Alright, so today I’m walking you through how I tackled making a nut-free fruit cake. It’s a bit of a process, not gonna lie, but totally worth it, especially when you’ve got folks around who can’t do nuts, or honestly, if you just prefer your fruit cake to be all about the fruit.
Getting Started – The Fruit Soak
First things first, I always start with the fruit. It’s the star, right? I grabbed a good mix: raisins, sultanas, currants, some glacé cherries (the red ones, of course, gotta have that colour), and a bit of mixed peel. I’m not a huge fan of those super bright green glacé things, so I skipped ’em. For this batch, I decided against apricots or dates, just wanted to keep it classic.
Now, the soaking. This is key, trust me. Dry fruit makes a dry cake. I didn’t go too wild with booze this time. I just put all my fruit in a big bowl and poured over some strong, hot black tea – enough to just cover it. Let that sit overnight. Some people use orange juice, some use brandy right from the get-go, but tea works wonders and keeps it moist. And obviously, no nuts went anywhere near this bowl. I double-checked all my fruit packets too; you’d be surprised where nuts can hide in processing.
Mixing Up The Main Event
The next day, it was time for the cake itself. I got my butter and sugar creaming. Used dark brown sugar, for that lovely rich colour and taste. Beat it till it was light and fluffy. Then, in went the eggs, one at a time, with a spoonful of flour with each to stop it curdling. That’s an old trick my gran taught me, and it usually works a treat.
Then, the rest of the flour. I always sift my flour, along with the spices. For this one, I went with a good dose of mixed spice, a bit of extra cinnamon, and a tiny grating of nutmeg. These spices are important, especially without nuts, as they bring a lot of warmth and complexity. Gently folded all that in. You don’t want to beat the air out of it at this stage.
Once the batter looked good, I drained any excess liquid from the soaked fruit – not too much, you still want them plump. Then, I tossed the fruit in a little bit of flour. This is supposed to help stop it all sinking to the bottom of the cake. Sometimes it works, sometimes I think it’s just an old wives’ tale, but I do it anyway!
Folded the floured fruit into the batter. Gently, gently. The kitchen started smelling pretty amazing at this point.
Baking and Waiting
I’d prepped my cake tin earlier. Lined it really well with a double layer of baking parchment, making sure it came up high above the tin. Fruit cakes bake low and slow, and you don’t want the edges to burn before the middle is cooked.
Plopped the mixture into the tin, smoothed the top. Some people make a little dip in the middle because fruit cakes tend to dome, but I just levelled it. Then into the oven it went. Low temperature, around 140°C (that’s about 275°F, I think). And then, the waiting game. This cake took a good three hours. Maybe a bit more. I checked it after two and a half with a skewer. When it came out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs, I knew it was done.
The smell filling the house while it baked? Oh, fantastic. That rich, spicy, fruity aroma. It’s one of the best parts, isn’t it?
The Grand Finale (Almost)
Once it was out of the oven, I let it cool in the tin for a good 30 minutes before daring to turn it out onto a wire rack. It looked good! Nice and brown, not too cracked on top. And importantly, when I cut into it later (after it had cooled completely, which takes ages!), the fruit was pretty well distributed. Success!
I didn’t “feed” this particular one with alcohol afterwards, as I wanted to keep it more universally friendly, but you absolutely could wrap it up and give it a little tipple of brandy or rum every week if you were making it for Christmas or something and wanted it to mature.
So, there you have it. My little adventure in making a nut-free fruit cake. It’s a bit of effort, sure, but when you get that perfectly moist, flavourful slice, it’s all worthwhile. And everyone can enjoy it, which is the main thing. Happy baking!
