This is the weight ratio. Adjust up and down depending on how many cakes and what size pan you are using. Cooking time will need to be adjusted as well.
I usually split this batter into two loaf pans and bake for around 90 min (45 min at 325, 45 min at 300)
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups butter
- 1.5 cups brown sugar blend
- 4 extra large eggs
- 4.5 Tbsp rum/brandy
- zest of 2 lemons
- zest and juice of 1 grapefruit
- 100 grams almond flour
- 390 grams flour (3 cups)
- 1/4+ tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp nutmeg
- 5/4 tsp mixed spice
- 1 Tbsp black treacle
- 150 grams nuts
- 510 grams raisins, sultanas, currants, and cranberries
- 1020 grams dates, figs, dried sour cherries and sweet cherries
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
Procedure:
- Prep ingredients: weigh and chop all dried fruits and nuts, zest and juice citrus, make almond flour etc.
- Prep your pans; butter and line with parchment paper.
- Mix dry ingredients and zest together.
- In another bowl, beat butter and sugars till fluffy. Add eggs, beat again. Add juice and booze. (batter will separate, doesn't matter).
- Add almond meal, fruits and nuts. Mix.
- Add flour and mix. Very thick.
- Split between pans and smooth top (try to remove *all* air bubbles!).
- Bake (325F for 45 min, 300F for 45-60min until toothpick clean). This cake is dry when it comes out of the oven and not that good!
- Remove from pan and let cool completely undisturbed.
Feeding:
- Once *completely* cool, use a skewer to poke holes all over the top of the cake. These holes should be evenly distributed, dense (around 1 cm apart), and almost all the way to the bottom of the cake but doesn't go all the way through (leave around 1-2 cm in the bottom)
- Feed the cakes with 1-2 Tbsp of rum/brandy/your liquor of choice. I use a dropper to dose the entire cake evenly.
- Wrap the cakes: I use one layer of saran wrap, and then a layer of aluminum foil. Then I put the entire thing in an airtight bag or container.
- Feed every few days at the beginning, then every couple of weeks. The alcohol should be allowed to mostly evaporate between feedings. The cake should not be alcohol-logged ever. Make sure you keep things clean for feedings. Wrap up tightly between each feeding.
- Age the fruitcake for at least 2 months before eating. After around 2-3 weeks, it will start to smell totally delicious. After 4-6 months, the feedings can be very infrequent (once a month or even less). The cake remains stable and delicious for a loooong time.