“For the spirit of Christmas fulfils the greatest hunger of mankind.”
Loring A. Schuler
This is the cake that we bake every year around this time & always under pressure! My mother usually gets there only by new year, so hers’ is now more or less a ‘New Year Fruit Cake’. It’s from an old recipe of hers from a baking course she did many many moons ago when my Dad was still in the Air Force. I’ve adapted it, made a few more changes this year…& we’ll get to know how it tastes tonight. Its sitting there, smelling great, all wrapped up & maturing, under the watchful eye of our very own little red nosed reindeer! His nose actually flashes!!
Ingredients:
Mixed cut fruit – 1 kg approx. (currants,peels,crystallized ginger, tutti-frutti,cashew nuts,raisins,almonds etc)
Juice & zest of 1 orange (approx 3/4 – 1 cup; you can used a mix of juice & rum/brandy if you like)
Garam Masala – 3 tsp ( I made fresh garam masala because the flavours are much better)
Garam Masala – 3 tsp ( I made fresh garam masala because the flavours are much better)
Cinnamon powder – 2 tsp
Juice of 2 limes
Juice of 2 limes
Flour – 300 gm
Cornflour – 70 gms
Baking powder – 3 tsp
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Butter – 300 gms
Sugar – 300 gms
Caramel made out of 2 tbsp sugar
Coffee – 1 1/2 tbsp
Eggs – 6 / beaten separately
Vanilla extract/essence – 2 tsps
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Soak the mixed fruit in the juice/rum with the garam masala + cinnamon + zest + lime juice overnight or up to 7 days in the fridge.
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Sift the flour + cornflour + baking powder + salt & keep aside.
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Take the soaked fruit & toss them well with the sifted flour. (This ensures that the fruit don’t sink to the bottom of the tin while baking.)
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Heat 2 tbsp of sugar in a pan till dark brown & caramelised. Allow to cool a bit. Top with 1/2 cup water + coffee. Let it sit for a while till it all comes together as a thick syrup.
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Prepare 3 loaf pans, or 2 8″ square cake tins. Line & grease them.
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Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.
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Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Keep aside.
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Cream butter + sugar well. Add vanilla & beat.
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Add the beaten eggs and beat for a minute, followed by the caramel.
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Mix in the tossed fruit in 3 goes till just mixed in. Don’t over mix.
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Turn batter out into prepared tins & bake for approximately 1- 1 1/2 hrs on the lower rack of the oven. Cover loosely with foil if the top starts browning too soon.
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Cool & wrap in cling wrap or foil. Keep overnight at the least before slicing.
Have a good holiday season. :0)
Wrapped up to go…with a card made by my daughter!