How to feed a Christmas cake (2024)

FAQs

Do you feed a Christmas cake from the top or bottom? ›

Slathered with a bit of butter or paired with a slice of very sharp cheddar, this makes an excellent midday treat. Fruitcake also gets a second life crumbled over ice cream. We love the chewy bites paired with the melting ice cream. The ice cream also helps mellow the intense flavor of the fruitcake.

To do this, each week, simply unwrap the cake and brush the surface with 1-2 tablespoons brandy (or pour it over), allowing it to soak in. You can also use other spirits or fortified wines as long as they have a reasonably high alcohol content, and they complement the flavours within your cake.

Feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp alcohol every fortnight, until you ice it. Don't feed the cake for the final week to give the surface a chance to dry before icing.

The videos below give great tips on how to trim it neatly and create the perfect base for icing your Christmas cake. Leave the Christmas cake covered in marzipan in a cool, dry place. Allow it to dry for at least 24 hours before covering with fondant icing, and at least two days before covering with royal icing.

It is possible to use orange juice instead of alcohol for feeding Christmas cakes but we would suggest as a precaution that this is only done a couple of months in advance of the cake being eaten.

Christmas cakes are also commonly made with pudding while a fruit cake uses butter, however there are Christmas cake recipes that do contain butter. The traditional Scottish Christmas cake, also known as the Whisky Dundee, is very popular.

We recommend wrapping your fruitcake in plastic wrap before placing it in an airtight container. Then, place that container in the fridge. Doing this can ensure your fruitcake stays fresh for up to two months.

What should you feed your Christmas cake? Traditionally Christmas cake has a rich, spicy fruity taste, often associated with brandy but whisky, sherry and fortified wine such as Madeira or port can be used.

Why is my Christmas cake too moist? ›

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.

Like Fine Wine, Fruitcake Get Better With Time

The most common duration to properly age a fruitcake is about three months.

Wrap the cake in greaseproof paper or baking parchment then wrap it in kitchen foil. Store cake in a second layer of foil or in an airtight tin.

Hello, The brown paper is tied around the outside of the tin to protect the edges from getting overcooked during the long slow cooking.

Yes, you can make a fruit cake without brandy. 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.

The center oven rack is ideal for baking cakes and other desserts. However, to achieve the flaky and crispy underside of a pie, positioning the racks lower in your oven can help avoid an undercooked crust.

Add the cake batter in your pan and tap the cake pan lightly on the counter to even out the batter and to remove any air bubbles. First things first: it's important to know that the top of the cake is actually the bottom of the cake, i.e. the bottom that was touching the bottom of the cake pan while it was baking.

Also— I can never quite figure out which way to position the layers! If the cake is turned out of the pan, upside down, then the bottom is the top.

If there is any wet cake better or damp crumbs clinging to the skewer then the cake should be baked for a further 15 minutes and tested again. Unfortunalely we would not suggest re-baking an under baked cake. Turn the cake over and try cutting out a small section from the centre.