Is 3 days too long to soak dried fruit for my fruitcake?
My fruitcake recipe calls for soaking dried fruit in molasses and wine overnight. I mixed that up and it's macerating in the fridge, but a surprise schedule change means I won't get it into a cake for another two days (a total of 72 hours of soaking, rather than the expected 24).
Is this going to negatively impact the consistency of the fruit bits in the fruitcake? I like them somewhat chewy, not extremely soft. (The "dried fruit" in question is this mix of peel, pineapple, and cherries, plus raisins.)
Best Answer
The Christmas cake recipe I use (from Mary Berry's Fast Cakes) soaks the fruit in sherry for 3 days (and doesn't call for refrigeration). It comes to no harm at all. I have tried less time, and that's OK but either way it needs a couple of stirs to ensure even soaking (this is more important for shorter soaks).
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Quick Answer about "Is 3 days too long to soak dried fruit for my fruitcake?"
You can make the cake after soaking for 3-4 hours too. You can use any dried fruits of your choice and quantity of juice/alcohol should be just enough to immerse the dry fruits completely.How long can I soak dried fruit for?
Soak my dried fruits for 3 months or more. the longer the better. If you are pushed for time then you can soak the fruits overnight or boil the fruits in the alcohol. You can put any dried fruit combination in your fruit cake depending on the flavor and texture you are after.How long should you soak fruit for Xmas cake?
The first step of making the Rich Christmas Fruit Cake requires soaking of the fruits in alcohol. Soaking the dried fruits for a minimum of 2-3 months is recommended for a rich Fruit Cake.How long can you soak fruit for Christmas pudding?
First only follow the traditional way; soak fruits before three months of Christmas (i.e. first/ second week of September) and bake the cake five weeks before Christmas (i.e. last week of November) and mature it by feeding alcohol once a week until Christmas.Should I soaking dried fruit for cake?
When using dried fruit in a baking recipe, soak it first. If not done, it will absorb a lot of water from the recipe's ingredients, which results in a drier outcome.How to Soak Dried Fruits for Fruit Cake /Soaking In Advance
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Answer 2
I once macerated dried fruit in rum for a fruitcake. I forgot about the bowl in the back of the fridge and it must have been at least several months before I made the cake, which turned out great. I wouldn't expect wine and molasses to preserve as well as a distilled spirit, but several days is not a problem.
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