How to Bake a Fruit Cake
The size of a fruit cake is determined by the amount of butter used in the recipe, for example, a 250g cake mixture (previously known as a ½ lb mixture) contains 250g butter and will make a deep 23cm round or a deep 19cm square cake. Cake bought from cake shops are, however, sold by the weight of the cake after it has been cooked.
Before making a rich fruit cake, prepare cake pans and check that the oven shelf is in correct position.
Cake pan sizes: lf using cake pans of an unusual shape (oval, hexagonal or similar), there is a simple way to determine how much mixture each pan will require. Fill a deep 19cm square or deep 23cm round cake pan with water, pour this water into the shaped pan. Each pan full of water will represent a 250g fruit cake mixture.
Preparing the oven: As a guide, the top of the cooked cake should be in the centre of the oven; arrange the shelves accordingly. If baking more than one fruit cake at a time, check that they will fit by arranging the empty cake pans in the oven. It is important to allow even circulation of heat. The pans must not touch each other, or the sides or back of the oven, or the door when it is closed. Most ovens are not large enough to take more than one shelf of fruit cakes at a time, but if the oven is adequate and there is room for heat circulation around all the pans, the results will be good. The positions of the cakes must be changed halfway during the cooking time – move the lower cakes to the top shelf of the oven and vice versa.
When cooking more than one cake on a shelf, best results will be obtained if their positions are changed about halfway through the cooking time as many ovens brown unevenly. Opening the oven door for a short period will not affect the cakes in any way. When cooking more than one cake at a time, the total cooking time will be a little longer, due to more absorption of heat.
lt is important that the oven shelves be level, particularly if the cake is to be decorated as an uneven cake will need wasteful trimming. This can be checked with a spirit level or a shallow tray of water. Most stoves have small adjusting legs underneath to counteract uneven kitchen floors.
Lining cake pans: To ensure a well-shaped cake, cake pans must be lined correctly. Lining paper protects the cake during the long cooking time, the longer the cooking time, the heavier the lining paper needs to be. If pans are larger than 23cm in diameter, use 1 thickness of brown paper and 3 to 4 thicknesses of greaseproof or baking paper. For smaller cakes, use 3 to 4 thicknesses of greaseproof or baking paper on base and sides.
For baking times of more than 3 hours, the lining paper should stand up around the edge of the pan (by about 5cm) to protect the top of the cake. The following method of lining a round or square cake pan allows for this.
For sides, out long strips of paper, 10cm wider than the depth of the pan. Fold each strip lengthways about 2cm from edge and make diagonal cuts up to the fold, about 2cm apart. This enables the paper to fit readily around the curves or corners of the pan, with cut section in base. Use base of pan as cutting guide for paper to line base; put base paper in position.
There is another method of insulating the cake mixture from the heat during the long cooking time. Grease the cake pan evenly, dust with flour, shake out excess flour. Cover base of pan with piece of greaseproof or baking paper. Fold 3 large opened-out sheets of newspaper lengthways into 4. Wrap the paper around the outside of the cake pan, secure the paper with string. Place a thick folded piece of newspaper onto an oven tray, stand the cake on the paper before baking the cake. This is a particularly good method when an even-shaped cake is required for cake decorating.
Mixing the cake: It is important to have the eggs and butter at room temperature. Beat butter with electric mixer, wooden spoon, or by hand until it just clings to the side of the bowl, do not beat until pale in colour. Add sugar (sift sugar if it is lumpy), beat only until combined (over-creaming of butter or butter/sugar at this stage could result in a crumbly cake). Add eggs one at a time, beat only until each egg has been absorbed by the butter mixture. There is less chance of curdling the mixture if
the eggs are added fairly quickly.
Add fruit mixture to creamed mixture, mix ingredients well together with hand; a wooden spoon will not break up any clumps of fruit. Mix in sifted flour and spice. Place into prepared cake pan, drop pan from a height of about 15cm to break any large air bubbles and settle mixture in pan, bake as directed. Level top of cake mixture with spatula. If top of cake is to be decorated with cherries and almonds press gently onto top of cake mixture before baking.
Note: Most rich fruit cakes do not contain any raising agent. lf desired, a rich fruit cake mixture can be prepared ahead, placed in the prepared pan, the surface of the mixture covered with greaseproof or baking paper or plastic wrap, and the pan placed in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Allow cake to
stand 6 hours or overnight to return to room temperature before baking. If taken straight from the refrigerator to the oven, a cold cake will take about 30 minutes longer to cook than if it is allowed to return to room temperature. Refrigerator storage is a help when making several cakes, particularly for tiered cakes.
Cooking time: If in doubt about the accuracy of your oven, have the temperature checked
professionally (usually through your local council or stove’s manufacturer), or buy an oven thermometer (from a hardware store) and leave it in the oven during cooking so you can check the temperature while the cake is cooking.
To test if cake is cooked: After minimum specified cooking time, feel top of cake with fingertips. If cake feels firm, use the blade of a sharp pointed vegetable knife to test cake. Gently push the knife into the thickest part of the cake, right through to the base of the cake pan. Gently withdraw the
knife and feel the blade; if the blade is simply sticky from fruit, the cake is cooked, but if there is moist cake mixture on the blade, return the cake to the oven for a further 15 minutes before testing again.
When cake is cooked: Remove from oven, tear away lining paper from around top of pan or remove newspaper collar; leave cake still in its pan.
Brush cake evenly with about 2 tablespoons of extra whisky, rum, brandy or sherry, cover top lightly with foil. This is to trap steam and give a softer top surface to cake. Wrap cake, still in its pan, in a clean towel, and leave until cold (up to 24 hours).
lf cake is to be decorated a good flat top is required. The top becomes the bottom for decorated cakes, so turn the hot, foil-covered cake, still in its pan, upside down on a flat surface; the cake`s own weight will flatten the top surface and minimise trimming.
To store: When cake is cold, remove it from the pan, leave lining paper intact, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil or a towel; store in a cool place. Rich fruit cakes can be stored in the refrigerator for at least a year. Cakes can be frozen if desired.
FESTIVE FRUIT AND NUT CAKE
This cake will keep for up to 3 months if stored in the refrigerator.
125g glacé pineapple
125g glacé apricots
250g dates
125g red glacé cherries
125g green glacé cherries
125g whole blanched almonds
250g brazil nuts
2 eggs
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 tablespoon rum
90g butter
1/3 cup plain flour
¼ up self-raising flour
Chop pineapple and apricots into pieces the same size as brazil nuts; leave remaining fruit and nuts whole. Combine all fruit and nuts in bowl. Beat eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy, add sugar, essence, rum and softened butter, beat until combined. Stir into fruit mixture
with sifted flours.
Spread mixture evenly and firmly into 14cm x 21cm loaf pan which has been greased and base-lined. Bake in slow oven for about 2 hours.
CELEBRATION CAKE
500g (3 ¼ cups) sultanas
250g (1 ½ cups) chopped raisins
250g (1 ½ cups) chopped dates
125g ( ¾ cup) currants
125g ( ½ cup) mixed peel
125g (2/3 cup) quartered glacé cherries
¼ cup chopped glacé pineapple
¼ cup chopped glacé apricots
½ cup rum
250g butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
5 eggs
1 ½ cups plain flour
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
Combine fruit in large bowl with rum. Cover, stand overnight or up to a week. Beat butter until soft, add sugar, beat only until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beat only until combined.
Add creamed mixture to fruit mixture, mix well. Stir in sifted dry ingredients. Spread evenly into a deep 19cm square or a deep 23cm round prepared cake pan. Bake in a slow oven for 3 to 3 ½ hours.
baking with Bill & Sheila
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