Rum Fruit Cake Food

SPICED RUM FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°. Line a 9x5-in. loaf pan with parchment, letting ends extend up sides of pan; grease and set aside., In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the walnuts, dates, cherries and mangoes; toss to coat. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar and 1/2 cup rum until blended; stir into fruit mixture. Transfer to prepared pan., Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours. Cool in pan on a wire rack 20 minutes. Slowly pour remaining rum over cake. Cool completely. Wrap tightly and store in a cool, dry place overnight. Cut with a serrated knife.

RUM FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• soak mango, papaya, currants and zest in 1/2 cup rum (while you prepare the rest of the ingredients).
• cream butter and sugar.
• Add egg, vanilla and sour cream.
• sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder.
• Add butter and flour mixture together. Stir.
• Add fruit mixture and coconut.
• (if too dry add just a little more rum!).
• Place mixture in a bundt pan.
• Bake at 325 degrees 1 1/2 hours or until cake is done!
• While cake is warm, poke holes in the top with tooth pick and sprinkle remaining 3 tbls rum.

FRUITCAKE WITH RUM

Steps:

• In a large bowl mix the first nine ingredients. Pour rum over and stir. Cover and let sit overnight. Stirring occasionally.
• In a large bowl cream the butter with the brown sugar until fluffy.
• Beat in eggs one at a time beating well after each egg.
• In a medium bowl sift 2 cups of the flour with baking powder,salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.
• Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and stir well.
• Toss 1/4 cup flour with the rum soaked fruits.
• Pour batter over the fruit mixture and mix really well. Batter will be very thick.
• Spoon into two 9 X 5 loaf pans lined with greased brown paper. Smooth the tops of the batter in the pans. If you wish arrange some candied cherries and almonds on top of batter.
• Place pans in middle of the oven which has been preheated to 275°F Also place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack. Bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until toothpick comes out clean. Place loaves in pan on rack for 15 minutes to cool completely. Remove paper or foil and wrap in rum soaked cheesecloth and wrap in foil. Store in cool, dry place for several weeks.

RUM FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F Grease either a funnel pan or a bundt pan with margarine or butter.
• In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients together (including spices).
• In a smaller bowl, mix all wet ingredients together, and slowly mix it into the dry ingredients until well blended. Incorporate the fruit.
• Carefully place the batter evenly throughout the pan, and bake for 30-45 minutes. Let cool, and drizzle with your favourite frosting or glaze.

FREE RANGE FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Combine dried fruits, candied ginger and both zests. Add rum and macerate overnight, or microwave for 5 minutes to re-hydrate fruit.
• Place fruit and liquid in a non-reactive pot with the sugar, butter, apple juice and spices. Bring mixture to a boil stirring often, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for at least 15 minutes. (Batter can be completed up to this point, then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before completing cake.)
• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine dry ingredients and sift into fruit mixture. Quickly bring batter together with a large wooden spoon, then stir in eggs one at a time until completely integrated, then fold in nuts. Spoon into a 10-inch non-stick loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, bake another 10 minutes, and check again.
• Remove cake from oven and place on cooling rack or trivet. Baste or spritz top with brandy and allow to cool completely before turning out from pan.
• When cake is completely cooled, seal in a tight sealing, food safe container. Every 2 to 3 days, feel the cake and if dry, spritz with brandy. The cake's flavor will enhance considerably over the next two weeks. If you decide to give the cake as a gift, be sure to tell the recipient that they are very lucky indeed.

TRINIDAD BLACK CAKE

Steps:

• To prepare the fruit mix: Finely chop currants, raisins, prunes, figs and cherries.
• Combine in a large bowl with mixed peel and almonds.
• Mix vanilla and ground cloves with rum, and pour the rum mixture over the fruit mix.
• Stir to combine.
• Cover the bowl tightly, and let soak for a minimum of 24 hours and up to one month.
• Prepare the caramelised sugar on the day you intend to bake the cake.
• Put brown sugar in a heavy pot.
• Carefully cook over low heat stirring constantly, until sugar liquefies and begins to turn darker.
• Do not burn!
• When sugar has turned dark, remove pot from heat and gradually stir in hot water.
• Mix well.
• Let the mixture cool.
• Final cooking: Preheat oven to 120 C (250 F).
• Line a round cake tin with buttered parchment paper.
• Stir lime peel and caramelised sugar into the fruit mixture.
• Set aside.
• Sift together flour and baking powder.
• Set aside.
• Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until blended.
• Add the flour mixture, stir to combine.
• Add the fruit mixture, stir to combine.
• Pour batter into the prepared tin and place the pan in a larger shallow pan filled with hot water.
• Cook in the preheated oven for 2 1/2- 3 hours or until cake tests done.
• Cake should shrink from the sides of the pan.
• Cool cake in the tin for 24 hours before removing.
• Let the cake ripen for some time before serving.
• Fruit cake keeps very well, but if you want to store it for a longer time, moisten it with additional rum from time to time.

TROPICAL FRUIT CAKES

Steps:

• Grease and lightly flour eight 1-cup fluted tube pans or six 4-1/2x2-1/2x1-1/2-inch individual loaf pans and set pans aside.
• In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
• In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds, add brown sugar; beat until combined.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed until combined (The batter may appear curdled).
• Combine 1/4 cup rum or pineapple juice, 1/4 cup pineapple juice, the corn syrup, ginger, and vanilla.
• Add flour mixture and rum mixture alternately to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
• Fold in fruit bits and nuts.
• Spread batter in prepared pan.
• Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes for fluted tube pans or 30 to 35 minutes for loaf pans or until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean.
• Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool at least 1 hour on racks.
• Poke holes in cakes using a wooden toothpick or bamboo skewer.
• Soak eight or six 8-inch-square pieces of double thickness 100-percent cotton cheesecloth with the 1/3 cup rum or pineapple juice and wrap each cake in rum- or juice-soaked cheesecloth.
• Wrap each cake tightly in foil or seal in a plastic bag.
• Chill in refrigerator for 24 hours.
• Remove foil or remove cakes from bags; drizzle with 1/4 cup rum or pineapple juice. Rewrap with foil or return to plastic bags and refrigerate at least 24 hours.
• Remove cheesecloth before serving.
• If desired, sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar. Makes 6 or 8 cakes (24 servings).
• Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare Tropical Fruit Cake as directed through until the 24 hr chill, except refrigerate up to 5 days. (Or prepare Tropical Fruit Cakes as directed through up to 24 hr chill, except do not sprinkle with powdered sugar. Place in self-sealing freezer bags. Seal, label, and freeze up to 3 months.)
• To serve, thaw frozen cakes in freezer bags in the refrigerator overnight. Serve as directed.

BUTTERED RUM CHRISTMAS CAKE

Steps:

• Start with the fruit. Pour the apple juice into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the butter, let it melt, then take off the heat and add the syrup and rum. Put the mixed fruit and cranberries into a large bowl, pour over the hot rum mix, then cover tightly with cling film and leave overnight.
• The next day, heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and double-line a 20cm round, deep cake tin with non-stick baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and pale, then gradually beat in the eggs until light and fluffy. If the mix starts to split or look lumpy, add 1 tbsp of the flour and keep beating. Sift in the flour, spices and ¼ tsp salt, and fold in using a large spoon. Fold in the orange zest, nuts, soaked fruit and soaking liquid.
• Spoon the batter into the tin, level the top, then make a slight dimple in the middle using the back of the spoon. Bake for 1 hr 30 mins, then reduce oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1 and bake for a further 1 hr 45 mins or until it has risen, is a dark golden colour and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Put the tin on a cooling rack and leave until warm.
• To feed the cake the first time, use a cocktail stick to poke all over the top of the warm cake. Stir together the rum and maple syrup, then slowly spoon over the cake. Cool completely, then remove the baking parchment, wrap loosely in clean baking parchment and store in an airtight tin. Feed the cake every week to 10 days until you decorate it.
• To cover, ice and decorate your cake, see 'goes well with' for instructions on how to make our Midwinter candle cake, Sparkly bauble cake or Sparkling snowfetti cake.

FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Grease and flour a tube pan.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, soda, spices, eggs, lemon rind, vanilla, 1/2 cup brandy, fruit, nuts, and melted butter or margarine. Mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared pan.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
• Wrap cooled cake in foil. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons brandy over the cake everyday for 2 weeks.

CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Soak cherries, mango, cranberries, currants, and citron in 1/4 cup rum for at least 24 hours. Cover tightly, and store at room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter a 6x3-inch round pan or loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; mix into butter and sugar in three batches, alternating with molasses and milk. Stir in soaked fruit and chopped nuts. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons rum.
• Cut out one piece parchment paper and one piece cheesecloth, each large enough to wrap around the cake. Moisten cheesecloth with 1 tablespoon rum. Arrange cheesecloth on top of parchment paper, and unmold cake onto it. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with remaining rum. Wrap the cheesecloth closely to the surface of the cake, then wrap with paper. Place in an airtight tin, and age for at least 10 weeks. If storing longer, douse with additional rum for every 10 weeks of storage.

FRUITY RUM BUNDT CAKE

Steps:

• Combine apricots, cherries, raisins, and 1/2 cup rum in a small bowl and let sit 30 minutes to allow fruit to rehydrate. Drain, reserving rum. Sprinkle fruit with 3 Tbsp. flour and toss to coat; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Thoroughly butter pan, making sure to get into all the curved or ridged places; dust pan with flour (do this even if your pan has a nonstick coating). Whisk baking powder, salt, cloves, and 3 cups flour in a medium bowl to combine. Whisk reserved rum, oil, and 1 1/4 cups sour cream in another medium bowl to combine.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat 2 cups raw sugar and remaining 1 cup butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; reserve pod for another use. Add egg yolks and egg one at a time, beating to blend after each addition; beat until mixture is light and very fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Fold in reserved dried fruit. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top. Tap pan firmly a few times on counter to force batter into edges of pan.
• Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Invert cake onto a serving plate; carefully remove pan and brush warm cake with remaining 2 Tbsp. rum. Let cool completely, about 3 hours.
• Mix powdered sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. sour cream in another small bowl, thinning with more sour cream if desired (the thinner the glaze, the further it will drip down the sides of the cake), until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cake, working along the center of the top of the cake for even coverage, and sprinkle with raw sugar. Let sit 10 minutes for glaze to set before slicing with a serrated knife.
• Do Ahead
• Cake can be baked 1 day ahead. Do not glaze. Store loosely covered at room temperature.