Aged Cherry Wine Christmas Fruit Cake

November 24th, 2022 - a month before Christmas eve is a perfect time to start making your own fruit cake. My family prefers a simple cake coated only with apricot glaze to limit the sugar. Cake is loaded with plenty of spices, dried fruits and nuts. This scrumptious venture can be coated with icing or marzipan if you wish. The alcohol moistens the cake and adds plenty of flavors. My cake has been started today and will be moistened once a week with cherry wine called “Nalewka Babuni” which is available in any liquor store in Ontario under fortified wines and is much lower in alcohol content than rum, but again you can use any alcohol you wish. This recipe has no candied cherries as per my family preference. You choose your own mixed fruits and nuts as you like. I hope you will follow my steps and make this delicious cake as soon as you read my blog.

Yield: 16 slices

Equipment: 1 kg round tin or springform

Ingredients:

• 180g unsalted butter

• 200g muscovado sugar

• 500g mixed dried fruits of your choice: prunes, apricots, raisins, dried currants, cranberries, pears, figs, dates etc.

• 50g chopped pecans

• 50g chopped hazelnuts or walnuts

• 100g ground almond

• 60ml cherry wine or brandy plus extra to moist the cake after baking

• 1 lemon zest

• 1 orange juice and zest

• 1 tsp pure vanilla essence

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp allspice

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

• 3 eggs

• 200g bread flour or all purpose flour

• 1.5 tsp baking powder

Apricot Glaze Recipe:

• 8 tsp apricot jam(smooth consistency) - puree if it is chunky

• 1 tablespoon of filtered water

Spoon the apricot jam into a little saucepan, add water, heat gently, take of the heat and glaze the fruit cake. Decorate the cake with slices almonds and candied fruit if you wish. Paint a second coat of apricot glaze over the top to give a glossy finish.

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in the large pan at the medium heat and add all dried fruits. lemon zest, orange juice and orange zest. 60ml cherry wine and vanilla essence. Let the mixture come to a boil. Stir the mixture and turn off the heat. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes well covered which will allow the fruit to moist and develop great aroma.

2. Heat the oven to 300°F or 150°C. Grease the tin and line it with parchment paper bottom and sides. Make sure to allow at least 8 cm of paper above the rim to protect the cake from over drying and burning.

3. Add all nuts, eggs, flour and other remaining ingredients to fruit mixture. Stir with the wooden spoon until everything is just combined. Do not overmix.

4. Spoon the mixture into the pan and smooth gently the top.

5. Bake on the middle shelf for 50 minutes, then turn down the heat to 275°F or 140°C and bake the cake for another 1 hour or more until the cake is evenly well browned and the skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

6. Remove from the oven and while still hot make 20 holes all over the cake with the skewer.

7. Pour 60ml cherry wine all over the cake.

8. Let the cake to cool down in the tin. Remove from the tin and wrap the cake in the double layer of parchment paper and a double layer of aluminum foil.

9. Place it in the airtight container. Store it in the room temperature away from daylight for the next 4 weeks moisten it with 30ml cherry wine once a week.

10. A few days before Christmas coat the cake with apricot glaze and decorate with marzipan as per your own imagination!

    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!