Christmas in my family is not complete without this traditional Christmas Fruit Cake or as commonly called plum cake (although there are no plums used to make this cake). I soaked my fruits almost a month before, but even if you soak the fruits and nuts in rum and brandy a week before making this cake, the results are pretty boozilicious. I have been making this cake since many Christmases and it is a hit with my friends and family. The rich dark color comes from the use of brown sugar and caramel, and the rum and brandy soaked fruits and nuts gives it an amazing flavor. Here is my favorite recipe to make this delicious Christmas Fruit Cake or Plum Cake.
This cake makes for a great gift for friends and family, or you can accompany this with Pecan Pie Brownies. To find out how to make the other ingredients for this rich plum cake, please go through the links below,
Candied Ginger
Candied orange peel
How to soak fruits and nuts in rum and brandy
Christmas Fruit Cake
Christmas Fruit Cake / Plum cake
Ingredients
- Fruits soaked in rum and brandy - 3 cups
- To make caramel
- Granulated sugar - 1 cup
- Water - 1 cup
- For the cake
- All purpose flour - 2 and 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp
- Instant coffee powder - 1 tsp
- Baking powder - 2 tsp
- Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
- Clove powder - 1 tsp
- Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
- Nutmeg powder - 1/2 tsp
- Salt - 1/4 tsp
- Unsalted butter - 1 cup
- Dark brown sugar - 1 and 1/2 cup packed
- Eggs - 5
- Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
- Caramel - 1 cup
- Soaked fruits - 3 cups
- Rum - 2 tsp
Instructions
- To make the caramel
- Take sugar in a pan.
- Keep the pan on heat and keep whisking the sugar it till it melts.
- Keep swirling the melted sugar till it turns a dark brown color.
- Be careful not to burn the sugar.
- Remove the pan from heat once the sugar has darkened.
- Add water.
- Be careful as it will splash.
- Use a spatula and mix well.
- Cook for a minute.
- Remove from heat and let the caramel cool.
- To make the cake
- Pre heat the oven to 160 degrees C.
- Grease and line 2, 8 x 2 inch pans. ( You can use a single taller pan, but the baking time will vary )
- Toss the soaked fruits in 3 tbsp of all purpose flour.
- Mix all purpose flour, coffee powder, baking powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and salt in a bowl.
- Whisk butter and sugar in the bowl of your electric beater till light and fluffy. ( Approx 5 minutes on high speed )
- Add egg, one at a time and mix well after each addition.
- Add vanilla extract and mix well.
- Add the caramel and mix well.
- Add the dry mixture gradually and mix till combine.
- Fold in the soaked fruits and mix.
- Pour the batter in the prepared pans.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in the pan.
- Remove from the pan.
- Poke holes in the cakes and drizzle a tsp of rum on each cake.
- Store in an airtight container.
- This cake is best eaten after 2-3 days of baking.
Shalina
Those are some gorgeous pictures!! And a fabulous looking cake
msnehamathur
Thnx Shalina
Sneha Gupta
Hi Neha,
I love your blog and follow the same everyday. Your write ups are superb and recipes delicious. I would love to bake every cake and breads that you have but get stuck as I do not use egg at home!
Would you please help me with something that can replace egg?
Thanks and loads of luck!!!
Sneha.
msnehamathur
Although I am not a big believer in replacing eggs with anything else as the result is never the same, try using the same quantity of yogurt. I hope it helps.
Thnx