My first Christmas cake ever! And what a delight it is 😀
Thanks to my dear friends Aruna , who blogs at ãhãram and Freda, who blogs at Aromatic Essence, for inspiring me with their gorgeous bakes.
Here is my simple Christmas Fruit Cake with a fair amount of fruit and a hint of spice.
A simple step-by-step recipe!
250 grams/2 levelled cups of maida/ all purpose flour + 32 grams/ ¼ cup for coating the soaked and drained fruit
250 grams/ 1 cup softened salted butter (I used Amul)
200 grams brown sugar ( I weighed and powdered it)
4 large eggs ( they should weight around 250 grams)
1 ½ tsp Baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp ginger powder *
350 grams of mixed fruit soaked in 200 ml freshly squeezed orange juice**
½ tsp vanilla extract
Soaking the fruit
A day before the baking day soak mixed fruit in 200 ml orange juice. I used equal amounts of golden raisins, black currants, dried cranberry, glace cherry, candied orange peel and candied fruit ( or tutti frutti), Add 2 tsp of rum to add a boozy hint. Two hours before baking drain the fruit well, saving the drained liquid to be used for brushing the cake later.
Add ¼ cup of maida to the drained fruit and mix so that the flour coats the fruit. This will ensure that the fruit does not sink to the bottom while baking.
Preparing the tin
Use an 8 or 9 inch round baking tin with high sides, preferably a springform pan.Line it with parchment. Alternatively use a heavy non-stick cake or bundt pan and grease it well. I used a heavy non-stick bundtlette pan and didn’t need to do any of this 😛
Baking the cake
Pre-heat the oven at 150C.
Sift together 250 grams of flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger powder.
In a large pan, whisk the butter. Add the powdered brown sugar and whisk till creamy. Add the eggs one by one and mix after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla.
Add the flour and mix with the spatula. It will be a thick batter.
Stir in the flour-coated fruit. Incorporate to mix evenly.
Transfer to pan and even out the batter with the spatula. Bake for 45- 60 minutes. About 35 minutes into the baking time cover the cake with aluminium foil to prevent over browning. Let cool completely in the pan and remove.
Brush with the leftover juice and serve.
To store, wrap in cling film and store in an airtight box.
* Spices may be skipped if you dislike the taste
** Can used un-soaked fruits if you forgot to soak. Toss them in flour and add. Do not use black currants if using un-soaked fruit. Use raisins, cranberry, glace cherry, candied fruit and tutti frutti
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