Take them in glass jar, add all the dried fruits and pour the rum.
Let them soak for a month or week or 2-3 days (as time permits). Shake well after every 2-3 days.
After the soaking, you can see they have plumped up so well.
Drain the excess liquid. and keep it aside.
Do not discard the drained rum, use that later to brush it on the cake.
Preparation:
While it is draining, prep rest of the ingredients.
Line the sides and bottom of the 9 inch springform cake pan.
Also preheat the oven to 275 degrees F or 135 degrees C for at least 15 minutes.
Making eggless fruit cake recipe:
Take all purpose flour and baking powder in a bowl. Whisk well till everything is incorporated well.
Add all the soaked fruits in it. Mix well using wooden spoon or spatula till all the fruits and nuts are coated with flour. Keep it aside.
Take softened butter, honey and sugar in a bowl.
If doing this by hand, then start mashing it with spatula. It will becomes like a paste.
Then start whisking it using wire whisk till it gets light, fluffy and smooth.
If using stand mixer (with paddle attachment) or hand mixer then no need to mash with spatula, just start beating it.
Now we will add yogurt and ground almonds in two additions. Start by adding half of the yogurt.
beat it well. Now add half of ground almonds.
Again beat it well.
Now add remaining half of yogurt and ground almonds. Again beat it till well combined.
Now add orange zest and milk. Mix it well.
Now add fruits and flour mixture.
Mix well with spatula till everything is incorporated well. It should be thick batter unlike other cake batters.
Dump all the batter in the prepared cake tin,
Evenly spread the batter and smooth out the top. Arrange the almonds in center or around the edges just for the garnishing.
Bake into preheated oven for 1 ½ hours -2 hours. Check after 1 hours 30 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake and decide the more baking time accordingly.
Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan itself for 20-30 minutes.
Then remove it on the cooling rack.
While the cake it still warm, prick the top using wooden skewer.
Brush the drained or fresh alcohol all over the cake. and let the cake cool down completely.
Once it cools completely, wrap using in the plastic wrap. Keep in the container.
Store in cool dry place. If you live in the cold climate, keep at room temperature. If you live in warm climate then store in refrigerator.
Keep brushing it with alcohol every two-three days, if planning to keep for several weeks.