Hello all. I just decided I am going to make the HC Fruitcake. In the book, Rose suggests buying lemon and orange peel and candied cherries from chefshop.com. Well, in order to buy those three items it’s going to cost about $50 including shipping! I just can not justify that much money for these items. Does anyone know where I can find good quality candied peel in a store anywhere? I want to use quality items, but I can not spend that much! Thanks…
Why not make your own? As well as being really easy to do, but time consuming, it is much better/nicer than the bought stuff. I made my own from a recipe book I have had for years( a UK publication) but if you have The Cake Bible there is a recipe in there, p 342.
I was wondering the same thing. And I may end up using home-made…as Jeannette says, it is time consuming but not particularly difficult. I look for organic fruit (but you can use conventional and wash well) with nice, thick, well-colored, aromatic, not-too-blemished peels.
You can squeeze the insides for juice (which freezes well), or use orange pieces in a fruit salad.
After I posted this question last night, I was doing research to see if I could find it any other place and I found recipes. I realized it seems pretty easy. So, I think I may do just that. I am glad to see you all have done it. The orange and lemon seem easy enough, but I am not sure I can find cherries right now. We’ll see!
King Arthur has candied cherries and the shipping should not be too much. (They almost certainly have peel as well but REALLY suggest you make your own).
Hello TV News gal! I have made the fruit cake from Heavenly cakes earlier this week. I found the wreath pan on sale here in England thanks to Annie MacD and Jeannette. The bought variety of lemon and orange candied peel is a big issue with me. It has a horrible soapy bitter taste. I made my own peel earlier in the year for another recipe and absolutely loved it. Making it was very easy…but getting the pith off is very time consuming. I sat and watched a movie for the peel I made for the wreath cake. I would not do that if it didn’t taste so much better.
I use the recipe from Kate Coldrick’s blog, A Merrier World (wordpress) except I add a tablespoon of Golden syrup, which Rose says helps to keep it from crystallizing. Well, actually she says to use corn syrup, but I don’t have that here. But Rose has told me golden syrup is just as good.
My fruit cake smelled lovely baking and it is swathed in rum soaked butter muslin up until Christmas. I am keen to taste the cake, so I hope a big sized ‘Melinda’ mouse doesn’t nibble on it before Christmas time!
Glad to hear you got your wreath cake done, Melinda! I’ve been watching out for it on your blog, i hope you put a picture up when it is unveiled! I’ll be looking out for it. It was Kate’s recipe I used for the candied peel, but i didn’t add the syrup, wished i had as mine did crystallize somewhat, but it is still good!
Hello Jeannette, Oh yes, I did get the cake done. I have some more fruit drinking up rum for another fruit cake. I want to make some small fruit cake loaves for work friends. I keep sneaking some of the rum raisins so there may not be enough fruit when I come to bake it. I do love drunk raisins!
I will put my cake up on the blog when the Heavenly Bakers are due to put their fruit cakes up. The Fallen Angel Bakers do try to join in if we can!
If the candied peel does crystallize, it isn’t a problem. The rum soaking will sort it out
Cheers x
If the candied peel does crystallize, it isn’t a problem. The rum soaking will sort it out
Cheers x
Maybe, it’s just me, but I like the crystals when they form on the citrus peels and on ginger ( I haven’t had any other candied fruits).
Congrats on making the cake, I might try this myself, although my thinking on fruitcakes is still that compressed fruit brick that Claxton seems to be able to churn out and sell every holiday season in the ‘States. Your descriptions remind me of my Mom making rum cakes! It makes me think that there might be hope for the lowly fruitcake.
Melinda, so pleased that you got the wreath tin and made the cake. It’s quite hard to leave undisturbed until Christmas! I wish Lakeland had all the other Nordicware pans for the same price. I bet they sent the bulk of their wreath pan production over here as they know we love fruit cakes!
I want to decorate it some way butIi am a bit boggled as to exactly what. I was thinking of glazing the cake part that is not part of the bow and then dust the bow part with powdered sugar. I definitely don’t want to cover it up with marzipan and fondant or royal icing.
What are you thinking of doing decorating wise, Annie? Or is it top secret?!
Melinda, no secret!!!! I’m definitely not going the marzipan/royal icing route so I was thinking of just a dusting of powdered (icing) sugar. I’m sure the cake will be very moist and probably doesn’t need anything. Jeannette suggested a sprinkling of thin glace icing and as I’m writing I thought it might be good made with rum rather than water. Not sure, we’ve got a few weeks to think about it!
Tom, if you haven’t had fruitcake made with good-quality dried fruit then you haven’t really had fruitcake!
I just had a thought—we have several very good local candy-makers and most of them sell chocolate-dipped candied peel. The quality is much better than grocery-store! Maybe they will sell me some undipped peel if I can’t make the time to make my own.
...we have several very good local candy-makers and most of them sell chocolate-dipped candied peel. The quality is much better than grocery-store! Maybe they will sell me some undipped peel if I can’t make the time to make my own.
I think we should work out some kind of deal if you can get some…
On a sidenote, I made them today. Easy squeezy. The leftover lemon and orange syrup is devine. How can I store it? Will it be good in the fridge for a while, or should I freeze it? I really don’t want to let it go to waste.
