Jingle bells... Jingle bells... Jingle all the way... Yaaayyyy... its carols and merriment everywhere. and so it is here in my space too. Merry Christmas to all my readers.
I spent half of my school days in a Christian school and hence I am very much tied to the season. I had sung carols and played 'Mother Mary' in the nativity play. I still remember the tune of all the carols and I love everything Christmassy. Carols, fruit cakes, and not to forget Santa claus are all a part and parcel of my childhood memories. When I told the huss that I am making a rum soaked fruit cake for Christmas, he simply asked my "Why are you going Christmassy?" I might not have my roots stuck to the religion but cakes and celebration know no religion and so does the individual (...and thats me) who eats cakes. Now the huss was not against the thought and all he needed at the end was his portion of the rich rum soaked cake.
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I actually planned to make the cake few weeks back, allow it to age brushing rum every other day and finally have a bite on Christmas. But then nothing goes as per my plan these days and with the huss flying abroad, I didn't find any reason to make the cake and so didn't soak any fruits and nuts before-hand. I whipped the batter after repeated requests from my huss. Just go by the plan, he said. So finally pulled myself together and made this overnight fruit cake.
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I already have a fruit cake in my space but I prepared that using fruits soaked in red wine for a month. This is a keeper if you have not pre-soaked your fruits. It is no less in flavor and tastes fruity and delicious. I suggest let the cake age for atleast 3 days, the flavor intensifies as days go by. I had mine aged for 3 days.
How I Made it:
Lets make the caramel water first. In a small pan, take the sugar and water and swirl. Heat in medium flame until the sugar turns deep amber, add the boiling water and mix till the caramel has dissolved. Set aside. In a pan, add 1/4 cup rum, dates, raisins, tutti frutti chunks and cook everything in medium flame till the dry fruits have moistened. Finally add the cashews, cook till the rum is absorbed. Put this in an air tight container, add the remaining rum and leave it overnight.
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Preheat the oven to 170 C. Sieve the flour with cinnamon powder, ginger powder and baking powder. Set aside. Beat together the butter and sugar in a bowl until it turns creamy.
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Add one egg yolk at a time and beat till well blended. Add the flour little by little and beat together. Add the vanilla extract and caramel syrup and blend well. Add the fruit and nut mixture to the mixing bowl and gently mix it with a spatula.
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Grease well a round baking pan with butter and keep aside. Beat the egg whites in an another bowl with a pinch of salt until it turns fluffy with soft peaks. Fold the egg whites into the cake batter gently. Pour this cake batter to the greased baking pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely. (..sorry missed to click these pictures)
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Serve dusted with icing sugar.
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** My Notes:
** U can replace demerera with brown sugar too.
** I used a mix of broken cashew nuts, sliced almonds, chopped pistachios and chironji nuts
** You can use any type of rum or brandy. I used orange scented Bacardi rum
** If you want a non alcoholic version, substitute rum with orange juice or apple juice. Orange juice works best
** The cake tastes best when aged. Wrap in cling film or aluminium foil and store.
** I aged mine for 5 days. It was then cut and packed off for relatives. Will try to update the post with a cut piece the next time I make this.
So thats it Folks...
With Love,
Signs off!!!
I spent half of my school days in a Christian school and hence I am very much tied to the season. I had sung carols and played 'Mother Mary' in the nativity play. I still remember the tune of all the carols and I love everything Christmassy. Carols, fruit cakes, and not to forget Santa claus are all a part and parcel of my childhood memories. When I told the huss that I am making a rum soaked fruit cake for Christmas, he simply asked my "Why are you going Christmassy?" I might not have my roots stuck to the religion but cakes and celebration know no religion and so does the individual (...and thats me) who eats cakes. Now the huss was not against the thought and all he needed at the end was his portion of the rich rum soaked cake.
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.JPG) All purpose flour - 1 cup Icing / confectioner's sugar - 1/2 cup Demerera sugar - 1/4 cup Butter - 100 gms Eggs - 2, separated Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp Ginger powder - 1/8 tsp Black raisins - 1/2 cup Dates - 1/2 cup, chopped Tutti frutti - 1/4 cup Cashew nuts - 1/2 cup Orange flavored rum - 1/2 cup, divided For the Caramel syrup: Sugar - 3 tbsp Water - 1 1/2 tbsp Boiling water - 1/4 cup |
How I Made it:
Lets make the caramel water first. In a small pan, take the sugar and water and swirl. Heat in medium flame until the sugar turns deep amber, add the boiling water and mix till the caramel has dissolved. Set aside. In a pan, add 1/4 cup rum, dates, raisins, tutti frutti chunks and cook everything in medium flame till the dry fruits have moistened. Finally add the cashews, cook till the rum is absorbed. Put this in an air tight container, add the remaining rum and leave it overnight.
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** U can replace demerera with brown sugar too.
** I used a mix of broken cashew nuts, sliced almonds, chopped pistachios and chironji nuts
** You can use any type of rum or brandy. I used orange scented Bacardi rum
** If you want a non alcoholic version, substitute rum with orange juice or apple juice. Orange juice works best
** The cake tastes best when aged. Wrap in cling film or aluminium foil and store.
** I aged mine for 5 days. It was then cut and packed off for relatives. Will try to update the post with a cut piece the next time I make this.
So thats it Folks...
With Love,
Signs off!!!
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