Christmas Cake baking help/advice!

[BakingRan]

Soooo. I've baked a Claire Saffitz recipe for Christmas cake and I've been feeding it with two tablespoons of brandy every Sunday for past month. Recipe calls for two months of brandy feeding.

My questions...

• I've been actually measuring 2tbsp as I'm very exacting with baking. But that's 30ml of brandy; is this a wild amount to add? That's like 240ml of alcohol in total haha.
• I checked the cake after 90mins as per the recipe and it was already done! Like a hour earlier than expected. The cake feels hard but is that also normal? Will the booze soften too texture of the cake too?

Photos attached! I'll add the marzipan and frosting before Xmas day.

Thanks xx

Shouldn't really feel hard, firmish yeh but not actually dry hard. Had you the right oven temp? 90 mins would be very fast for a rich fruit cake to be baked in, mine would take several hours for say a 9" Anyway if it does feel dry and hard maybe use a pastry brush and brush all over the outside with the next batch of alcohol, that should soften things up. If you've been adding alcohol through poked holes all along that should soften up inside.

Hmmm interesting. I've just moved into my new place and so it was the first bake in an unfamiliar oven. The recipe had loooads of fruit, and the fruit poking out the top aren't burnt.

Very strange. I just hope it's not dry after all this effort soaking and preparing with marzipan and royal icing.

But that's a great tip. I'll brush the brandy next on the next two. I kind of want to cut a bit to try but that'd ruin the shape.

When I press the cake it just doesn't have that bouncyness.

There is no bouncyness in a rich fruit cake so I wouldn't worry about that at all. It's really just dried fruit held together with a bit of cake mix unlike a sponge type cake that actually rises and has bounce.

No you can't cut a bit lol but if you're desperate an apple corer in the middle takes out a little bit, stuff it with marzipan ha!

hahah that's a great idea! I might try that, also who doesn't like extra marzipan! And good to know regarding bouncyness. Thanks! 🖤