Christmas Fruit Cake | Christmas Baking

Last week saw me cleaning up my pantry with a vengeance.Whatever leftover nuts and dried fruits got soaked into a bottle filled with rum and my fridge is stocked with slabs of butter and a huge number of eggs:)

Yes,I am one among those minority folks who start baking for Christmas very late.I keep postponing the chopping-fruits-soaking part to the last possible time.But once I start,then there's no stopping.I have kept aside batches of soaked fruits delegating them for Xmas,New Year,for keeping,for giving away and so on.Light Fruit Cake was a great start and I am taking it forward with this delicious Fruit Cake from Saee's Myjhola.

Nothing beats the thrill of cutting a slice of homemade cake and even better if you are sharing it with someone.Fruit Cakes get a lot of bad press due to their characteristic chock-a-block fruits in every bite and a strong smell of alcohol.Maybe because I love dry fruits or maybe because I grew up eating Plum Cakes,as they are called in Kerala,I love a good Fruit Cake!

Saee's recipe is a very simple one.It is just like a regular butter cake with fruits and nuts soaked in rum incorporated into the batter and voila,it immediately gets transformed into a rich fruit cake,so very Christmas-ssy!

Christmas Fruit Cake
Recipe slightly adapted from Saee's My Jhola

Ingredients

For soaking

Dry Fruits - 1 cup,chopped(I used raisins,currants,figs,dates)
Nuts - 1/2 cup(I used cashews,almonds and walnuts)
Candied peel/Tutti Fruity - 1/4 cup
Cinnamon powder - a pinch
Dark Rum - 3/4 cup

For the cake

Flour - 100 gms
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - a pinch
Dry ginger powder - a pinch
Homemade garam masala - a pinch
Salt - a pinch
Butter - 100 gms
Light brown sugar - 100 gms
Eggs - 2
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Method

For soaking 
 
In a clean dry bowl,mix together the dry fruits,nuts,tutty fruity,cinnamon powder and dark rum using a wooden spoon.Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days.You can even do this days in advance,the more it soaks,the more flavor it brings to the cake.

For the cake  

 
Sift/stir together flour,baking powder,cinnamon powder,dry ginger powder,garam masala and salt.Reserve.
 
Beat together butter and sugar till fluffy.Mix in the eggs beating well after each addition.
Mix in the vanilla extract.
  
Pour the soaked fruits along with any juice into the creamed butter-sugar mix and stir well.
Mix in the sifted flour mix and beat together till you get a thickish batter.
 
Pour into a greased/lined 8' round tin and bake at a 180C preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour.
Remove the cake from the tin and let it cool completely on a wire rack.Cover with a foil and rest the cake for a day or two before slicing.
Dust with icing sugar and serve.

 
Notes

• You can mix and match any fruits and nuts of your choice.I have soaked a batch with only glaze cherries and tutti fruity,it is all about what you like to have in your fruit cake.
• I added less rum than mentioned and for the same reason,did not drain the soaked fruits before adding to the cake batter.

Are you done with your Christmas preparations yet?