Drunken Fruit Cake & Other Boozy Holiday Desserts

It’s the holidays, a time when you don’t only find your spirits in cocktails, but also in classic holiday desserts. Where did these boozy Christmas desserts come from? Why did they have alcohol in them? And are they still made today? We break down some of the most traditional boozy holiday desserts that you can try this Christmas.

Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash

Christmas Pudding

Christmas Pudding referred to in stories and Christmas songs as plum pudding or figgy pudding is the most classic of English Christmas desserts. Most Americans shy away from plum pudding, imagining it as something between a fruit cake and a haggis. But if made properly, a Christmas pudding can be a rich and boozy end to a delicious Christmas dinner.

Christmas pudding originated as a 14th-century porridge called 'frumenty' that was made of beef and mutton with raisins, currants, prunes, wines, and spices. Over time it became a plum pudding, thickened with eggs, breadcrumbs, dried fruit, and given more flavor with the addition of beer and spirits.

Today, typical Christmas pudding includes ingredients soaked in brandy or cognac, as well as a brandy or hard sauce that is lit on fire during serving. This double-dose of spirits makes it a boozy holiday dessert that deserves a stop at everyone’s table. 

Enjoy this recipe for Christmas Pudding.

English Trifle

The British did not stop with the Christmas pudding, they took the boozy dessert a step further with the English trifle. 

A proper English trifle is made with real egg custard poured over sponge cake soaked in fruit and sherry, and topped with whipped cream.

Unlike the Christmas pudding, the English Trifle contains fruit soaked in sherry and then layered with pre-baked cake. Unlike the pudding where the boozy fruit is then cooked, in the English trifle the alcohol has no time to cook - making the English Trifle a much more boozy dessert.

The English even call versions of this dessert the Tipsy Cake, Tipsy Squire, and Tipsy Hedgehog.

Enjoy this recipe for English Trifle

Rum Balls

Rum balls were originally invented by the Danish bakers who had a problem at the end of each day with leftover breads and cakes when they were about to close the bakery.

The Danish bakers tried to make the correct amount every day, but when they had extra did not want to waste it. So instead they came up with the Rum Balls.

The bakers took the leftover cake, crumbled it up, and mixed it with melted dark chocolate and rum. They then rolled them into balls and coated them with coconut, sprinkles, or cocoa.

Today these classic treats are made at Christmas time, along with chocolate truffles and other confections that are added to a chocolate box. 

Their boozy centers make them the perfect treat on any day during the holiday season.

Learn how to make your own Rum Balls.

Fruit Cake

A fruit cake is not just a cake with some fruit inside. In fact, the fruit cake dates all the way back to ancient Rome where a recipe had pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins mixed into a cake made out of barley mash.

Fruit cakes do not necessarily require alcohol or spirits to be added, but many people add spirits to the fruit when they are soaking them with sugar for added flavor and storage of the cakes. 

Some people make fruit cakes well in advance of eating, sometimes even a year before eating the cakes. These recipes typically also call for alcohol in the cake, and for them to be stored in a cloth with alcohol on it. This gets rid of the bacteria and allows fruit cakes to be stored for long periods of time. There are even some fruit cakes that can be eaten after 25 years. 

The longest fruitcake has been in one family’s possession for over 130 years!

While you may not want to store your fruit cake that long, soaking your fruit cake in spirits will let you enjoy this classic holiday dessert all year long. 

Check out this boozy fruit cake recipe. 

Cheers!

At Eight Oaks we don’t just make whiskey, we make a difference. 

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