On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:32:26 GMT, Dawn >
wrote:

> Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
>
> > Here's the issue. Crash is a recovering alcoholic. He gave the
> > fruitcake back to me after taking one slice and told me if he finished
> > it, it would set him off. Rum was his drink of choice. He just asked
> > me to hide the rest of the bottle. He can handle small amounts of
> > other alcoholic beverages (wine, wine coolers, etc.), but not hard
> > liquors.
>
> Was this before or after you soaked the finished cake in booze?

After. I'm not a booze person and I didn't notice the rum flavor. But
he did. Those things were soaked extremely well.

> Personally, I find it's perfectly fine without the after-bake soak. The
> soaked fruit has cooked off and doesn't taste like "alcohol". I used to
> like it soaked in booze too, but I'm on meds that conflict with it, and
> so many of our friends around here are such anti-liquor extremists they
> won't even use recipes that call for a few tablespoons of wine for fear
> they'll taste it.

Crash has the medication conflict, as well. He can handle a little
wine cooked into dishes, but only small amounts.

> You might use brandy instead of rum to soak the fruit. Top the baked
> cakes with a little powdered sugar before serving.

He said that brandy would be a bad idea, too. He wants the cakes to
be alcohol-free. He's done so well for the past several years.
Niether of us want him to fall back into drinking. He was hard core.
Several instances of alcohol poisoning. It's very important for him
not to fall off the wagon, especially from eating food.

BTW, before I posted about his alcoholism, I asked if that was okay.
He said he has no problem whatsoever with people knowing about any
aspect of his problem, so I'm not telling tales out of school.

Thanks for your input!
Carol
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