Soaking Fruits for Christmas Cake

Christmas cake preparations begin well before baking day. Raisins, apricots, prunes, dates, cranberries and homemade candied citrus peels soak mainly in rum, with whisky or brandy if desired, until plump and full of flavour. Cinnamon and star anise bring the Christmas aroma I love. I like to begin three months before Christmas, although I have also made a two-month batch.

The fruit mix changes each year depending on what I find at the supermarket. Some years it includes figs alongside dates, prunes, sultanas, cranberries and raisins. Homemade candied orange and lemon peels can join the jar after the first fruits have begun soaking.

Nishal does the mixing. He massages the fruit with the alcohol before it goes into the jar, a ritual from his Hyatt Regency, Mumbai days back in 2005. Opening the jar for a “whiff of Christmas” before tucking it away again has become one of our little annual traditions.

Soaking Fruits for Christmas Cake

Our annual Christmas preparation: dried fruits and homemade candied citrus peels soaked mainly in rum, with optional cinnamon and star anise.

Ingredients

Fruit-soaking mixture

• 1.25–1.5 kg prepared dried fruit mixture including homemade candied citrus peels; weigh after pitting
• 700 ml alcohol mainly rum, with whisky or brandy if desired
• 1 cinnamon stick optional
• 2 star anise optional
• additional alcohol occasional top-ups, as needed

Instructions

• Use a clean, completely dry glass jar with an airtight lid. Keep the knife, chopping board and spoon dry too.
• Pit dates and prunes. Finely chop the larger fruits and homemade candied peels. Weigh the prepared mixture, including peels, to make 1.25–1.5 kg.
• Mix the prepared fruit with 700 ml alcohol, mainly rum with whisky or brandy if desired. Massaging the fruit with the alcohol is our optional family ritual. Transfer to the jar, add cinnamon and star anise if using, stir with a dry spoon and close the lid.
• Keep the closed jar in a cool, dry, dark place. I prefer to start three months before Christmas; I have also made a two-month batch.
• Shake the closed jar once a week, or stir with a clean, dry wooden spoon. Add a little extra alcohol as needed and close again.
• Cranberries, chopped dates and homemade candied peels can join after the first mix. Keep the overall prepared fruit weight and alcohol ratio in mind; no fixed top-up quantity is prescribed.
• For my Christmas cake, weigh 280 g of this soaked mixture before straining. Candied peels are included in that weight; the cake’s walnuts are added separately.

Notes

Choose golden or black raisins, sultanas, apricots, prunes, dates, figs, cranberries and homemade candied citrus peels in flexible proportions. The total fruit weight includes the peels. Scale fruit and alcohol proportionately for a different batch size.

My stories also mention an overnight orange-juice soak as a separate preparation before baking. They do not provide a measured juice quantity or a storage method, so it is not presented here as a complete alternative recipe.

Homemade citrus peels

Prepare my candied orange and lemon peels for this fruit mixture.

Ready for baking day

Use the soaked fruit in my Christmas Fruit Cake with Rum-Soaked Fruits.