To make a homemade fruit cake, first, a day prior to baking, mix the dried fruits in a large mixing bowl. To it add 3/4 cup of dark rum and cover it tight. This will allow the dried fruit mixture to completely and properly soak at room temperature for half a day to an entire day (depending on your preference) before going ahead with the preparation of the fruit cake batter. 

Once that is done, preheat the oven to 300°F, placing the rack in the center. Use a baking pan and properly grease and line it with a parchment paper before adding the cake batter. 

Meanwhile, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, spices, and salt (as mentioned above) in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Keep the mixture aside. At the same time, in a separate bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the softened unsalted butter and brown sugar together for 3-5 minutes till it becomes fluffy and light. 

Once you get the desired consistency of the mixture, add the eggs one at a time. At this point, the mixture may look broken but that is acceptable. To this mixture, add the flour blend and continue to mix it well till it is fully absorbed. 

Thereafter, add the lemon zest, orange zest, grated apple, diced caramelized ginger, almonds or pecans, and the soaked dried fruits to it. Note that if there is some alcohol left, (as in if all of it is not absorbed by the dried fruits) add it to the mixture. Use a large spatula to mix all the ingredients together in the bowl, scraping the edges of the bowl many times until all of them have been evenly combined.

Once the batter is made, transfer it onto the baking pan. Bake it for 75 to 90 minutes or until you see the cake is properly set. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on the rack for it to cool down completely before removing it from the baking pan. 

Now comes the 'storing' stage. Once the cake has properly cooled, remove it from the pan and set it upright. Take a piece of cheesecloth and soak it in alcohol, preferably in a triple sec or medium sherry. Once done, wrap the cake tightly and cover it with wax paper before keeping it in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Store it in the refrigerator for as long as you want. You can serve this cake right away after it is taken out of the oven. But some people want the flavors to improve with time for which they keep it in the refrigerator for 8 weeks or so.

You can either garnish the cake with a light apricot glaze and place apricots or almonds over it, or simply spread a thin layer of icing atop the cake. Note that this step is not advised if you are planning to wrap the cake and allow it to age. Either way, it turns out quite delicious. Slice the cake with a jagged knife. If you do not wish to add icing to it, serve it with a small amount of salted butter and you're good to go!