How to Soak Fruits for Christmas Cake - Cooking From Heart (2024)

Learn how to soak fruits for Christmas Cake recipe with detailed step by step pictures. Soaking dry fruits for rich fruit cake and plum cake, a simple recipe that’s quite handy with substitutions and variations!

Soaking dry fruits and nuts for making rich Christmas fruit cake is a tradition for many. For a rich and delicious fruit cake and plum cake, it is a must to pre-soak fruits. Like many traditions and family recipes, this process of preparing fruit for Christmas cake is different in each household. It also depends on the cake recipe and how are fruits & spices incorporated into it. Over the years I have learnt to make eggless Christmas fruit cake and eggless plum cake, both very rich and delicious that we have come to love as family. It was not a tradition growing up but we do need to make our own traditions, isn’t it?!

For my eggless Christmas cake recipes, I preferred to fruits and nuts are soaked in non-alcoholic liquid – mostly orange juice and water. But last year I decided to take the plunge and used alcohol for the first time to soak fruits for Christmas cake – it resulted in rich & delicious fruit cake that I decided to make a norm this year too. I am sharing this recipe in the hope that if there are others like me, doubtful about using alcohol or unclear about how to soak fruits for Christmas cake, this is your chance!

Key Ingredients

Dry Fruits like Plums, Black Raisins, Golden Raisins, Cranberries, Cherries are used.

Nuts like Cashews, Almonds and Walnuts are used

Candied Orange Peel adds a nice citrusy flavor to the soaked fruit.

Good quality Rum is used to soak the fruits and nuts. Some prefer to use a mixture of rum and brandy or wine too. It is also possible to soak fruits using non-alcoholic beverage.

For full list of ingredients and exact measurements, check the recipe below.

Tips & Important Notes for Soaking Fruits for Christmas Cake

Traditionally, fruits and nuts are soaked in good quality alcohol for over 6-7 weeks before Christmas to get the flavors really infused. This recipe on how to soak fruits for Christmas cake is very simple and is beginner-friendly.

Use an airtight glass container for soaking fruits for Christmas cake. Do not use any kind of metal or plastic containers.

As dried fruits are used, it is important to chop them up evenly before soaking. Nuts like cashews, almonds and walnuts should also be chopped up.

Adding candied orange peel helps mask the alcohol flavor and lends a good citrus fragrance.

Any alcohol can be used to soak the fruits but rum is preferred and the quantity is not set in stone. Ensure that the fruits and nuts are covered in the liquid.

The longer the fruits soak, the better the flavor of the cake. From a one or two days to one or two weeks to one or two months and almost a year – each time period yields different results. It is better to soak the fruits for a minimum of one week at the least when using alcoholic beverage like rum.

Every couple of days, do not forget to mix the fruits & nuts around to ensure even soaking. The airtight glass container can be left out at room temperature for the period of soaking, but in a cool & dry place.

Substitutions & Variations

It is absolutely optional to use all types of dry fruits and nuts mentioned in the recipe. The cake turns out rich and delicious with more variety of dry fruits but it is alright to skip one or two.

I always add spice powders like nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and ginger in my cake batter, so I don’t add anything else to my soaking mixture. You can choose to add small amounts of spice powders while soaking as well.

For non-alcoholic version, use fresh squeezed orange juice. It is a must to soak the fruits only a week in advance when using non-alcoholic beverage like orange juice and store it in an airtight glass jar in fridge. Alternatively, you can follow the instant version of making soaked fruit too.

Storing Suggestions

For making Christmas fruit cake and plum cake, fruits should be soaked in alcoholic beverage for atleast one week and can be stored for a few weeks or months. It is ideal to leave the fruits soaking for 4-5 weeks before baking rich fruit cake. It can be stored at room temperature but also can be kept refrigerated for longer shelf life for upto a year. The quantities used in this recipe is good for two 9” fruit cakes or plum cakes. When storing for longer period, make sure to mix it up every few days. If you notice that the liquor quantity has reduced, add more as needed.

Christmas Recipes

How to Soak Fruits for Christmas Cake with Step by Step Pictures

In a clean dry sterilized airtight glass container add 100grams each of chopped (if needed) cherries, dried plums, dried cranberries, golden raisins and black raisins along with 4 tablespoon finely chopped candied orange peels. Next add 50grams of chopped cashews, almonds and walnuts. Mix it well around.

Add good quality rum into the glass container, I roughly used about 500ml.

The liquor should be enough to cover the dry fruits and nuts. Mix it together and keep it tightly closed. Leave it at room temperature in a cool dry place. Mix the fruits every two days and add more rum if all the liquid is soaked up.

Store for a minimum of a week or two and it is best to soak fruits for 4-6 weeks before baking the cake. For longer shelf-life, store the airtight glass jar in fridge for upto a year. This quantity is enough to make two 9” fruit/plum cakes. Check this recipe to make your eggless rum fruit cake!

Recipe Notes

• It is optional to use every fruit and nut in the list of ingredients, it is alright to skip one or two.
• For non-alcoholic version, use orange juice but soak the fruits no more than a week in advance.
• I used Captain Morgan rum for soaking the fruits (not-sponsored/paid-for)
• In cup measurements, use about ⅔rd cup for 100 grams and ⅓ cup for 50 grams.

I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂

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