The OG Christmas Cake: Celebrate this Holiday with Moist and Rich Fruitcake
Fruitcakes are a great deal during this holiday season. The tradition of baking and eating plum and rich fruit cake, and gifting the same to family and friends makes the heart just warm and fill with love! The traditional process of making the OG Christmas Fruitcake involves different steps, where soaking the dried fruits in rum well in advance is the first step. The process of baking this cake is definitely rewarding at home, but takes a lot of patience and precision to be achieve the perfect one!
The Story of the Christmas Cake…
We cannot imagine Christmas festivities without a fruitcake. The smell of freshly baked cake loaded with berries, nuts, raisins, candied fruits, dates, figs, apricots, etc. and soaked in alcohol adds a boozy and string flavor to it. The concept of this cake arose from the Roman Empire where the soldiers carried it as a long-lasting source of food.
With more accessibility of dry fruits during the Middle Ages, the European countries adapted the concept of the fruitcake. By the 18th and 19th century, Britain already included the opulence of this cake in celebrations and festivities with more availability of spices and candied fruits. The process of preserving in baking the baking the cake resulted in consumption of an extended period time.
The Dynamism of the Fruitcake around the World
Fruitcakes are popular all over the world. In Germany, they are known as ‘Stollen’, where the cakes are decorated with powdered sugar to offer a snowy look. In Bulgaria and Poland, these cakes are known as ‘Keks’, and in Italy, these are known as ‘Pannetonne’ or ‘Panforte’.
To enjoy such rich Christmas Fruitcake, you can follow the given recipe, or visit Pastry Prime, Guwahati for more such cakes and delicious pastries.
Required Ingredients
- For the rich fruit mix
- Citrus zest from lemon and orange
- Mixed dry fruits like raisins, cashews, almonds, currants, chopped dates, candied cherries, apricots, and other available dry fruits (around 800 g)
- 250 ml of brandy or rum
- For the batter
- 250 g of all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp of total cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon
- A cup of softened butter
- A cup of brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 100 g of chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- For feeding or brushing 100 ml of rum or brandy
Method of Preparation
Step 1: Preparation of Fruit Mixture
- In a large bowl, mix the dried fruits, alcohol, and citrus zest and let in soak. for around 48 hours. Stir continuously sometimes.
Step 2: Preparation of the Batter
- Preheat the oven at 300°F.
- Grease a cake tin.
- Beat the butter and sugar until they appear fluffy and light.
- Add one egg at a time, and beat the same accordingly after adding one by one.
- Pour the spices, baking powder, and flour and fold in gently.
- Add the soaked nuts and fruits, until properly mixed.
Step 3: Baking the Cake
- Now pour the mixture in the cake tin and smoothen the top.
- Bake the cake for around 80 to 90 minutes and keep check the doneness with a skewer
- Before removing from the tin, cool it completely.
Step 4: Feeding the cake
- By using a skewer, poke holes all over the cake and brush the cake gently with some rum or brandy.
- After wrapping in a foil and parchment paper, keep the cake in an airtight container.
Enjoy the cake just not for the Christmas, but for an extended period of time. As Christmas is incomplete without a rich fruitcake, similarly Guwahati’s foodies’ gastronomic expedition this holiday season remains incomplete without this luxurious cake!