How to Fix a Fruit Cake That Has Fallen Apart

The fruitcake is often ridiculed in the United States.

Fruitcake has been around since ancient Roman times, and whether you love it or hate it, it is here to stay. A combination of candied or dried fruit, nuts and spices, fruitcake is dense and heavy. Although fruitcake is typically moist, it can fall apart if it dries out or if the fruit is too large. Luckily, putting a fruitcake back together is easy.

Things You'll Need

• Sugar
• Water
• Saucepan
• Spoon
• Wax paper
• Cake pan

Instructions

1. 

   Sugar and water is the basic recipe for simple syrup

   Combine 1/2 cup of warm water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Let the entire mixture cool before pouring into a small bottle. Glass olive oil bottles work, or any bottle that has a small spout. A spray bottle is sometimes easier to work with

2. Take the entire cake and place it on wax paper. If there are large pieces of fruit that have fallen out of the cake, chop them up into smaller pieces before returning them to the cake.

3. 

   If your fruitcake came in a tin, use a round cake pan.

   Take a cake pan that is the same size or similar to the size of the fruitcake. Typically, fruitcakes fit into a normal loaf pan. Place the largest piece or part of the cake into the pan. Take the pieces that have fallen off of the cake and spritz or sprinkle them with the simple syrup solution. Moisture is the key to putting a cake back together, so spritz the cake inside the pan as well.

4. Place the broken pieces into the cake pan and press them into the cake. You may have to press the entire mixture together, as if you were pressing meatloaf into a pan. Spritz with more mixture as needed, but do not soak the cake.

5. 

   To prevent cake from sticking, wet the knife before you cut the cake.

   Allow the cake to dry for a few hours or overnight. Place it in the refrigerator to help solidify the cake once it is dry. After a few hours, pop the cake out onto wax paper. If you are planning on cutting the cake, do it now, while it is still cool.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are trying to piece back an entire cake, do not eat any of it. You will want as much of it as possible to create the original shape.

• If you don't plan on eating it or cutting it right away, wrap it up tightly so it does not have a chance to fall apart again.

References

• Baking 911: Cake Problems
• Tipnut: Making Homemade Fruitcake

Resources

• Georgia Fruitcake Co: Fruitcake is Serious Business