THE FESTIVAL CARNET
Round Christmas Fruitcake
The cake is cooked in a high round mold and mature one night. raisins and candied fruit fill the dark crumb, with a simple veil of jam on the top.
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This English Christmas cake brings together macerated raisins, candied fruits, almonds and spices in a round cake. Maceration is done with orange juice, without added alcohol, and the finish remains a light film of apricot jam.
Plan the day before: the cake should cool completely and then rest one night. This time mainly helps the cutting and distribution of aromas; it does not transform this homemade version into a product that can be kept for weeks.
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The preparation step by step
Put the fruit to macerate
Pour 350 g of raisins and 150 g of diced candied fruit into a bowl. Add 150 ml of orange juice, mix to moisten all the fruits and covers. Let it macerate for 2 hours. Stir once mid-way and retains all the juice: it will be incorporated into the dough.
Prepare the butter and the mould
Take out the 180 g of butter and dice them so that they soften. Line the base and sides of a round tin, 20 cm in diameter and 7 cm high, with baking paper. Make the paper 2 cm longer. Preheat the oven to 150 °C, conventional oven setting (no fan).
Weigh the dry ingredients and remove the zest
Weigh 200 g of wheat flour, 50 g of ground almonds, 5 g of baking powder and 2 g of cinnamon. Combine them in a bowl and mix with a dry whisk. Wash and dry the orange, then graze only the colored part of its zest. Keep aside the 20 g of apricot jam for finishing.
Soften butter and brown sugar
Pour 180 g of soft butter and 150 g of brown sugar into a large bowl. Work them with a spatula and then with a whisk for 2 to 3 minutes. The mixture must become creamy and homogeneous; it must not be melted. Scrape the walls so as not to leave any butter isolated.
Incorporate eggs one by one
Break the 3 eggs in a small bowl, one at a time, to check for no shell. Add the first to the butter and whisk about thirty seconds. Do the same with the next two. A slight grainy texture is possible at this stage; do not add liquid to correct it.
Add dry ingredients and zest
Pour the mixture of flour, almond, baking powder and cinnamon into the bowl in two. Mix with the spatula by lifting the dough and scraping the bottom. Add the orange zest. Stop as soon as the white traces disappear: do not knead this paste.
Fold in fruits and their juice
Add the raisins, candied fruits and all the orange juice left in their bowl. Lift with the spatula until the fruit is distributed. The dough looks very full, which is normal for a fruitcake. Check the bottom of the bowl to avoid leaving a pile of dough without fruit.
Fill the mold without overflowing
Pour into the prepared round mold and cup lightly with the spatula to remove the large air pockets. Straighten it. Does not exceed two thirds of the height; cooks a possible surplus in a separate box. The size of the mould is essential for regular cooking.
Cook at a low temperature
Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes at 1 hour 45 minutes at 150 °C. Do not open the oven for the first hour. If the top color too much, protect it with a sheet of baking paper without contact with the heating elements. The time depends on the actual thickness and your mold.
Control the heart and let cool
Prick the center with a wooden skewer: there should not remain any liquid paste. If necessary, extend in sequences of 5 minutes. Let the cake cool for at least 2 hours in its pan placed on a rack; its weight makes it fragile when it is hot.
Unmold and let rest
When the cake is cold, gently remove the mold and paper. Pack it and keep it in the refrigerator for 12 hours so that the crumb and fruit stabilize. This rest is in addition to maceration and cooling; it is included in the total indicative time.
Finish with apricot and serve
Put the 20 g of apricot jam in a small bowl and warm it up for a few seconds in the bain-marie. Apply a very thin layer on top with a brush. Take the cake out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving, then cut twelve thin pieces. It receives neither marzipan nor white icing.
Conservation. 5 days in refrigerator, well packed; serve at room temperature. Do not prolong this period on the grounds that it is a fruitcake.
Recipe proposal with quantities and step by step. Times vary depending on the material: follow also the markers of texture and cooking.
The benchmarks for success
A high round mould
Use well 20 cm in diameter and 7 cm high. A pie pan is too low for this amount of fruit and dough; do not change the format without adapting the cooking.
Mixing just what is needed
Once the flour is moist, stop the whisk as soon as the white piping bag have disappeared. A long mixture does not make this cake lighter and can tighten its crumb. Especially the bottom of the bowl with the spatula.
Judge cooking at heart
The color of the ingredients and the material of the mold change the browning. A dark crust does not prove that the center is cooked: always check with a spike planted in the thickest part.
Questions Before You Start
Can we prepare it the day before?
Yeah. Wait until the cake is cold before packing. One night helps the crumb to cut and let the aromas spread; it does not allow to keep it for several weeks.
Why does the center seem sticky?
A hot cut cake may look gummy. Let it cool completely. If there is some shiny paste left on the skewer during the oven control, extend the cooking in sequences of 5 minutes before taking it out.
Why so little dough around fruit?
This is the desired structure: 500 g of dried and candied fruits dominate. Mix them carefully, then gently cup into the mold. Do not spontaneously add flour or eggs to change this proportion.
Baking tips for this recipe
- Preheat the oven according to the plug and prepare the mold before mixing the last ingredients.
- Uses the dimensions and cooking mode indicated: a higher or wider mold changes the cooking of the center.
- Follow the visual cues of step by step in addition to the duration. Respect the intended cooling before unmoulding or decorating.
Substitutions and variations
Blond or brown raisins can be used at the same weight; retains the soaking step when it is planned.
To vary a zest, choose another citrus fruit washed and intended for this use, keeping the same amount. Does not automatically replace juice, whose acidity can change the preparation.
More treats for your Christmas table
Recipes that share ingredients or the same preparation family.