Plum Cake | Christmas Fruit Cake | Kerala Plum Cake

Ever since I started baking,making Fruit Cakes or Plum Cakes as they are called in Kerala,has been a Christmas tradition.I've missed a few years in between but every year I look forward to the whole process of selecting the fruits and nuts,soaking them in rum and waiting for the perfect time to bake the cake.

At home,we are not too fond of the strong flavor of alcohol,so I soak for a shorter period of time.Even a twenty four hour soak gives you good results if you ask me,speaking from experience!

Over the years,I've tried many versions of the same.But honestly,I grew up eating Plum cakes with a rich caramel flavor and studded with raisins and sultanas with a few nuts thrown here and there,mostly as garnish.Every cake I bake,I search for that familiar flavor.So I don't really experiment much with it.My choice would be alcoholic and egg based recipes as that's the way it is made in Kerala.

Last few years,I've been making this recipe with some tweaks here and there and have been extremely satisfied with the taste.But this year,as I was soaking the fruits,only one recipe called out to me.The one by Lekshmi Nair,someone whom I've grown up admiring..I've been watching Magic Oven since a teenager.

I didn't think twice before preparing to bake as I knew this was going to be a foolproof recipe.I did a few changes here and there as per convenience,will share that in the recipe.

Plum Cake | Christmas Fruit Cake | Kerala Plum Cake

Ingredients

For soaking

Raisins,Dates,Sultanas,Black Currants - 3/4 cup/120 gms
Tutti Frutti - 1/2 cup/100 gms
Almonds,Walnuts - 1/2 cup/100 gms
Rum/Brandy - 1/4 cup
Lime Marmalade - 1 tbsp(you could use Orange Marmalade)
Mixed Fruit Jam - 1 tbsp
Honey - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp

Mix all the ingredients together and let it soak for 24 hours to a week.Keep shaking the bottle so that the soaking is even.If you are planning to soak for a longer period of time,skip the nuts and add it just before you plan to bake the cake.As I was soaking just for a day,I added the nuts as well.

For the Caramel Syrup

Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup

In a thick bottom sauce pan add the sugar and heat on medium flame until it starts changing color,dissolves completely and starts to caramelize.
Simultaneously keep water to boil on another flame.
When the sugar caramelizes to a deep brown color,add the boiling water and let it cook for 5-7 minutes or until it becomes thick and syrupy.

For the spiced sugar

Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 3
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 1 small piece
Nutmeg grated - 1/4 tsp

Grind all the ingredients together till you get a smooth powder.

For the Cake

Butter - 1/2 cup/100 gms,I used salted butter
Oil - 1/4 cup
Spiced sugar - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 3,separated
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Caramel syrup - 1/2 cup
Flour - 1 1/2 cups
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Soaked fruits and nuts - about 1 cup(or more according to your choice)I added all of the soaked fruits and nuts and it was a bit more than a cup.
Sliced Almonds or Cashewnuts for garnish - optional

Method

Preheat oven to 170C.Grease and line an 8' round tin.
In a clean bowl beat the egg whites till soft white peaks form.Keep aside.
In another bowl beat the butter and oil well.
Mix in the spiced sugar and cream well for a minute.
Add in the yolks one at a time beating for a minute before adding the next one.Mix in the vanilla.
Add the caramel syrup and beat well.
Sift together flour,baking powder and baking soda and beat for a minute.
Switch to a spatula and mix well until you get a smooth batter.
Add the soaked fruits and nuts and fold in.
Fold in the egg whites little at a time until no white specks remain.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool completely in the tin.Cover with a cling film or aluminium foil and let it sit for at least 24 hours for the flavors to mature.You can also baste the cake with rum if you prefer.

Step by Step Tutorial

For soaking

Mix all the ingredients together and let it soak for 24 hours to a week.Keep shaking the bottle so that the soaking is even.If you are planning to soak for a longer period of time,skip the nuts and add it just before you plan to bake the cake.As I was soaking just for a day,I added the nuts as well.

For the Caramel Syrup

Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup

In a thick bottom sauce pan add the sugar and heat on medium flame until it starts changing color,dissolves completely and starts to caramelize.
Simultaneously keep water to boil on another flame.
When the sugar caramelizes to a deep brown color,add the boiling water and let it cook for 5-7 minutes or until it becomes thick and syrupy.

For the spiced sugar

Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 3
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 1 small piece
Nutmeg grated - 1/4 tsp

Grind all the ingredients together till you get a smooth powder.


Method

Preheat oven to 170C.Grease and line an 8' round tin.

In a clean bowl beat the egg whites till soft white peaks form.Keep aside.

In another bowl beat the butter and oil well.

Mix in the spiced sugar and cream well for a minute.

Add in the yolks one at a time beating for a minute before adding the next one.

Mix in the vanilla.

Add the caramel syrup and beat well.

Sift together flour,baking powder and baking soda and beat for a minute.

Switch to a spatula and mix well until you get a smooth batter.

Add the soaked fruits and nuts and fold in.

Fold in the egg whites little at a time until no white specks remain.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the tin.Cover with a cling film or aluminium foil and let it sit for at least 24 hours for the flavors to mature.You can also baste the cake with rum if you prefer.

Here's wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

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Chocolate Almond Biscotti

It is fun to try something new,something you've only heard about before and not tasted.I happened to taste my first ever Cinnamon rolls thanks to her and now it is the turn of Biscotti.I've seen so many recipes for Biscotti but never tried any.Since it is the time for our monthly event Sweet Punch,we decided to do a twist and try this recipe.


Biscotti is a type of Italian Cookie which gets its name from the original biscoctus,which means twice cooked/baked.It defined oven baked goods that were baked twice, so they were very dry and could be stored for long periods of time.[source]

I've heard so many horror stories of this very simple recipe that I pushed baking this to the last minute.Stories of the baked dough crumbling while cutting and not holding shape and not baking through were some of the many.Fortunately,this recipe is quite foolproof and got done smoothly.I felt it tasted very similar to our Indian Rusk,perfect with a mug of coffee/tea or even sweetened milk.


Chocolate Almond Biscotti
Recipe source - Joy of Baking

Ingredients

Granulated white sugar - 2/3 cup 
Eggs - 2 large
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
All Purpose flour - 1 ¾  cups
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Chocolate – 110 gms,chopped in ½ ‘ pieces
Almonds – ¾ cup,blanched,toasted and chopped coarsely

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.Line a baking tray with butter paper.

Sift together flour,baking powder and salt,reserve.

In a mixing bowl,beat together sugar,eggs and vanilla using an electric beater till thick pale and fluffy-about 5 minutes.When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.
Mix in the sifted flour mixture and beat until combined.
Fold in the chopped almonds and chocolate.

Transfer the dough to a baking tray lined with butter paper and form into a log.Roughly 12 inches long and 3 inches wide.
(you many have to dampen your hands while doing this as the dough is quite sticky).
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until firm to touch.Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 160C.Transfer the log to a cutting board and cut into 2 cm slices.(diagonally or straight)
Place the biscotti cut side down on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Turn slices over and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool and store in airtight containers.

Notes

• I halved the recipe and got around 10 biscottis.You could slice the log diagonally for better looking biscottis.
• While slicing,follow the trial and error method.Some recipes ask you to cut in a sawing motion and some ask you to cut straight down.Try the method which best works for you.I did the sawing method.
• Shaping the log requires a bit of a patience,the dough is very sticky and forming the log into a neat one seems like a challenge.Try smoothening the top with a wet spatula and it might work.

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