They keep forever if you wrap them in paper and foil and keep in the cupboard.
oh good – so would be ok for up to a year? Planning ahead for as-yet-unborn DS2s christening!
greaseproof, then foil, then into an old Roses or Quality Street tin. uniced. feed as needed – i do it once a week. keeps for a year in a cool place. i dont soak my fruit before making the cake.
i use UCMs recipe thats on the current Xmas cake thread. works EVERY time and easy peasy.
Ta both If I dont get around to getting baby christened, I will still eat the cake
Agree with expats method – our wedding cake was fine after five years and we only fed it a couple of times.
ours was in the loft for 7 years – still iced, which helped – before it was used for DSs christening.
My mother makes the best fruit cakes and, because shes hilarious, she has also invented a cookie version which my two year old neice eats like normal children eat chocolate icecream! For our wedding, shes doing three layers – one for the day, one to keep for any christenings (hopeful grandmothers, sweet) and one for us to take on honeymoon. I think DP is more excited about the cake than the honeymoon….
kept my wedding cake layer (iced) in the back of the freezer for seven years finally had ds and had to chip cake out, it was like Walt Disneys cryogenic frozen head tasted lovely. poisoned no-one.
Did my first sugarcraft course last week the chap there said he had just re-iced a cake that was 8 years old it had been stored with original wedding icing then in a cardboard box in a cool location – he said it tasted FABULOUS!
Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here)
We recommend wrapping your fruitcake in plastic wrap before placing it in an airtight container. Then, place that container in the fridge. Doing this can ensure your fruitcake stays fresh for up to two months.
greaseproof, then foil, then into an old Roses or Quality Street tin. uniced. feed as needed – i do it once a week. keeps for a year in a cool place. i dont soak my fruit before making the cake.
Agree with expats method – our wedding cake was fine after five years and we only fed it a couple of times.
oh good – so would be ok for up to a year? Planning ahead for as-yet-unborn DS2s christening!
Ta both If I dont get around to getting baby christened, I will still eat the cake
Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here)
I have been asked to make a wedding cake , the first one that I have done. Usually it’s been birthday and christening cakes for the family that I’ve made. So it’s quite stressful. They want the bottom 10 inch tier to be an alcohol free rich fruit cake. I know it won’t have as long a shelf life as cakes with alcohol so the problem is the time between when I marzipan the cake and Ice it. Its going to take a few days for the marzipan to dry out but then that will take it over the recommended storage time for the cake. If the cake has marzipan on, would that extend its shelf life if stored correctly?
After baking, wrap the cake up in parchment paper and a few layers of either foil or cling film and pop it in an airtight container to mature. Instead of feeding it with alcohol, it can be fed with either fruit juice such as orange or, cold tea. This is optional and not necessary as the cake will naturally mature as the fruit begins to break down and moisten the cake over a period of time.
Thank you so much for this advice, it has certainly helped to put my mind at ease as I’ve been worrying about it. There was so much conflicting advice about how long a rich fruit cake would last without alcohol. With your advice I am now confident to make my cake 10 days before the wedding day, which will give the marzipan a week to dry and a couple of days to get it iced and decorated before the big day. Thanks again Anne
Fruit cakes have a very high concentration of fruit to flour ratio making them shelf-stable for months. Once you marzipan and ice the cake, store it in a cake box to keep it clean and dust-free. Place the box in a cool part of your home away from heat sources and direct sunlight until you need to put in the finishing touches.
FRUIT LOAF: MY GRAN’S RECIPE FOR FOOL PROOF FRUIT LOAF – DELICIOUS BAKING AT HOME
FAQ
How long can you keep fruit loaf in the fridge?
How long does homemade fruitcake last?
How do you store fruit loaf?
How long can you keep a homemade Christmas cake?