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Label Your Fruitcakes: If you baked all your cakes in one day, please, feel free to skip this step. But if you baked your fruitcakes within an interval of a few weeks, then, you should at least label them with a date of production. This will help you ascertain the age of the cake and to monitor the ageing process. If you also used different brands of ageing alcohol in your fruitcakes or you swapped fruits for nuts in some cakes, then, these details should also be included in your fruitcake label. Feed it: The cake you wrapped up and stored for ageing should not be allowed to starve to death. It must be fed weekly. In case you’re wondering, fruitcake feeds on alcohol. Alcohol adds extra moisture to the cake. My aunt Winifred uses brandy or whisky to brush her fruitcakes. But you can use rum, cognac or whatever brand of alcohol that you prefer to age your fruitcakes. If a fruitcake is moistened with alcohol, it’ll age well. It’ll keep for a long time without going bad or dry. Having said that, I’ll advise you to use a clean skewer to poke holes on the top of your cake before ageing them with alcohol. The holes will make it easy for the liquor to get to the bottom of the cake. Failure to do this may result in a soggy cake top and dry cake bottoms.
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Store it Properly: After sealing the fruit cakes, the next step is storage. Fruitcakes should be stored in a cool, dry place because they will spoil if they’re exposed to too much heat. Now, if your first thought on seeing a cool, dry place is a fridge, you’re probably not the only one whose mind went in that direction. However, fruitcakes should not be stored in the fridge or freezer. At least not in the first four weeks. That’s because the cold will halt the ageing process. Thus, you should consider storing them in a cupboard, pantry or closet. Unwrap Your Cake if it’s too Moist: Fruitcakes are fed alcohol till they are moist and heavy, but if the cakes are too moist, please take them out of the container and remove all wrappings. Allow them to stand at room temperature for at least twenty-four hours. Afterwards, rewrap and freeze for it is no longer advisable to continue seasoning. If fruitcake is aged properly before refrigerating or freezing, it will keep for months and even years. Finally, these tips are all you need to bake a winning fruitcake, one that will become the family’s favourite. So, start baking. Sources: A Beautiful Plate Eat This What’s Cooking America Featured Image Source: King Arthur Baking
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