Description
Christmas cake or rich fruit cake with the flavor of spices and Rum soaked fruits from the state of Kerala.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 200g All Purpose flour
- 200g Butter at Room Temperature
- 200g Granulated Brown Sugar (I prefer my cake moderately sweet)
- 100g Almond Flour
- 2 cups Rum Soaked Fruits and Dry Fruits
- 2 Tbsp. Alcohol ( to be taken from the Rum soaked fruit for better flavor) or Brandy/ Rum/ Whiskey
- 1 Tsp. Mixed spices (Cinnamon and clove)
- 1 Tsp. Nutmeg Powder
- 6 Egg
- 1 Orange (zest to be used)
- 25g Cashew Nuts
- 25g Raisins and Tutti Frutti
Other (you can skip these two)
- 2 Tbsp. Candied Orange Peel
- 1 Tbsp. Candied Ginger
Decoration
- 2 Tbsp. Icing Sugar for decoration
- 5 Cherries
- 2 Tbsp. Brandy/ Rum/ Whiskey
Instructions
Cake Batter
- Take Butter in a bowl.
- The butter should be at room temperature.
- Using a hand blender blend the butter until it is smooth and airy. Instead of a hand blender, you can use a manual whisk as well.
- Now add the granulated brown sugar in 3 batches and mix.
- Do not add the sugar at once. Small batches are a must.
- Now add 6 eggs and blend till smooth.
- Now add All-purpose Flour in small batches
- Upon adding each portion, mix with a manual whisk following cut and fold method.
- Now add 100g Almond Flour and mix. This is optional.
- Chop Cashew nuts.
- Be ready with 25g Raisin and Tutty frutty as well.
- Add 2 Cups of alcohol-soaked fruit mixture.
- Now add the chopped cashews, raisins, and tutty fruity.
- Add 1 Tsp. Mixed Spices and 1 Tsp. Nutmeg Powder.
- Now add zest from one Orange.
- You can add candid peels separately as well. I have not added them as those are listed with the soaked fruit.
- Now mix again.
- Add 3 Tbsp. Liquid from the fruit jar or Brandy/ Rum/ Whiskey
- Mix again.
- The cake mix is ready!
Getting the cake tin ready
- Prepare the cake tin using butter paper as shown in the video
- You can use a non-stick cake tin or silicone cake mould and even aluminum foil; however, I prefer good old cake tin lined with butter paper.
- Apply some butter before putting it on the paper.
- Pour the cake mix.
- A 10-inches tin is ideal for the ingredients used.
- Tap 2-3 times to level the cake mix.
Baking the Rich Fruit Cake
- Preheat the oven to 140 degrees C for 10 minutes before baking the cake.
- The cake is to be baked for 1 hr 30 minutes ( 5/10 minutes plus minus).
- After 1 hr 10 minutes check with a toothpick and keep checking after every 5 minutes.
- Once done, the toothpick will come out clean.
- The baking time varies a bit from oven to oven.
- Cool the cake over a wire rack.
- Once cooled, brush the cake with brandy/rum/whiskey.
- Cover with paper and keep the cake for a minimum of 1 day to a maximum of 7-10 days before cutting.
- At the time of serving the rich fruit cake, remove the paper.
Christmas Cake Decoration
- The decoration is optional; I decorate the Christmas cake with icing sugar and cherries.
- You can use fondant or brandy-based cream as well.
Notes
- The eggs and butter must be at room temperature
- The Alcohol-soaked fruit mixture used in this cake is 3 years old I have jars full of this mixture from different years. If not available use freshly made mixture, However, season the mixture at least for 15 days (minimum).
- I use the old mixture in rich fruit cake and keep the new one for the coming years. Ideally, you should make this Christmas cake at least 7 days ahead and let it season with the alcohol.
- Sugar needs to be adjusted based on preference. I like moderately sweet cakes.
- Butter can be proportionately substituted with refined Oil.
- For this cake, baking at a low temperature is necessary, and hence I baked at 140 degrees C for more than an hour.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 90 mins
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 200g
- Calories: 636
- Sugar: 31.7g
- Sodium: 404mg
- Fat: 36g
- Saturated Fat: 19.3g
- Carbohydrates: 65.1g
- Fiber: 2.7g
- Protein: 10g
- Cholesterol: 176mg
