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Soak Fruits for The Traditional Christmas Fruit Cake

Fruits are usually soaked in the 2nd - 3rd week of October to prepare the traditional Christmas Cake Recipe. This Recipe is the first step to start making your Traditional Christmas Cake (Soak the fruits in Rum). There are 4 steps in making your Christmas Cake. Soak fruits at least a month before Christmas. Bake Cake at least 2 weeks before Christmas. Mature the cake by feeding alcohol 3 times a week until Christmas. Decorate as you like. (This step is optional, I do my cake with marzipan layer topped with a fondant layer)
  • Passive
    1-2 month
  • Prep
    25 minutes
  • Cook
    0 minutes
  • Servings
    15-20 People

Ingredients

  • 150 grams glace cherries ( chopped)
  • 75 grams candied fruit (chopped,candid pineapple, orange peel, etc)
  • 25 grams Dates (chopped)
  • Rum (as required to soak fruits, 3 cups or more /see notes below for non-alcoholic version)

Instructions

  • 1 Get all the fruits ready in a bowl.
  • 2 Add the fruits in a clean sterilized dry glass jar. Pour rum into it, till it covers the entire fruits. Let the fruits get soaked with rum until its time to bake the cake. Seal the cover of the jar properly. (See recipe notes below).
  • 3 Prepare your cake! (See recipe notes below for cake recipe link).

Recipe Notes

  • This quantity makes one Christmas Cake.
  • DO NOT soak the fruits in a plastic or steel or aluminium container as the alcohol tends to react with these materials. It has to be stored in a glass Jar only.
  • For a non-alcoholic Christmas Fruit Cake, soak your fruits overnight, prior to baking in Orange Juice.
  • Can use any dry fruits you want (dry pineapple, apricots, cranberries etc).
  • Click here for Traditional Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe.

 

43 Comments

  1. awesome cant want for the entire recipe

    1. It will be up very soon 🙂

    2. Thank you very much will try this Christmas if I get it right then my grand children will have a ball of a time wish me luck. I enjoy baking.

      1. Thanks Bernadine
        All the best to your for the Christmas cake Bake journey 🙂 Do share your feedback with me once the cake is ready for Christmas 🙂 Thanks 🙂

  2. Superb and this time I will soak them for one month in advance. Thanks dear.

  3. Nice info xanti

    1. Thanks Sybil…

  4. Hi Xanti – thanks for the Christmas cake recipe and for the recipe notes – I wud like to bake this cake for Easter. I just got introduced to xantilicious.com AND I am so very HAPPY . Xanti – can you please tell me the size of the baking tray. Thanks and God Bless. Wishing you all the BEST.

  5. Hi there,
    I was wondering is there was a recipe for how to make the fondant dough .

    1. Hi Veronica

      I have used ready to use fondant, not homemade 🙂

  6. I’m definitely going to try following your recipe this year 😁😁😁😁

    1. Thanks Christina 🙂

      Glad you’ll be making it 🙂 Do keep me updated on the various steps 🙂

  7. Xanti you mentioned soak the ingredients in three cups or more of rum. Can you please let me know how many MLS would that be in measure. Thanks for this recipe. Wanting to try it out this year for Xmas.

    1. Hi Premila

      Put the fruits in a glass container and make sure that the rum is just above the level of the fruits 🙂

  8. Hi,
    Can we use whiskey for soaking the dry fruits

    1. Yes kavita
      you can …

  9. Hi Xanti, have a query re. the candied peels. Won’t the bitterness of the candied peels get into the other fruits they are being soaked with ? Also, won’t they turn mush ?

    1. Hi Sher …

      No..It doesnt get so bitter ,….fruit cakes specially the Christmas ones are done with candied peel …they dont get mushy

  10. Hi, if I soak the dry fruits in rum for a year or more, then is it okay to preserve it in room temperature?? The weather is also hot?? Or should I keep in fridge so the weather doesn’t spoil?

    1. Hi sunita
      Place the glass jar in a cool dark place … don’t refrigerate it .

  11. Great Xanti, love your recipes, nice way to kickstart the feeling of the festive season. Thank you for all the little tips it’s so helpful.

    1. No problem Melanie …
      My pleasure ..
      Do try out the other Christmas sweets this Christmas 😊I have alarmist all Goan Christmas sweets recipes on my website .

  12. Hi Xanti,

    What dates do you use, dry or the deseeded moist ones

    1. Hi juanelle
      Dry would be better as you are soaking them …

      1. Thanks xanti.

        1. Your most welcome junella

  13. What is the meaning of mature the cake by adding alcohol. How exactly can it be done?

    1. Hi Michelle
      Once cake is baked and cooled
      Poke holes with skewer or fork all over on top of cake and pour rum (about 2-3 tbsp ) all over cake . Wrap in cling film and then foil .
      Repeat process of pouring rum over cake every 2 days at so .
      (Mature – to get that rum flavour in your cake )

      1. Hello, So do we need to do this maturing process with whisket if we are soaking the fruits in Whiskey? please guide

        1. Yes follow the same procedures…

  14. Hi
    Can you please let me know the yeild of the recipe

  15. Hi Xanti,
    Instead of rum can we soak the dry fruits in vodka or Brandy.

    1. Hi Larissa
      Yes brandy is fine

  16. i am from Goa but born and brought up in Mumbai
    I would love to try your recipe in detail,

    Thanks

  17. Thanks

  18. Wow…
    Do you have a recipe for cooker rum cake too?

    1. Sorry I don’t

  19. Hi pls can u share me the Xmas cake receipe in details .

    1. Recipe has already been shared … it’s on my website and also on this fruits soak page (check below at the bottom in notes , the link to the cake recipe is mentioned )

  20. When soaking fruit for a christmas cake do you weigh it before soaking or drain it and weigh the fruit after soaking

    1. Weigh , soak , drain and use Id soaked exactly as per recipe … if soaked extra , drain and weigh before using in recipe

  21. Hi xanti please send me the recipe for raisin cake with orange juice.

    Thanks

    Sheila Pinto

    1. Hi Sheila, https://xantilicious.com/recipe/non-alcoholic-eggless-raisin-cake/

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