So, another eventful year is coming to an end with a lot of excitement over the time, and I am here writing my last recipe before the holidays; wrapping up on a sweet note with a Traditional, Old Fashioned Christmas Fruit Cake, aka Plum Cake. With a backdrop of my hometown, Plum cake races me back to my childhood days and memories, as it is a very famous dessert in Kerala, especially during Christmas. I do not know the history behind its origin, but I believe it was the Britishers who brought the original dried fruit variety of the cake to India. A common misunderstanding of the cake going by its name is it being made of the fruit Plum, but actually it refers to its plumped ingredients; the dry fruits which swell up over its soaking period. Funny, isn’t it?

The highlight of this cake is the aroma of the spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg), and the alcohol soaked fruits. The longer the fruits n nuts being soaked, the better it’s flavours. I recommend soaking them for a minimum of 2 days before baking the cake, so that the flavours sum up. This Christmas I started my preparations earlier, and hence got a chance to soak my fruits for a month. You can even keep them for up to 6 months; now that would be heavenly, right?

There is usually no icing on a traditional Christmas cake, but variations with Cream Cheese or Whipped Cream are also popular. The cake is intensely rich and moist and is a perfect balance of sweetness from the smoky caramel syrup and the dry fruits. This cake makes a great addition to your holiday table as a dessert, or as a Christmas gift for your family and friends.

And if you planned to go this year with a non-alcoholic version, check out my Non Alcoholic Christmas Fruit Cake recipe, Trust me…it’s the Best!

Here are a few ingredients options for you before you plan your bake, I highly recommend going through them:

• Dry Fruits varieties: Raisins / sultanas, apricots, dates (seedless), prunes, currants, figs, tutti fruit, glazed cherries, dried unsweetened cranberries.
• Nuts: Cashews, Almonds, Walnuts, Pistachios, Pecans.
• Soaking liquid (alcoholic): Rum, Brandy, Cognac, Amarula, Baileys Irish Cream.
• Soaking liquid (non-alcoholic): 100% grape juice, apple juice, orange juice, or water.
• Spices: Dry Ginger powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom.

Enjoy baking, Merry Christmas…!!!

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Christmas Fruit Cake/Kerala Plum Cake

Indulge yourself to a Holiday Treat, loaded with Fruits n Nuts soaked in Rum… an Old fashioned Christmas Fruit Cake aka Kerala Style Plum Cake…! Moist, Rich, and Luscious… just how you would have wished your perfect fruit cake to be…!

Course Dessert

Keyword christmas fruit cake, fruit cake, kerala plum cake, plum cake

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Akhila

Ingredients

For soaked dry fruits

• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 6-8 apricots
• 5 dates (seedless)
• ½ cup cashews
• ½ cup almonds
• 1 cup rum (or more)

For caramel syrup

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup water

For cake

• 2 cup flour + 2tbsp
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter (1 cup) (softened at room temperature)
• 1½ cup powdered sugar
• 4 eggs (at room temperature)
• zest of one orange
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp dry ginger powder
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp rum (from the soaked dry fruits)

Instructions

Preparation of fruits

• Chop dry fruits n nuts into bite size pieces, and transfer to a dry glass container. Pour the rum into the container and ensure that the contents are completely immersed in it. Place its lid and keep the container tightly closed.
• Soak the fruits for at least 2 days, you can even preserve them up to 6 months; I soaked mine for 4 weeks. Shake the jar every alternative day and keep refilling it with extra rum as the fruits start absorbing it.
• You can use 2 to 2 ½ cups of soaked fruits and nuts while baking a cake.
• For soaking instructions and other tips, refer the notes section below.

Preparation of caramel syrup

• Add the sugar and 1 tbsp water into a pan and heat on a medium flame.
• As the sugar melts, turns golden in color, and bubbles, lower the flame and give it a quick stir. When the color changes to dark brown, switch off the flame and take the pan off the heat.
• Now carefully add the rest of the water a tablespoon at a time and stir. Your dark colored caramel syrup is ready. Keep it aside to cool down, stir in between.

Preparation of cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a 9 inch nonstick springform pan with parchment paper; on the bottom and and along the sides extending 2 inches above the rim of the pan. Butter the paper thoroughly and set aside.
• Drain the rum soaked fruits and keep the liquid aside for later use. To the drained fruits, add 2 tbsp flour and mix to coat the fruits; this helps preventing them from sinking to the bottom of the cake while baking. Keep aside.
• Separate egg whites and yolks. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, set aside.
• Prepare the dry ingredients by sifting flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Keep aside.
• In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, this helps to mix it evenly.
• Add egg yolks followed by grated orange zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon powder, nutmeg and dry ginger powder. Beat well.
• Add the cooled caramel syrup, dry ingredients, and the beaten egg whites in two batches, beat lightly until well combined.
• Now add the flour coated dry fruits into the batter along with 2tbsp of the drained rum. Do not beat, instead fold in all the ingredients thoroughly with a spatula. The batter is ready, it will have a slightly thick consistency.
• Pour the batter carefully into the prepared baking pan and bake for 55-65 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 10-15 minutes.
• Gently run a knife around the edges of the pan and then unlock it. Move the cake to a wire rack keeping the lined parchment paper intact and let it cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar (optional).
• Once cooled you can remove the paper, and the cake is now ready to be served.
• To store, you can wrap the cake in an aluminum foil and keep in an air tight container at room temperature for a week. Refrigerate thereafter.

Notes

1. Soak dry fruits in alcohol to enhance the flavour. I recommend soaking for at least 48hrs but you may do so for days, weeks, or even up to 6 months. The more it soaks, the better it tastes.
2. Chop the fruits to be soaked into bite sized pieces. Use a clean air tight glass container to soak and store. Shake the jar or stir every alternate day as it helps to rehydrate the fruits and not dry out. Fill with extra rum as needed.
3. After draining the soaked dry fruits before baking the cake, coat them in a few spoons of flour. This helps the fruits to stick on to the batter while baking and prevents from setting down to the bottom.
4. Be cautious while preparing the caramel syrup, the melted sugar is very hot and will boil intensely when water is added. It can burn you if not carefully handled, also ensure to remove the pan from the flame when adding water.
5. After removing the baked cake from the pan, allow it sit on a wire rack to cool down at room temperature. Do not remove the parchment paper from the pan when the cake is hot, it might crumble.
6. Wrapping the cake in an aluminum foil helps it to retain moisture and prevent drying out.
7. You can keep the cake in an air tight container at room temperature for a week. Refrigerate thereafter.
8. If you want to make your cake boozy, you can brush the left over drained rum from the soaked fruits over the cake, once it is cooled from the oven. For those who prefer an aged/matured cake, you can bake it in advance and daily brush it with the remaining rum and wrap it back in the foil, until the day of serving / Christmas. 

The post Christmas Fruit Cake / Kerala Style Plum Cake appeared first on Pepper Delight.

So officially summer is here, and so are the summer fruits! Cherries, Plums, Apricots, Peaches, Berries…and for me that’s the perfect time to bake yummy goodies with all the fresh fruits. If someone asks me what my favorite dry fruit is, I will say “Apricots”. I also love Apricot Jam, but my hubby hates it. In spite of our differences for this fruit, I managed to convince him to buy a big box of fresh apricots from Costco recently. He wasn’t going to eat any and I knew that I have to find a way to finish them before they rotten, or else he is going to kill me. For me, this would be the first time I taste fresh apricots and I hoped to try some new recipes with the rest.

Apricot belongs to the stone fruit family of Peaches, Cherries, and Plums. It tastes like a mix of sweet and tart, wrapped in a yellow-orange skin which is velvety, and strongly resembles peach.  So now since I have tasted it, the real question arises “What will I do with these beauties? “Pies, Galattes and Tarts were my initial thoughts and the easiest too. But my hubby suggested trying some sort of a fruit cake as I had already baked galattes a few times recently after my last strawberry picking trip. Now, an upside down cake was on to-do list from a long time but I kept on postponing it as I wasn’t keen on trying the very common pineapple version. So I finally heeded to his suggestion and baked this beautiful cake with apricots – my first ever upside down cake.  I was so excited to get to the nerve wracking step of flipping the cake and see the surprise beneath; thankfully it came out very well!!

What’s your favorite upside down cake? Let me know in the comment section below.

Enjoy, Happy Baking!!!

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Apricot Upside Down Cake

Celebrate the Summer with an Apricot Upside Down Cake… Moist and Tender, topped with Buttery Brown Sugar Sweetened Apricots! Perfect for the Holidays…!!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apricot cake, apricot upside down cake, cake

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Akhila

Ingredients

For the fruit base

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 10-12 fresh apricots (pitted, sliced lengthwise)

For the cake

• ½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1¼ cup flour
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup milk (at room temperature)

Instructions

For the fruit base

• Butter a 9 inch cake pan and keep aside.
• In a small saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. When it is completely melted and starts bubbling, add brown sugar. Switch off the flame and stir continuously until it turns into a smooth paste.
• Spread the paste onto the prepared cake pan. Layer the apricot slices over the paste and lightly press to sink in.

For the cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, salt, and keep aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add granulated sugar and beat well.
• Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
• Add the dry ingredients alternating with milk, mix well until the batter is combined. The batter will be slightly thick.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and layer over the apricot slices.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I baked mine for 50 minutes.
• Allow the cake to cool completely for 15-20 minutes. Carefully flip the cake into a cake stand/plate or any flat surface. Enjoy!

Notes

• Keep your apricot slices ready before preparing the butter/sugar paste, so that you can layer them immediately once the paste is poured into the cake pan. This helps the slices to sink to the bottom of the pan before the paste thickens, and would look pretty once the finished cake is flipped upside down. It also helps the sugar to coat the slices better making it sweeter.
• If you find any fruit pieces stuck to the pan after flipping, don’t worry! Just place it back on the cake to create the beauty as like before – no one will ever know!!!
• Apricots usually tend to be less sweet and may not taste ideal for cakes. So adjust the sugar as needed while making the fruit base.
• I prefer not to remove the skin of apricots as it may turn mushy without skin while baking.

The post Apricot Upside Down Cake appeared first on Pepper Delight.

Hello December…! Well, we are into the last month of the year and I’m already in a vacation mood. This whole month is going to be busy for me with shopping, vacation, visiting family, and of course Christmas recipes …!! This being my first Christmas since I’ve opened my blog, I have been planning over a month to finalize all my recipes, researching through some authentic Christmas dishes and even got some great ideas from my friends on dishes served at their homes in a pure traditional style. So stay tuned to Pepper Delight, Delicious lip-smacking recipes are on their way!

Going back to my beautiful memories of Christmas, I have a lot to cherish… especially about Cakes. This is the time of the year where plum cakes start filling the racks of every bakery in my hometown. I love Plum Cakes but my brother wasn’t fond of it. And like any other responsible sister, I had to share everything with him (which of course I didn’t like to, hehe), but when it comes to plum cakes I didn’t have to as he didn’t like it anyways and I get to have it whole, Waah! And the funny fact; to add to his misery, all our friends & family who visit us gift plum cakes only. What more do you need to piss him off, my poor little brother!!

Fruit cakes are made with dry fruits or chopped /candied fruits, soaked in an alcoholic liquid with nuts and spices. The sweetness of the fruits, sourness from the liquid, the crunchiness of the nuts, and the flavours of the all spice, makes it a well-balanced Christmas cake.

Another aspect of this recipe which I like is the variety and the options available for the ingredients of this cake. For all my non-alcoholic readers, in today’s recipe I have substituted the alcohol with orange juice. At first look, soaking fruits in orange juice and then adding more to the cake batter might seem a bit scary and a sweetness overload, but the nuts add the needed crunchiness & balance the sweetness. And if you wanted to try the alcoholic version, check out my Christmas Fruit Cake/Kerala Plum Cake. 

I highly recommend you to read the tips section below to find out the variations in dry fruits and nuts, and also the notes section for critical points to be considered while baking a fruit cake.

A few tips:

1. Dry Fruits varieties: Raisins/Sultanas, apricots, dates (seedless), prunes, currants, figs, tutti fruit, glazed cherries, dried unsweetened cranberries.
2. Nuts: Cashews, Almonds, Walnuts.
3. Soaking liquid (alcoholic): Rum, Brandy, Amarula, Baileys Irish Coffee.
4. Soaking liquid (non-alcoholic): 100% grape juice, apple juice, orange juice, or water.
5. Spices: Ground all spice; ½ tsp cinnamon powder+ ¼ tsp cloves

Thank You Beena Aunty for all your valuable tips for this recipe.

Enjoy baking, Merry Christmas…!!!

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Christmas Fruit Cake (Non Alcoholic)

Indulge your family & friends with this flavor packed, Fruity n Nutty, Sweet n Moist Cake…!! A Non-Alcoholic Christmas Fruit Cake. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas fruit cake, fruit cake, kerala plum cake, plum cake

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Akhila

Ingredients

For soaked dry fruits

• 1 cup raisins
• ½ cup apricots
• ½ cup dates (seedless)
• 1½ cup orange juice or more

For caramel syrup

• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp + 4 tbsp water

For cake

• 1½ cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
• 1¾ cup brown sugar
• 4 eggs (at room temperature)
• Juice of one orange
• 1 orange zest
• ½ cup slivered almonds
• ½ cup cashews

Instructions

Preparation of fruits

• Chop dry fruits into bite size pieces. Place them into a dry glass container along with the soaking liquid. Ensure that the fruits are completely immersed in the soaking liquid.
• For soaking instructions and other tips, refer the notes section below.

Preparation of caramel syrup

• Add the sugar and 1 tbsp water into a pan and heat on a medium flame.
• As the sugar melts and starts turning golden brown, lower the flame and keep stirring till it turns a bit darker and thicker.
• Now add the remaining 4 tbsp of water, switch of the flame and keep stirring till the syrup cools down.

Preparation of cake

• Prepare the dry ingredients by sifting flour, baking powder, allspice and salt in a bowl. Keep aside.
• Drain the soaked dry fruits in to a separate bowl and add 3-4 tbsp of the above prepared dry mixture. Mix to flour coat the fruits, this helps preventing them from sinking to the bottom of the cake while baking.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Line parchment paper on the bottom of a 9 inch nonstick springform pan and also along the sides extending 2 inches above the rim of the pan. Butter the paper throughout and set aside.
• In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat butter on high speed until smooth and creamy.
• Add brown sugar and beat until light and mixed well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, which helps to mix it evenly.
• Add eggs one at a time followed by grated orange zest, and mix.
• Meanwhile prepare the caramel syrup as instructed above, and add the cooled syrup to the cake batter and mix.
• Add the dry ingredients alternating with orange juice, and mix till blended well.
• Now fold in the flour coated dry fruits, and nuts (slivered almonds and cashews) into the batter. Optionally you can reserve some nuts to garnish later.
• Pour the batter carefully into the prepared pan and garnish on top with nuts (optional). Bake for 1 hour and 35 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with little or no moist crumbs.
• If the cake looks to be sticky, bake for another 5 minutes and repeat the skewer test. Once done, remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool.
• Gently run a knife around the edges of the pan and then unlock it. Move the cake to a wire rack keeping the lined parchment paper intact and let it cool completely.
• Once cooled you can remove the paper, and the cake is now ready to be served.
• To store, you can wrap the cake in an aluminum foil and keep in an air tight container at room temperature for a week. Refrigerate thereafter.

Notes

• Soak dry fruits in either an alcohol or a non-alcoholic liquid to enhance the flavour. If using non-alcoholic, I recommend soaking for at least a day but you may do so for a few days up to a week. Refrigerate it after 24 hours. If using alcohol, you can soak it at room temperature for up to 6 months.
• The fruits to be soaked should be chopped into bite sized pieces. Use a clean air tight glass container to soak the fruits. Stirring it periodically or at least once a day helps it to rehydrate and not to dry out.
• After draining the soaked dry fruits, coat them in a few spoons of the dry flour mixture. This helps the fruits to stick on to the batter preventing it from setting down to the bottom of the pan while baking.
• While adding orange juice into the batter you might notice that it begins to curdle. This is absolutely fine and it happens due to the citrus nature of the orange.
• After removing the baked cake from the pan, allow it sit on a wire rack to cool down at room temperature. Do not remove the parchment paper from the pan when the cake is hot, it might crumble.
• Wrapping the cake in an aluminum foil helps it to retain moisture and prevent drying out.
• You can keep the cake in an air tight container at room temperature for a week. Refrigerate thereafter.

The post Christmas Fruit Cake (Non Alcoholic) appeared first on Pepper Delight.