Fruit cake help please!

skypie123_2

I am getting married next June and have made 3 fruitcakes which will be my wedding cakes. I made an 8" 10" and 12' square.
I have wrapped them in greaseproof paper and then foil and stored them in my spare room.
I went to feed them with brandy yesterday and the 8" cake seems soggy on top.
Am I storing them right and what. if anything, could I do to stop the sogginess.
Please help!

caitybabes

Have you poked them with skewers for the brandy to go down into the cake? Maybe the brandy was just soaking in on the top bit?

skypie123_2

Hi Caitybabes!
Yes i did, I was very careful to do everything by the book (so I thought)

VfM4meplse

How often do you feed the cakes? And do you use less alcohol for the smaller cakes? Does is smell odd? Cakes should last for a good old time, I bet they're delish by the time they're ready to be cut!

I would expose the 8" to the air for few hrs to dry out, and then keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't start growing anything.

skypie123_2

Thanks I will try that.
I feed the 8" cake about a capful of brandy and once a month. Do you think thats too much?

Justamum

skypie123 wrote: »

Thanks I will try that.
I feed the 8" cake about a capful of brandy and once a month. Do you think thats too much?

Your wedding guests are all going to be skew-eyed :rotfl:

I'm sure your cakes will be delicious. A capful doesn't sound too much.

skypie123_2

I don't drink so I think one slice of cake will have me hammered! :rotfl:

Does it sound like I'm storing them right?
Any tips gratefully received!

celyn90

Sounds okay to me - sometimes they do go a bit squelchy if they are really dense fruit cakes as it takes an age for the stuff to soak into the body of the cake. Attacking it with a skewer will help. I'd let it air dry for a bit (shove a cloth over it or something) then rewrap it in clean/dry paper. I find if I am storing them for a while, I will turn them as I feed them - so the liquid goes on the top in the first feed, for the second, cake gets up-ended and the liquid goes on the bottom instead.

If they smell okay and aren't furry or fizzy, they will be fine

I have had them a touch squishy when they've been iced on occassion too (normally if I've been asked to do one with no notice and have spent a week trying to get it to take in as much alochol as possible). If they are soft on the top at that stage, you can roll them in icing sugar to absorb the alcohol and pat the paste it into the surface before the marzipan goes on

skypie123_2

Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it. These cakes are so important to me.
Can I ask if they go furry does that mean game over and I have to throw the cake away?

VfM4meplse

skypie123 wrote: »

Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it. These cakes are so important to me.
Can I ask if they go furry does that mean game over and I have to throw the cake away?

You could theoretically cut the surface mold off, but tbh I don't think it's worth risking harming your wedding guests. There's still plenty of time to make another.

As said by a previous poster, a capful is not too much, don't forget it does evaporate. Am I right in thinking you made the cake batter in one big batch and filled the 8" tin last? If so, it will have more sponge / less fruit and that would explain why it may be absorbing less and staying a bit soggy.

SUESMITH_2

skypie123 wrote: »

Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it. These cakes are so important to me.
Can I ask if they go furry does that mean game over and I have to throw the cake away?

i would, its not worth risking it on your big day, if they did go mouldy and i cut it off i would be worrying how they tasted