Let them eat cake...Wine Wednesday

​Fruitcake, to be precise. Who likes it?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Well, I do. I love fruitcake and I’m not ashamed to admit it. The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a slice or two of the dark, moist, fragrant confection.
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The best fruitcakes are baked early to allow flavours to develop and intensify. I start mine at least a month before Christmas.

​Firstly, dried fruits are dumped in a bowl and doused with a glug or two of booze. Some use rum. Some use brandy. I use whisky. Canadian Club Rye Whisky to be precise.

Tasting of the fruit at this stage is mandatory. <grin>
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After allowing the fruit to soak up the booze for at least twelve hours (I give it an entire day [more time to taste test the fruit]) it’s stirred into a batter rich with butter, eggs and sugar. Also those warm spices that scream holiday baking – nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and allspice.

​The batter is plunked in a lined baking pan and baked at a low temperature for hours. 285 degrees Fahrenheit for four hours to be precise. The house smells divine. It smells like the holidays of my childhood.
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Then the cake needs to cool completely. Given its density, that takes a couple hours.

​To help keep the cake moist, and to aid in its longevity, the cake is “fed” with additional booze, whisky in this case, at regular intervals. I feed mine weekly by sprinkling a few tablespoons of whisky over the top of the cake before tightly re-wrapping it in parchment paper and tin foil. Normally I’d store the cake in a large cake tin but IT’S STILL IN STORAGE!

Ahem.

Perhaps it’s time for another cake feeding. And I might just have a tipple, too.

Do you like fruitcake? Have you tried a homemade version that’s nicely steeped in spirits?

Cheers!
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P.S. Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow to all my American friends and relations!