohol 250g softened butter and 200g light soft brown sugar in a large pan set over a medium heat. Beat in eggs and vanilla.