For VERY long storage, 'bury' the liquor-soaked cakes in confectioners' sugar in a tightly covered tin, in a cool place. When wrapped in cloth and foil, saturated regularly with alcoholic liquors and kept in tightly closed containers or bags, a fruitcake may be kept for months or even years. This is called 'ripening'. Liquor-based cakes may be stored several months in advance in a cool place prior to serving. Use fresh, good quality ingredients - make sure spices used are fresh.
Real fruitcake is fun, festive, ferociously flavorful and fabulous.
This ancient cake has a history which is as full of lore and rumor, as it is actual fact. Fruitcakes are one of the oldest surviving traditional holiday pleasures. After all, the holiday season is a time for all of us to celebrate, indulge, and connect ourselves to the food, fancies and folks of our past and our future. There is a beauty to the traditional, preserved side of life just as there is a beauty to the beloved fruitcake. This article was written by Sivan Steffens , an Allrecipes staff writer.