Easy Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe

Easy Christmas fruit cake recipe. Tasty dessert baked in an oven. A rich fruit cake suitable for Christmas, wedding, birthday, and other celebration cakes. Basic 1/2 pound (240 g) quantity weight refers to butter weight, not the full weight of the cooked cake.

Quantities for Various Cake Sizes

• Half quantities of fruit cake mixture require 2- 2½ hours in 300º F oven.
• One and a half quantities of fruit cake mixture require 5- 5½ hours in the coolest position of 300º F oven, reducing after the first 2½ hours to 250º F.

To avoid over-brown and hardening of the top of the large cakes, a sheet of paper may be placed over the top for the first 2-3 hours of cooking. leave the cake until cold before turning out and remove all but the last lining paper. Wrap in aluminum foil and store for at least a week before using. Longer storage mellows the flavor.

For extra moistness, a little rum, brandy, or sherry may be brushed over the cake just before wrapping and the process repeated once a week until the cake is required for icing.

Tiered Celebration Cakes

One, two, or three-tiered cakes are the most popular. To obtain a balanced effect the size of the cakes must be carefully proportioned.

Suggested sizes:

• One-tier- 12 inches in diameter.
• Two-tier- base 11 inches, top 7 inches.
• Three-tier- base 12 inches, middle 9 inches, top b inches.

Cake sizes are usually planned to suit the size of the function and the number of slices required. If a large number of slices is needed but only a modest decorated cake is desired, and extra cake (iced but not decorated) may be prepared and presented as cut slices only. many brides like to keep the top tier of their wedding cake for their first anniversary or perhaps a christening so this must be taken into account when planning the cake quantities.

Easy Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 8 oz (240 g) dates, pitted
• 4 oz (120 g) seedless raisins
• 4 oz (120 g) chopped nuts
• 1/4 cup red candied cherries
• 2 large eggs,beaten
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) shortening
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon powdered nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) milk rum

Method