Traditional Christmas Fruit Cake (Kerala Plum Cake)

Fruitcake is a cake made with soaked (in alcohol or orange juice) dry fruits and nuts and aromatic spices. The speciality or traditional taste of this fruit cake is  its liquor soaked fruits-nuts mixture.  For that special soaked fruits mixture, we need to soak our desirable candied, dry fruits and nuts  in brandy or dark rum at least one month before baking. Here  is the whole detailed recipe with step by step picture. Try and make a perfect and tasty Traditional Christmas Fruit Cake in your home and enjoy!

1. Place all diced fruits in a glass Jar/container (It must be dry and clean). Pour brandy/rum over the fruits.

2. Cover properly, shake and mix well. Keep in a room temperature for next 1 month (Soaking  more days gives your cake wonderful taste and texture). Shake the container daily or alternative days (for it to spread and absorb the alcohol well with the dry fruits) until the baking day.

3. Place all ingredients for spice powder in a blender

4. Blend and make a powder form. Keep aside.

5. Place sugar (for cake mix) in a blender
6. Blend and make powder. Keep aside.

7. Caramel preparation, heat and sauté sugar (for caramel) and 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan.
8. It turns dark brown ( Please note that the colour of the cake  depends on the colour of the caramel you prepare). Remove the pan from the heat.

9. Add warm water slowly (handle with care that process, since water will splash), mix well.

10. Reheat the caramel mix and boil next 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and leave it to cool.

11. Sift all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and baking soda) together.
12. Keep aside.

13. Drain soaked fruits and nuts from liquor, keep the liquor syrup side.

14. Toss the drained soaked fruits and nuts in a bowl with 2 tablespoon flour (It helps from fruits sinking to the bottom of cake tin.), keep aside.

15. Whisk egg white.
16. Make soft peaks form, keep aside.

17. In a big mixing bowl, place egg yolks and soften butter.
18. Beat well and make a soft form.

19.  Add powdered sugar, beat continuously.
20. When it’s smooth well, add vanilla essence, spices powder and caramel. Mix and whisk well.

21. Add sifted dry ingredients(flour, baking powder and baking soda) gradually and sift well.(Add the dry ingredients in small portions and whisk, to prevent forming lumps)

22. Add 1 tablespoon orange juice, mix and combine.

23. Fold in the egg white gradually (make sure it is well mix).
24. Add tossed fruits and fold well.

25. Add drained liquor fruit syrup, mix and fold well.
26. Our cake mix is ready.

27. Preheat the oven 180 degree C, 15 minutes before baking. Grease the baking tin/tins with baking paper, Pour the cake batter into tin/tins.
28. Make sure the tin/tins are half filled only, its need space to rise.

29. Cover tins loosely with an aluminium foil, it prevents the cake top from burning/over browning (But later you can remove aluminium foil and bake uncovered for last few minutes in order to get brownish colour in your cake’s outer part).

30. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 1 hour (baking time vary upon your oven’s size and heat) or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

31. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Leave it to set for overnight.

32. Cut and serve with wine or as per your taste. Enjoy!

Notes and Tips

1. Mixed Dry Fruits – 3 Cups [I used a small packet of mixed dry fruits ( ¾ Cup) bought from supermarket, 1 cup Sultanas / black dry seedless raisins, ¼ Cup diced Cherry]
2. For Non-alcohol version:
• Soak 3 cups of dry fruits and nuts in 1.5 cup of fresh orange juice.
• Soak overnight in room temperature.
• Drain it and keep side the fruit syrup.
• Toss the drained dry fruits and nuts with 2 tablespoon flour.
• The rest of the processes are similar.