Cake, Mincemeat and Pudding

[Scout19075]

How long do you normally soak the fruit for your Christmas cake? I tend to go 36-48 hours but was wondering if longer/shorter is better?

And has anyone tried soaking the fruit for your mincemeat and/or Christmas pudding? If so, how was it?

I don't make a Christmas Pudding (because no-one eats it)
I do a fruit cake and cut into 2 (but only marzipan/ice half of it)

I use Amarretto to soak , usually 2 days soaking then lots of Amarretto dripped into skewered holes.

Cake and Wendsleydale cheese

I've only made mincemeat once (can't remember it so I don't think it was worth the effort)

I have a jar in the pantry of Sainsburys Mincemeat bought for 10p in January. I can put apple and grated rind in it .

IIRC Delia soaks the fruit for her Creole cake for a week in rum. (I'll have a look for the recipe)

Yes seven days soaking and she heats the soaking liquid first.

A week?! I think it was Delia's Christmas cake recipe I've used in the past and it said 3 tbsp. of brandy for 2 lbs. of fruit for 24 hours. I've been doing 6 tbsp. for 48 hours but it just doesn't feel enough (alcohol and soak time).

I don't eat Christmas cake, Christmas pudding or mince pies but I enjoy making them all and my in-laws gobble it all up.

I'm itching to get started usually make it all in September/October but more-or-less won't be home until September now so have to wait.

Twelve cakes. . That's a lot of fruit and orange rind cake. How do you decorate all those cakes?

I think I'll try tripling the brandy and soaking for a week. I'm going to soak the fruit in my homemade cherry brandy this year as an experiment. Do you think I could use those cherries instead of glace cherries?

I made mince meat 3 years ago and 2 years ago. The jar that was 2 years old that i opened last year was divine (I still have 1 left of that batch) - so the longer the steeping, the better in that case!! (Although, they were all fine to use within 3 weeks of making, but the longer the sitting, the better the flavour).

To my shame (only married 13 years!!) I have never yet made a cake or pudding, as DM makes a pudding for us (almost) every year, and DMIL makes a cake for us, again (almost) every year. I am sure someday I will do one of those, and I know DM only soaks overnight but leaves to mature once cooked for 3 months (both her puddings and her cake), while I don't know much about MIL's methods....

I wouldn't swop cherries from cherry brandy totally for glace cherries - different textures and flavours (and sweetnesses). But you could do a mix of the 2, which would be quite nice I should think (I did cherries in honey rum a few years ago, and used them as the middle of hm chocolates for 2 years running -delish!!).

And I use a mincemeat recipe that calls for gran marnier rather than brandy, which gives a nice orange flavour. I know DM uses brandy for puddings and whiskey for cakes fruit.