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Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala …. Joyeux Noel 2012

Deeba @ PAB

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala ... anticipated, enjoyed, relished. December is never complete without this quintessential favourite, yet it nearly didn’t ‘happen’ this year. Yet for some reason the joy of the season, the light headed feeling, the warmth is missing. The heart feels heavy with the mindless violence that seems to raise its ugly head right across the world … be it New Delhi or New England.

The restlessness was getting overwhelming. Yesterday I needed to get into the kitchen, grab a dose of baking therapy. I have not baked for the past week. The insensitivity of the grotesque attack on the 23 year old girl in New Delhi has completely shattered us. The heart breaks that someone should have been subject to such animal behaviour.

Yet the strength of the human spirit of the victim is unbelievable. She has returned from near dead to prove just how strong a woman can be, still fighting death every passing minute. The tale of this strong young lady will go down in the history of India.

Yesterday I baked with her in my mind. I also gave the teen some ferns and tangerines from the garden to make me a wreath. With a little help from her brother, and none from the dog, she made me a pretty one! She managed to get Coco to wear a Santa hat too …

It’s a simple fruit cake, one which shows up across the globe around this time. Often referred to as Christmas Cake, there are millions of recipes for fruit cake, in some regions every family hanging on to their own traditional recipe. Mine is a twist to our family recipe.

My Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala has evolved from a traditional recipe handed down from my mother. Hers was the Garam Masala Christmas Cake. The one I baked this year follows the same basics of garam masala and orange juice to soak the fruit {overnight or for a few days/weeks}, some brandy thrown in if you like. I also continue to use a caramel coffee syrup to lend colour and deep flavour to the cake.

Everything was done in a hurry as usual. No planning other than soaking a bunch of dry fruits and nuts the night before. I had plenty of bright oranges on hand, so decided to make candied orange peel. A recipe on Use Real Butter has stayed in my head forever.

The effect of the colour itself was therapeutic, mood uplifting and before I knew it I was soaking fruit in the orange juice. I threw in 3 tbsps of garam masala. Don’t worry, it doesn’t end up too strong. Nor does it make your cake smell like curry! It is beautiful. If you do have time, make your own.

It adds deep flavours of cinnamon, spice and all things nice; reminds me of gently mulled wine. Ties the season in nicely, warm and comforting in a deeply pacifying sort of a way.

The daughter hates nuts, and the son hates raisins and fruit. Their taste buds always unite for Christmas Cake … right down to the last crumb. She says its all ‘mine‘, while he bitterly complains to me, naive enough to believe her… and life goes on!

Joy, Peace, Warmth, safety this holiday season dear readers.

Thank you for stopping by.

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Recipe: Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala

Summary: Rich, fruity, nutty and deeply flavoured fruit cake for Christmas. The flavours of garam masala lift it to new heights. 

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes {plus soaking the fruit}
Ingredients:

  • 1000g dried fruit and nuts {250g tutti frutti, 100g cashewnuts, 200g walnuts, 100g almonds, 3050g raisins, 50g currants}
  • 100g candied orange peel {recipe here}
  • 240ml orange juice
  • 150ml brandy {or orange juice}
  • 3 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tbsp coffee
  • 250g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 200g dark brown sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1tbsp vanilla extract

Method:

  1. Fruit & nut mix
  2. Chop the walnuts, cashews, almonds and candied peel. Mix with the rest of the fruit.
  3. Pour the juice and brandy into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the garam masala, followed by the fruits and nuts. Mix well. Cover tightly and leave to soak overnight or for longer. Stir the next morning, and a couple of times more.
  4. Coffee Caramel Sauce
  5. Heat the granulated sugar in a saucepan and cook until it caramelises. Once it turns a golden brown, gently add almost all the water {be careful it will splutter} and continue to mix until it all comes together. If it is still thick, add some more water. ake off heat and stir in the coffee. Cool. {Once cool, the consistency should be like flowing honey. If not, add some more water and heat gently again}.
  6. Cake
  7. Preheat the oven to 150C.
  8. Line a 22cm square tin and 2 mini loaf tins with four layers of baking paper.
  9. In a large bowl, toss the fruit with the plain flour until all fruit well coated.
  10. In a LARGE mixing bowl, beat the butter with brown sugar for a minute or so.
  11. Beat in the eggs one by one, followed by the vanilla essence, and then the coffee caramel.
  12. Now add the dry mix and stir well to combine.
  13. Ladle batter into prepared tins. Drop from a height of 15cms to get rid of any air bubbles.
  14. Bake at 150C for 2 hours {for the small ones} and 2 1/2 to 3 hours for the large one.
  15. Cool completely in tin. Either slice once cool, or wrap in clingwrap until required.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

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