Friendship Fruit Cake {plus Starter Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

What alcohol is best in fruitcake? ›

Evenly pour 1.5 - 2 ounces of your favorite bourbon, rum, brandy, or cognac, over the fruitcake.

What alcohol should you use? 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.

In order to ensure your fruitcake tastes fresh, Southern Living suggests leaving your dried fruit to soak in a flavorful liquid like rum or apple juice for a minimum of 24 hours. However, the longer you allow the ingredient to soak, the more moist your cake will be.

Beat together 1 box cake mix, 4 eggs, 2/3 cup oil, and 1 package instant pudding in a large bowl until well combined. Mix in 1/2 of the reserved fruit. Stir in 1 cup raisins, 1 cup nuts, and 1 cup coconut until incorporated; batter will be stiff. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

You can soak the fruit for days (or weeks) by adding alcohol and mixing as you go, allowing the dried fruit to soak up all the liquid. We do this by adding alcohol (or fruit juice or even a mix) bit by bit until the fruit is plump, or you can just soak overnight and add the rest of the alcohol after the cake is baked.

Fruitcake with alcohol can last years, and in some rare cases, it can last decades. For those looking to prepare fruitcakes with alcohol for storage, you'll want to make sure to brush the fruitcake with alcohol fairly consistently across its time in storage.

Fruitcake aficionados will tell you that the best fruit cakes are matured – or “seasoned” in fruitcake lingo – for at least three months before they are cut. Seasoning not only improves the flavor of the fruitcake, but it makes it easier to slice.

Allow cakes to cool in pans on racks. When cooled, remove cakes from pans and remove parchment paper. Brush cakes generously with sweet sherry, brandy, rum, port, liqueur or fruit juice; do not use wine.

Most basic fruit infusions are ready in 2 to 4 days, but some combinations improve over the course of weeks.

Have you ever had fresh or dried fruit sink to the bottom of a cake or loaf? Don't worry, it's a common problem and generally happens when the cake batter isn't heavy or thick enough to hold the weight of the fruit as it bakes.

Why does my fruit cake taste bitter? ›

Overmixing: Overmixing the batter can lead to the development of gluten, which can result in a dense and tough texture. Overmixing can also introduce more air into the batter, which may cause certain compounds to react and create a bitter taste. Overbaking: Baking the cake for too long can lead to a.

The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake's moisture level. If there's simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry. On the other hand, if there's too much milk and not enough flour, a cake will taste too wet. Finding the right balance between wet and dry ingredients is key.

An Elvis Presley cake is a single-layer classic yellow cake that's topped with a pineapple glaze. Much like a poke cake, the syrup and juices of the pineapple will seep into the cake through fork holes, resulting in a decadent, ultra-moist cake.

A 30-Day Cake, also often referred to as a Friendship Cake due to friends sharing a “starter” made from the leftover juices of a previous cake, is similar in design to the most hated (or beloved?) of Christmas desserts: the fruitcake.

Queen Elizabeth cake is a lightly sweet, moist, and low-fat date cake, topped with a brown sugar, butter and broiled coconut mixture. "Queen Elizabeth cake" is named after the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, and may have first been made in 1953 for her coronation.

However, if you don't mind that, you'll be very pleased with the results. In short, the answer to “Can I substitute cognac for brandy in a fruitcake?” is a resounding 'YES!

Alcohol: The alcohol is key to the flavor, texture and preserving for this cake. I prefer a high abv slightly sweet alcohol like brandy or rum. You can also use whiskey or bourbon. Don't use lower abv liquid like wine for aging, you need the higher alcohol as a preservative.

Instead of brandy, you can use alternative liquids like apple juice, orange juice, or even tea to soak the dried fruits and add moisture and flavor to the cake.