Should you soak dried fruit before baking?

If you plan to cook or bake with dried fruit, soaking it first will keep it plump and moist. It also prevents the fruit from absorbing excess liquid from the recipe. It’s a small step, but one that can make a real difference in the final quality of the dish.

How do you keep fruit cake moist?

Keep Your Cake Moist Along with setting your oven to the right temperature to ensure your fruit cake doesn’t end up unpleasantly dry, try adding a cup of applesauce to the batter. And to further prevent your cake from drying out, keep a pan of hot water on a lower rack in the oven to add moisture while it bakes.

How do you make a Mary Berry fruit cake?

Mary Berry’s classic fruit cake

1. 350g/12oz currants.
2. 225g/8oz sultanas.
3. 225g/8oz raisins.
4. 175g/6oz glacé cherries, rinsed, dried and quartered.
5. 175g/6oz ready-to-eat dried apricots, snipped into pieces.
6. 75g/3oz mixed candied peel, finely chopped.
7. 4 tbsp brandy, plus extra brandy for ‘feeding’ the cake.
8. 275g/10 oz plain flour.

How long should you soak fruit for Christmas cake?

Soaking the dried fruits for a minimum of 2-3 months is recommended for a rich Fruit Cake. Use your choice of favorite dried fruits and alcohol. My Mum-in-law always adds dates, walnuts, and raisins and the spices are added later while making the cake batter.

What is the best alcohol to soak fruit in for Christmas cake?

rum
For that fruits need to be soaked in alcohol (preferable brandy; rum. sherry also works well) properly for 1 month or upto a year. It is also very important to allow the cake to be matured by feeding the same alcohol which has been used to soak the fruits till Christmas.

What is the best alcohol for Christmas cake?

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.

Why is my fruit cake moist but crumbly?

One of the major reasons why your fruit cake is moist but crumbly is the gluten content of the flour you use to bake. Dorsey Schools explains that all-purpose flour can contain anywhere from 10 to 12 percent gluten. Dense cakes result from flours with a high protein content and from using too much flour in the dough.

Which Brandy is best for fruit cake?

The Best Brandy for Fruitcake

• Courvoisier VSOP is the perfect brandy for when you want to level up your fruitcake – or any other recipe you’re making.
• Bertoux Brandy comes from California where it’s made with a Solera-style distillation method.
• Laird’s Applejack is a beautiful blend of neutral spirits and apple brandy.

What is the difference between Christmas cake and fruit cake?

Therefore, this is the key difference between fruit cake and Christmas pudding. Another difference between fruit cake and Christmas cake is their ingredients. While both contain dried fruits and nuts, fruit cake contains butter to hold them together, and Christmas pudding contains eggs and suet.