Hi all...

just wondering... anyone else started baking their fruit/christmas cakes?? I can't believe I'm actually semi-organised this year! -- ok... not so organised, but had to make a small fruitcake for a anniversary cake for friends wedding and thought... well... whilst making one, might aswell make the batch big enough for FIVE!

anyone else started yet??

Fruitcake as in the heavy dense kind? Do you frost it?
My mom's recipe (which is seemingly the only one my family will eat) is a batter with mincemeat in the base...is very dense...I can't imagine it with frosting. And if I baked it now, it would never survive until this holidays...I'd go to the freezer and there would be a ziplock bag, some saran wrap and a trail of crumbs...LOL

nah... australian fruitcake is very dense... you cover it in marzipan (optional) then fondant... it keeps and keps and keeps... so long as you store it right... a sice drizzle of rum or sherry always helps the flavour.

I'm making my xmas cakes next week, not sure how many yet,as I still have that huge one from last year !! (in my photos )
I'd love to know what recipe you use Fi.. ?

I'm also well on the way with Christmas cakes and puddings - the fruit has been soaking for a month and each weekend I've been baking one or more (depending on size). The spare room smells divine!

Several puddings have also been steamed (I don't, personally, like boiled pudding), but they get well-wrapped and put in the bottom of the fridge.

I don't make any fruit cake...but I've already started my cookie samples for the holidays, finished my gift list and sketching all my designs. I'm so excited!

Next week I'm starting on cookies... I have a Christmas fair at the end of Nov. and they usually have a turn out of around 3000.. so will have lots made in advance and freeze them. As well as my regular customers..

Don't do fruitcake... no one hear likes it other than my Mom, so we go to Costco and buy her one... I do like a receipe I got from my SIL mom's it's called fruitcake but is made from gumdrops... yummy.. She's from Australia so don't know if the receipe is from down under or not.

Will start doing all the other goodies in early November and freeze them...

I am! I just bought all the ingredients to make Toba Garrett's Applesauce Fruitcake. I'm going to make them in smaller pans and decorate them with marzipan and royal icing to give to my mom and aunt (who both love fruitcake).

to gather recipes.I am going in a Craft Fair and will be the only bake table(first time they have had one). Question is should I bake smaller size loaves? What are some of your more popular items? And is there a particular price point people tend to buy more, say around $5.00 Thanks

I'm getting my chest freezer today so I'll finally be able to start making things ahead and freezing them. I bought the freezer a few years ago, but somehow it alway ended up full of seafood and bait (my darling husband loves his seafood and fishing!) so I never really got to use it. I'm really looking forward to making some fruitcakes and cookies this year.

I baked 8 Christmas cakes on Wednesday - 1 4in round, 1 5in round, 4 6in squares, 1 7in round and 1 8in square. They were all well soaked with my special mixture of Drambuie, Whisky and Brandy (and the fruit was soaked in this for several days before baking), and are now in the cupboard maturing until Christmas. I'm doing the puds this week, hopefully! Yum, Yum, Yum!

This has been a fascinating post. In our family, the fruitcake was done "fresh" -- as in right before the holidays. Maybe frozen for a week or two if time was tight...
I have absolutely NO experience with fruitcakes with "soaked" fruit or pouring things on them and sticking them in a cupboard (not frozen or refrigerated?). Let alone one that you would frost, cover in marzipan(?) and fondant...and any real purpose for royal icing other than to make flowers...maybe it needs its own tutorial, gallery and recipe section...LOL
So...I going to pop OUT of CC for a little while (sacrilege, I know!) and go google fruitcake. California born and raised...I have missed out!
Am I too late to try to make one of these if I do find a recipe??

I love the adventures that fellow cc'rs have sent me on...

I'm starting on my cake next week. I don't soak the fruit beforehand, but I lovingly feed the "baby" some brandy/sherry every few days after its baked until I cover it with marzipan and fondant.

I've never made a fruitcake before in my entire life. Does anyone have a good, foolproof recipe that a fruitcake novice could easily do? My husband's grandmother had a recipe I would eat, but I never made it and she's been gone for years and I don't have her recipe. I think I'd like to try making one for Christmas!

Thanks!!
Deanna

Bonjovibabe - your drambuie,whisky & brandy mix sounds divine !! I usually soak my fruit in port or tokay

Idoweddingcookies - I have never heard of fruitcake made with gumdrops !! do you have the recipe ?!
Deanna - the recipe I use ( Rich tokay chocolate fruitcake ) is absolutely delicious !! & like most fruitcake recipes, pretty simple..let me know if you'd like a copy

Jules, I'd love a copy of your recipe! I've never heard of a chocolate fruitcake before and am intrigued. Fi also sent me her recipe (thank you!) and maybe this will be the year of the fruitcake sampler Christmas party at my house!

Deanna

Deanna, want my Drambuie & Whiskey Christmas cake recipe too? I have it scanned into the computer from sending it to someone a few weeks ago - let me know!

I have 3 fruit cakes in the cupboard already. 1 i made about July time thats reminds me a i need to give it a drink. The other 2 i made in Aug. I was just making some and made a couple of extra. They just keep and keep. I shall make some more soon as i'm putting an advert out for christmas cakes begginning of Nov.

Thank you, Bonjovibabe, yahoo, bring it on! I'm having a blast with everyone's recipes, and I haven't even started baking yet! Got to make a grocery list........

Thanks, everybody!!!
Deanna

Oh wow, and here I thought I was ahead of the game already prepping for Thanksgiving I envy those who have the freezer space and time to make stuff ahead.

Okay, I thought of another fruitcake-newbie question.... What is the purpose of covering the cake in marzipan before the fondant? Is it for extra flavor, or to keep the fondant neat, or what? Do you use plain fondant, or do you flavor it with something?

Thanks!!
Deanna

Deanna, the marzipan stops the dark juiciness of the cake bleeding through into the icing. If you really object to marzipan, you can do a double fondant layer instead.

Edited to say: need your email address for the recipe

Thanks for explaining that! That makes sense. I like marzipan but didn't know if it was required or not. Here's my address:

[email protected]

Deanna

I forgot to give you my email address ( in pm ) :

[email protected]


Thanks so much bonjovibabe

damn these double posts !!

Feefs, Jules and Bon Jovi:

NO ONE in my house likes fruitcake....EXCEPT me! I would love to have your recipes! I have friends that are from South Africa and I would like to give them a fruitcake this year. I always give them a tray of my candy, but, I would like to do something that would make me "stretch" myself. Is it too late to do the fruitcakes?

Could you guys send your recipes to me? Especially the CHOCOLATE fruitcake! My e-mail is [email protected]. I understand if they are SECRET, though!

Beth in KY

Hi Beth, my recipe is winging it's way to you now !! Hope you enjoy it

GOT IT! THANKS!!

Beth

Recipe sent to all who asked - happy to send to anyone else who wants it, just pm me with your email address or post it here !