Yesterday I got prepared to make an Xmas cake tomorrow, by soaking the fruit in brandy. Well plans have now unexpectedly changed, and I won't be able to make the cake until the weekend. Will the dried fruit be OK for this length of time? Its currently sitting on the bench with clingfilm over the bowl. Or should it go into the fridge or freezer, until I can make the cake.

My recipe calls for the fruit to soak in the brandy for a minimum of 1 month. Keep in the fridge covered in gladwrap. The longer the better - trust me!!!

Clare

Wow - a month! I am usually organised re Xmas cake but not that organise! Mine sits on the bench covered for a good day or more but longer would absorb even more. I use a lot of Sherry ( half a bottle at least and what doesnt get absorbed, gets tipped into the cake anyway albeit a bit syrupy by then.

One year I was on a roll with making my Christmas cakes that required me to pre-prepare 2 days ahead of making each cake - my favourite and tasty easy mix recipe. The pre-preparation was that the fruit for each cake needed to be left to stand in a warm place for 2 days to allow it to absorb all the rum/brandy - but somehow, I didn't quite get to make up the last batch of alcohol absorbed fruit, which had ended up sitting for more than 2 days awaiting my attention - so I fired the brandy absorbed fruit in it's plastic bag straight into the freezer and there it sat for 12 months and was finally made into a lovely Christmas cake one year down the track! (Probably all the better flavour for having sat so long!)

Moral of the story is don't worry if you're not going to make the cake for a few days, just put your soaked fruit into the fridge for the time being, otherwise freeze it if you are totally indefinite about when you are going to use it, although I'd think it would be quite happy sitting in the bottom of your fridge in a sealed plastic bag for several months - alcohol steeped fruit is pretty user friendly. Let it come to room temperature before you use it.

What Clare has said is quite true!
Regards,
Dawn.




Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2008 07:43PM by Dawn.

Forever if you want. The brandy will preserve the fruit for decades.

Exactly as Virgil says. We make our own alcohol, and I have preserved jars of fresh apricots, cherries, strawberries and mandarins, from last season and in vodka, and they are perfect. Taste is even better

Just in case anyone is wondering on alcohol quantites x kg of dried fruit - I use half a cup of brandy to 1 kg dried fruit and this amount will totally absorb into the fruit with no run-off.
D.
Edited to add - just another thought - turn the bag of fruit every day while it's absorbing the fluid to enable even absorbtion.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2008 10:01PM by Dawn.