Make a Birthday Fruitcake
Edited by Nate Pepperell, Eulalee, Eng, Ephraim and 4 others
Fruitcake has been a traditional wedding cake and has also been known as a Christmas cake for many years. Many people now serve this during Christmas and rarely even serve during weddings because of the modern cake recipes that had boomed.
A fruitcake is made up commonly with different kinds of fruits (candied and dried), as to where it got its name. It may be served as it is, or can also be decorated with icing/frosting. Traditional fruitcakes consists of liqueur (brandy) which is not really suitable for kids consumption so some made a revision that doesn't consist of any liqueur for the kids to also enjoy the goodness of the recipe.
Although it is known to be a Christmas and Wedding recipe, of course it is not just limited to those occasions. You can serve it anytime you want, most especially during Birthdays.
Make your spouse a delicious fruitcake for his birthday. It's always a greater gesture of love when the cake is made by you rather than store bought. Make sure to bake the cake ahead of time so that it mellows and matures. And, remember to invite friends over!
Preparation time: 4 hrs
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 13 1/2 cups dried sultanas
- 21 1/2 cups blanched almonds, cut into halves
- 32 tablespoon grated lemon rind
- 41/2 cup mixed peal
- 51/2 kg (2 cups) butter
- 63 cups plain flour
- 71 cup self-rising flour
- 88 pieces eggs
- 91 1/2 cups chopped raisins
- 101/3 cup orange marmalade
- 111 tablespoon grated lemon rind
- 121/4 cup lemon juice
- 132/3 cup brandy
- 143 1/4 cups of currant
- 152 cups brown sugar
- 162/3 cup glace cherries cut into halves
Instructions on how to make a birthday fruitcake
- 1Stir to mix well, cover the bowl with cling wrap and allow the mixture to stand for 4-6 days.First combine the fruits, almonds, rind, juice, marmalade and the brandy in a large bowl.
- 2Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time.Cream the butter with sugar in an equally large bowl with an electric hand mixer until they are perfectly combined.
- 3Then add the sifted flour in two portions.Add in the butter and sugar mixture to the fruit mixture and mix thoroughly.
- 4You can choose the shape of your pan as desired. Make sure to grease first the pan so that it won't be hard to remove it when baked.Spread the mixture evenly in a deep pan.
- 5Bake in a slow oven for about 3 to 5 hours.
- 6When the cake is done, remove from the oven and let it sit and completely cool before removing the cake from the pan.
- 7Serve as you please.
Tips, Tricks & Warnings
- The size of your fruitcake is determined by the amount of butter used in your recipe. About 1/4 kg of butter makes 250 grams of cake; 1/2 kg of butter makes 500 grams of cake and so on.
- Remember to add your eggs one at a time ensuring that each one is fully absorbed in the butter and sugar mixture before adding another. Adding the eggs quickly might lead to the curdling of the mixture.
- Use the eggs and butter at room temperature.
- Beat the butter and sugar by hand or use an electric mixer until it clings to the sides of the bowl. Don't beat until the butter becomes pale.
- Over creaming of the sugar and butter results in overly crumbly fruit cake.
- If you plan of freezing the cake, wait for at least 4 weeks before doing so. The cake won't mellow and mature if freezes right away.
- Aside from brandy (if you don't have any) you can always use, wine. If kids are involved it is safer for you to use fruit juice such as apple juice.
- If you're planning to store the cake for a long time, it is better to wrap it first with a soaked cloth (soaked in brandy or wine) then with a plastic wrap.
Questions and Answers
Do you have a recipe for a gluten free fruit cake?
My boyfriend is allergic to gluten and I want to make him a birthday fruit cake.. I have tried: I have tried making a flourless fruitcake but it is not as good as one with flour.
First of all, please take a look at our tutorial on how to bake a cake using homemade coconut flour. The best mix for a delicate cake is a mix of white-rice flour and tapioca Rice flour is the most common and neutral in taste out of all of the gluten-free flours.
Now, for the recipe. You will need:
- 3 eggs;
- 2/3 cups of sugar;
- slightly less than 1/2 cup of rice flour;
- 8 teaspoons of potato flour;
- 4 teaspoons of tapioca flour
- 1/3 teaspoons of baking soda;
- some cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice to react with soda;
- olive oil for the baking dish;
- 1 can (800 ml) of canned fruits or berries in syrup;
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar powder;
- 200 grams of silken tofu (usually, 3/4 of a pack);
- alternatively, use 3/4 cup of cream (33 % fat);
- 1/2 tablespoon of gelatin;
- 1/6 cup of water.
- 1Heat the oven to 180 ºC.
- 2Mix 3 eggs with sugar until they become a solid color. Add rice flour, potato flour, and tapioca flour. Mix again until the dough becomes thick. Prepare soda in a separate bowl: mix it with vinegar or lemon juice. Then, add these ingredients to the dough and mix well.Prepare gluten-free dough.
- 3Take an oven dish (22 cm or 10 inches in diameter, usually) and spread olive oil over it, pour in the dough, and put the dish into the oven.
- 4Test the dough with a toothpick or match.Bake for 18 - 20 minutes.
- 5Let it cool down, but do not open Windows in your kitchen. It must cool down in a warm room.When the cake is ready, cover it with a towel to prevent its collapsing.
- 6Separate the fruits or berries from the syrup. Spread the syrup over the cake with a silicone brush. One layer per several minutes. Add several layers to soak the cake.Open a can with fruits or berries in syrup.
- 7Mix gelatin with water and let it swell for 30 minutes. Then, heat this mixture up on steam until gelatin dissolves. Do not boil them! Then, take gelatin in water off the steam and let the mixture cool down. Add cold silken tofu (or cream for those who tolerate dairy products) with cold sugar. Beat the tofu or cream in a cold dish (this improves the quality of the topping) by gradually adding sugar powder. Keep beating sugar with tofu or cream until you get soft but stable "peaks" in the mass. It is important to catch that moment and pour in gelatin into the topping. Then, quickly spread the topping over the cake. Put the shredded fruits or berries from the can on top of the cake. Put the cake in the fridge for 3 hours.Prepare the topping.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
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Article Info
Categories : Desserts | Gifts & Presents
Recent edits by: Donna, Rebecca M., Rafah Perlado
