2 things you should know about dry fruits in fruitcake

Fruitcakes are for mainly for Christmas and weddings in Nigeria. To be sincere the trend is changing gradually you know everyone is trying something new from vanilla, Chocolate to velvet cakes, fruitcakes are still the hit at these times. I sometimes add fruits in these cakes depending on what my customer wants. Its always wonderful to taste the delicious,yummy,moistness in a cake.Its also one of my go to cakes when i want to unwind and refresh with youghurt.

So there’s
The dark fruitcake
The rich fruitcake
The mild fruitcake

The key to a fruitcake is being moist. It should be moist.I doubt anyone wants a dry, hard cake no matter how nice it tastes.

What’s a fruitcake without FRUIT? I’ve seen a lot of recipes with different kinds of fruits.
Raisins
Sultanas
Currants
Cherries etc
There are different methods of preserving your fruits before incorporating it into the cake batter.

Here are 2 methods I’d like to talk about because it has worked for me.

The first step is SOAKING: This would keep the fruits very plump and moist.soaking can be done with alcohol.Some customers don’t want alcohol in their cakes which is funny because the alcohol content evaporates when it bakes in the oven.One could soak it in dark rum a day before baking.Another alternative one could use is sugar syrup, orange juice and lemon zest.It could be there for weeks.

Also STEAMING… This is what you do when you need it asap. You can also do this when you don’t want to use alcohol. Steam the friuits on a low heat for about 10-15 minutes, in a mixture of fruit juice water and spices. You could also use non alcoholic juice.

So how i do mine. I soak my fruits in a topper bucket (you can use any bowl or bottle that is well covered)for at least 3 weeks before i need it. The liquid content is dark rum ,Brandy, Sugar syrup.the fruits in Nigeria are sold in a pack all mixed so i buy like 2 or 3 depending on the quantity i need to use. This can last for 6 months plus.

I’d love to hear how you preseve your dry fruits,so comment, like and follow this Page ❤️