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The British fruit
cake is traditionally served during the Christmas season. It is full of
dried fruits
and nuts, laced with alcohol (usually brandy), and covered with
marzipan and royal icing. The problem with making a regular fruit cake
is that it is quite labor intensive to make and it needs time to age so it has to be made well in advance of Christmas. Luckily, there is a much simpler version
of this cake for the last minute baker, and it is called a Boiled Fruit
Cake
(also known as a War Cake or Bachelor's Cake). It still tastes
delicious and uses all the necessary fruit cake ingredients, like
candied fruits, dried fruits and spices, but it is easy to make
and can be eaten almost right away. This is one cake that is so good
that it begs to be made all year, not just during the Christmas season. A Boiled Fruit Cake does not contain alcohol and yet its' texture
is still moist. Now, as the name "Boiled" implies, the brown
sugar, water, butter, spices, and the dried fruit are, in fact,
"boiled". Once this boiled mixture has been left to cool, the next
step is to stir in the lightly beaten eggs, baking soda, flour, vanilla extract,
and candied fruit. And that's it. Just pour the batter into the
pan and bake. Now, if possible, do try to resist eating this cake
right away. Although it does not need weeks to age, it does benefit
from being stored, at least a day or two.
A few things about this
recipe are worth mentioning. I have used just raisins, but you
can use a combination of
raisins, dried cranberries, and dried cherries. Spices can also be
adjusted to your taste, adding more or less of each. Finally, if
you are an avid fan of fruit cakes and want to make them during the
rest of the year, it might be a good idea to pick up extra candied
fruit during the holiday season as it is very hard to find
during the rest of the year. |
