Fruit & Nut Cake – A Christmas Delicacy

Highlights:

 What makes celebration, a more joyful & memorable every year. Yes, off course a festival is incomplete without special food, that brought families together with the same authentic flavour of their mother’s recipes & the reason to celebrate a festival together.

So, Christmas without authentic plum cake is like sky without stars. Here is the recipe of a fruity and nutty cake with the goodness of dried fruits, almonds, raisins and many more.

 Special Tips: 

1. Rum have many medicinal properties, It keeps heart healthy, prevents common cold, helpful in relieving symptoms of osteoporosis, decrease risk of dementia, Alzheimer & can even prevent cancer.
2. Consuming dry fruits & nuts promotes satiety. Dry fruits and nuts have a beneficial effect on blood pressure, in turn lowering risk of cardiovascular diseases. They also helps in promoting digestive health due to high fiber content. Dried fruits like apricots, raisins, prunes and figs contain high amounts of beta carotene, vitamin E, niacin, iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium.
3. All in all, the combination of this recipe is super delicious & full of nutritious ingredients & best suitable in breezy cold winters.

Method:

1. Soak all dry berries in rum for a week or at least for 2-3 days, to get the real plum cake flavour & aroma.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ In Microwave on micro convection mode on high for 3-4 min.
3. Line a baking dish with parchment paper; on the bottom and along the sides. Butter the paper thoroughly and set aside.
4. Separate egg whites and yolks. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, set aside.        Mix together all dry ingredients by sifting flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Keep aside.
5. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
6. Add egg yolks followed by grated orange zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon powder, nutmeg and dry ginger powder. Beat well.
7. Now add the flour coated dry fruits into the batter along with 2 tbsp 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.
8. Pour the batter carefully into the prepared baking pan and bake for 55-65 minutes/ On Micro Convection mode in microwave, bake for 12 minute, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 10-15 minutes.
9. Once cooled you can remove the paper, and the cake is now ready to be served.
10.  To store, you can wrap the cake in a plastic food wrap and keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a week. Refrigerate thereafter.

Ingredients         

• Refined Flour
• Cane sugar     
• Raisins
• Sultana
• Cranberries
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Figs
• Dates
• Cashew
• Walnuts
• Lemon zest
• Orange zest
• Eggs
• Baking soda
• Unsalted butter
• Vanilla essence   
• Nutmeg powder
• Cinnamon powder
• Dry ginger powder
• Salt
• Red Rum

No. of Serves:16 slice

• 130 gm
• 100 gm
• 10 gm
• 20 gm
• 20gm
• 10 gm
• 20 gm
• 20 gm
• 20 gm
• 40 gm
• 30 gm
• 3-4 gm
• 3-4 gm
• 1
• 5 gm
• 80gm
• 5ml
• 2gm
• 1gm
• 1 gm
• a pinch
• 60 ml

Method:

1. Soak all dry berries in rum for a week or at least for 2-3 days, to get the real plum cake flavour & aroma.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ In Microwave on micro convection mode on high for 3-4 min.
3. Line a baking dish with parchment paper; on the bottom and along the sides. Butter the paper thoroughly and set aside.
4. Separate egg whites and yolks. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, set aside.        Mix together all dry ingredients by sifting flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Keep aside.
5. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
6. Add egg yolks followed by grated orange zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon powder, nutmeg and dry ginger powder. Beat well.
7. Now add the flour coated dry fruits into the batter along with 2 tbsp 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.
8. Pour the batter carefully into the prepared baking pan and bake for 55-65 minutes/ On Micro Convection mode in microwave, bake for 12 minute, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 10-15 minutes.
9. Once cooled you can remove the paper, and the cake is now ready to be served.

To store, you can wrap the cake in a plastic food wrap and keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a week. Refrigerate thereafter.

Note:

• Rum can be substituted with orange/cranberry juice.
• Excess of everything is harmful, any alcohol is only helpful, when consumed within the recommended quantities.