Here is the Recipe for White Fruitcake that Dreams are Made Of (2024)

FAQs

What alcohol is good for fruit cake? ›

Other good choices of booze include brandy, rum, or whiskey. Feel free to use one or a mix of these to best complement your fruitcake. Once you've chosen the liquor, bake the cake, poke holes throughout the whole thing, and pour a few tablespoons of the alcohol over it. Or, you can brush the cake with the alcohol.

Dried Fruits: The base of a fruit cake consists of a variety of dried fruits such as raisins, currants, sultanas, chopped dates, candied cherries, candied citrus peel, and sometimes candied ginger.

A regal history of fruitcake

A forerunner of the fruitcake actually fueled Ancient Roman warriors who carried a mixture of barley, pomegranate seeds, nuts, and raisins mixed with honeyed wine. The cakes — called satura — sustained them through their long marches to the furthest corners of the empire.

Dark fruitcake is made with brown sugar and molasses, while white fruitcake is made with granulated or confectioners' sugar. This means it's lighter and sweeter than its darker, deeper counterpart.

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.

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.

Usually the bottom and/or edges tend to get hard if a cake is overbaked. You can also try using simple syrup to soak the cake layers or top of the cake to make it little soft. My grama (whether the cake was dry or not) wrapped hers in rum soaked hand towel, in order to further moisten it and infuse a rum flavor.

After your cake has been soaked and wrapped, let it sit undisturbed at room temperature for at least one week. On its one week soaking-anniversary, go ahead and carefully unwrap your cake, and repeat steps one and two.

Fidelia Ford

The fruitcake in question was baked in Tec*mseh, MI by the loving matriarch of the Ford family, Fidelia, back in 1878.

The website Serious Eats reports that over 2 million fruitcakes are still sold each year, so someone is clearly eating them.

What country did fruitcake come from? ›

You may know that fruitcake has roots in England, but that's not where it originated. It has been around since ancient Roman times, where it was made of a mix of pine nuts, barley mash, pomegranate seeds, raisins, and honeyed wine.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these seemingly indestructible pastries typically stay fresh for six months in the pantry and up to a year when refrigerated. But anecdotally we know that they can last for decades; some of the oldest have been preserved for more than a century.

The chemical composition of the cake makes it possible to keep it for a 100 years. Indeed, its density prevents bacteria and mold to proliferate and its alcohol content makes it more sanitized, which also has an impact on its conservation.

White cake is a type of cake that is often vanilla flavored and made without egg yolks. White cakes can be butter cakes or sponge cakes. Angel food cake is a type of sponge cake that is considered a white cake because it is made using only egg whites.

Put the flour, grated nutmeg, mixed spice, butter, sugar, eggs, chopped almonds, black treacle and the citrus zest into a large bowl and beat well to mix thoroughly. Fold in the soaked fruits. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and spread out evenly with the back of a spoon.

Occasionally 'feed' your Christmas cake by placing a small amount of brandy, sherry or whisky into small holes all over the cake. This will keep it moist and result in a very rich cake. Sherry, dark rum, whisky, brandy or orange-flavoured liqueurs (Cointreau or Grand Marnier) are all great alcohol choices.

Whiskey serves as a great substitute for brandy in a fruitcake. Although whiskey comes from fermented grain mash while brandy is made from fermented grape mash, the process is so similar, that the flavor will be similar as well.

They're packed with nuts, spices, and dried fruit, and while many modern and commercial fruitcakes are alcohol-free, traditionally the cake is also soaked in alcohol. The booze can help boost your cake's flavor, while also keeping it moist and adding a preservative effect that creates that signature long shelf life.

Soak all your dried fruits in your spirit of choice – whisky or brandy would be the most traditional options, though other aged spirits like rum also work, and sweeter additions like sherry, Cointreau or amaretto will add their own character.