Fruitcakes

• Fruitcakes, Christmas puddings and many similar baked goods make heavy use of nuts, dried fruits and spices. In some variations, such as the Tuscan specialty called panforte, the nuts and fruit are simply held together with a cooked syrup. Conventional fruitcakes use a dense, richly flavored batter to hold the fruit together. Some have more batter and others have more fruit, depending on the individual baker's preference. Dark fruitcakes are heavily spiced and flavored with molasses or honey, while light fruitcakes use pale-colored fruit and contain plain sugar as their sweetener. Either variety can be kept for extended periods.

Long Storage

• Once they're made, Christmas fruitcakes can be stored for weeks, months, or even years. They must be soaked with rum, brandy, whiskey or another spirit, then wrapped in cheesecloth and packed into an airtight storage tin. For the maximum flavor and shelf life, they should be opened periodically and drizzled again with alcohol. The spirit acts as a disinfectant and a deterrent to pests, keeping the cake safe. Over extended storage, the cake's flavors continue to become richer and mellower.

Marzipan

• When Christmas rolls around, the cake must be removed from storage and prepared for company. The traditional covering for English-style fruitcakes is marzipan, a stiff paste made of sugar and ground almonds. The cake must first be brushed with melted apricot jam or spread with a thin coating of buttercream so the marzipan will adhere. Then, the marzipan is rolled like pie crust into a thin, flexible sheet and draped over the cake. Once it's smoothed into place, the marzipan covers the cake in a flavorful, airtight blanket.

Protecting the Cake

• As long as the cake remains uncut, marzipan alone will preserve its freshness and prevent it from drying out. No cake dome or other cover is necessary. Once the cake is cut, the exposed ends should be protected with plastic film wrap, or the entire cake placed under a dome. The only other "cover" the cake requires is additional icing or decorations. Many bakers cover the marzipan with pure white fondant, a rolled icing which has a similar texture. Marzipan also takes colors well, so bakers can roll and cut colored marzipan to form snowmen, candy canes, Santas, snowflakes and other decorative elements. Other bakers cover their marzipan with royal icing, which also provides a snow-white finish.