Types of Alcohol for Christmas Cakes | Ask Nigella.com (2024)

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Types of Alcohol for Christmas Cakes | Ask Nigella.com? ›

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Nigella suggests bourbon or brandy but you can use many other alternative alcohols. Bourbon is a type of whiskey, so the Scotch whisky may be the best alternative. However, the ginger wine could also be used as there is ground ginger in the cake.

+ While brandy is the traditional partner for fruit cake, you could also try using a dessert sherry such as Pedro Ximénez. It's an intensely sweet, dark sherry made from the Spanish grape variety of the same name. Perfect in festive cakes, puddings and custards, you can find it in liquor stores.

Your best bet is going to be another dry fortified wine such as dry (white) vermouth. Dry versions of Madeira and marsala are also acceptable. You can also substitute a dry white wine like sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, pinot blanc, or sémillon.

Personally, I like to use spirits that have a bit of a Christmas feel to them. Cherry brandy, amaretto, orange liqueur (Cointreau or Grand Marnier) and spiced rum (such as Kraken rum) are my favourites.

Substitutes for Cognac in Cooking

Brandy would be the top choice if Cognac isn't available for use, but Wilson says that white grape juice has been a solid swap for her recipes. “The grape flavor is reminiscent of the grapes that are the foundation of Cognac,” she says.

You can use rum, brandy or whisky for spice, or if you like citrus flavours, try an orange liqueur. Cherry brandy and amaretto will also work well if you prefer these.

Some say you should make your Christmas cake 6 weeks before eating, but the advice given on Nigella.com is that 12 weeks before is the optimum time to get baking. Your Christmas cake should be fed every 4 to 6 weeks but in the meantime, after baking, it should be stored away in a secure, air tight container.

Aussie Muscats are great, but also look at some fortified wines such as PX sherry or Maderia or even consider some fruit flavoured liqueurs.

What is a Christmas cake girl? ›

In the 1980s, a woman unmarried by 25 was dismissed as "Christmas cake" — thrown out on Dec. 26. These days the big number is 31, and women unmarried by that age are "New Year's Eve noodles," noodles being a typical New Year's Eve dish.

Yes, you can definitely feed a Christmas Cake with Port. I use brandy, sherry or port depending on what I have in the pantry.

Christmas cake and fruitcake often refer to the same thing: a cake with lots of candied dried fruits in them, a spicy-sweet flavor profile, and the presence of an alcohol such as rum.

For the pudding and the cake, you could substitute the alcohol with apple, orange, red grape or prune juice. The cake can be made ahead but don't feed it.

Fruitcake aficionados will tell you that the best fruit cakes are matured – or “seasoned” in fruitcake lingo – for at least three months before they are cut. Seasoning not only improves the flavor of the fruitcake, but it makes it easier to slice.

Baking a cake in a too-hot oven for the recommended time will dry it out. And baking a cake in a not-hot-enough oven will dry the crust before the center is fully baked.

If you are skipping the brandy because you don't have any - try a rum or whisky instead. They have a slightly different flavour profile, but not hugely different.

Christmas pudding is traditionally soaked with alcohol, preferably brandy, for flavour maturation. However, many people prefer rum and whisky spirit with high alcohol content.

Brandy – 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of brandy or rum extract for 2 tablespoons of Brandy. When the liquid amount is critical to the recipe, use water or fruit juices corresponding to the flavor of brandy, for instance, white grape juice, apple cider or apple juice, diluted peach, pear or apricot syrups.

If you followed it exactly and did not add any alcohol in, I would recommend 3-4 weeks max. The cake has a lot of sugar and dried fruit which will help preserve it but it will not last as long as a traditional cake without the alcohol. How do I store a Christmas Cake? Allow to cake to completely cool.