How to Store Homemade Fruitcakes

Fruitcakes are festive holiday desserts that are traditionally made, served and given as gifts at Christmastime. Fruitcakes also are served at other celebratory events, including weddings and receptions. Rich and dense, fruitcakes can be studded with candied or dried fruit such as cherries and cranberries, and chopped nuts. Fruitcakes are flavored with a variety of heady spices, including cloves, cinnamon and ginger. The baked goods are typically spritzed or soaked in alcohol such as rum or brandy. Fruitcakes should be stored before eating because the complex flavors need time to ripen and become richer.

• 1

  Allow a fresh-baked fruitcake to thoroughly cool on a rack prior to storage.

• 2

  Soak a piece of cheesecloth in whatever type of liquor, such as rum or brandy, was used to enhance the fruitcake. Wring the cheesecloth out to remove excess liquor.

• 3

  Wrap the fruitcake in the damp, liquor-soaked cheesecloth.

• 4

  Place the wrapped cake into a plastic storage container with an air-tight lid. Press the lid into place, creating a secure seal.

• 5

  Store the fruitcake in a cool, dry location such as a refrigerator. Allow the fruitcake to ripen and age in the refrigerator for at least two weeks before serving or gifting.

• 6

  Unwrap the fruitcake and spritz or sprinkle it with liquor once a week to keep it moist and flavorful. Rewrap the cake in the cheesecloth.

• 7

  Freeze the fruitcake after it has been in the refrigerator for one month if longer storage is needed. Allow the cake to ripen and age for a full month in a refrigerator before placing it into a freezer. Remove the cheesecloth from around the cake. Keep the fruitcake in the air-tight plastic storage container and transfer it to a freezer.