Clementine & chocolate Christmas cake recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak fruit in Christmas cake? ›

Soak the fruit overnight so it can absorb the alcohol and plump up.

If you want to keep the cake for a very long time, it is helpful to reinvigorate the cheesecloth with a new infusion of rum, juice or brandy every month, taking care to rewrap the cake as outlined above. A good quality apple left in the container with a stored fruit cake helps to keep the moisture in the cake.

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

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. It is a light crumbly cake with currants, raisins, cherries and Scotch whisky.

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.

The best way to avoid sinking fruit is to toss the fruit in a couple of tablespoons of the flour (just use some from the measured amount for the recipe) to coat it lightly. Once added to the cake mixture the flour coating will thicken the batter immediately surrounding the fruit and help suspend the fruit.

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.

And you can use other alternatives such as sweet sherry, Grand Marnier or Amaretto. It is possible to use orange juice instead of alcohol to soak the fruits but we would not use it to feed the cake with after baking as fruit juice spoils more easily than alcohol.

Test with a temperature probe to ensure the cake has baked to a temperature between 92 and 94 degrees celsius. Remove from the cooker, leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before removing and storing in a tin, wrapped in further paper or foil until Christmas.

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. You can repeat the feeding process every couple of weeks for three or four feeds. However, if the cake makes the work surface damp, appears wet or stodgy, discontinue feeding.

Is brandy or sherry better for Christmas cake? ›

Usually brandy, although you can use whiskey or dark rum if you prefer. Cherry brandy or kirschwasser might be good too- particularly if you like cherries. As a rule of thumb it should be something dark that's going to add flavour to the cake- although kirschwasser is a clear spirit it tastes of cherries.

Most recipes call for dried fruit to be soaked overnight. I take a speedy approach: just microwave the dried fruit with juice and/or brandy, then stand for 1 hour to soak up the liquid. So much faster – and just as effective! Other than that, there's nothing unusual about how this fruit cake is made.

Yes, it will work if you make it slightly later on in the year, but it's best to crack on as soon as possible. I've always been told whether its from the notes in my Granny's baking bible, or just by word of mouth, that 12 weeks before Christmas is the best time to create a Christmas cake.

The cakes go on discount once Dec. 25 rolls around — a fact that gave birth to an unfortunate bit of old Japanese slang: "Christmas cake" was used to refer to an unmarried woman who was over 25 and thus, considered past her prime.

Good quality Rum is used to soak the fruits and nuts. Some prefer to use a mixture of rum and brandy or wine too. It is also possible to soak fruits using non-alcoholic beverage.

If you are planning on using dried fruits, it may be a good idea to soak them first. Dried fruits can lose up to 75% of their volume during the drying process according to cookinglight.com. Once they are mixed with the other ingredients they will begin to reabsorb the moisture around them.

If you do not want to use alcohol then fresh orange juice is an alternative, though you should leave the fruits in orange juice to soak overnight in the fridge once they have cooled.

For a mixing bowl, add 1 teaspoon baking soda to every 2 cups cold water. If your produce is on a vine, such as tomatoes, or leafy like a head of lettuce, separate the produce and remove all vines and outer leaves. Submerge the fruit or vegetables in the baking soda water. Let soak for 12 to 15 minutes.