Kerala Christmas Fruit Cake

Fruit Mix:

Dates chopped – 1/2 cup
Raisins- 1/2 cup
Broken Nuts ( cashews, chopped almonds)-2 cups
Orange & Lemon Zest – 1/2 cup
Tutty Fruty or Paradise Fruit Cake Mix- 1 cup
Brandy or Rum – 1/2 cup or enough to cover fruits
Chop the fruits fine.
Soak fruits and nuts except zest in Rum and transfer this to an air tight container and preserve for 1 or 2 weeks.
Shake jar in between to get the fruits soaked even.

For Dough:
1)  Cake Flour (All Purpose Flour or Maida) – 2 cups
2)  Rava ( Cream of wheat , Sooji) – 1/4 cup
3)  Powdered Sugar – 2 cups
4)  Butter – 250 gms
5)  Baking powder – 2 tsp
6)  Eggs – 3
7)  Vanilla Essence – 2 tsp
8)  Salt – a pinch( to adjust the sweetness)
9)  Cake Spices
Seeds from one Cardamom, powdered
Cloves 1, powdered
Cinnamon powder, 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg powder, 1/4 tsp
Dry ginger powder ( chukku podi), 1/4 tsp
Cake Jeera powder ( Shah Jeera powder) , 1 tsp
10)  Orange juice – 2 tbsp

Make cake Dough:

Caramelize 1 cup of Sugar. Method follows
Heat a medium sauce pan, add 1 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp of water.
Stir continuously on medium heat till it turn into a dark caramel syrup.
Now slowly add 1/2 cup of water carefully and stir well immediately before it crystallizes. When you add water to hot caramel it can splutter and cause serious burns. So careful and preferably use a long handed tawa to add water staying away from caramel pan.
Stir continuously till all crystals dissolve and let it cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

Sift baking powder and flour well.
Add powdered spices to this and mix well.
Separate egg yolks and whites.
Beat butter and powdered sugar till light and fluffy.
Add  egg yolks one at a time , followed by the cake flour each time and beat till light and fluffy.
Take 1/4 cup of soaked fruits, coat them with cake flour and set aside.
Add soaked fruits to this and mix well with a spatula and keep aside.
Add completely cooled caramel and fold it in with a spatula.
Add vanilla essence ,orange juice and 1 tsp of rum.
Do one final mix using a spatula.

Prepare Baking pan lined by a parchment paper or apply a thin coat of  butter on the sides  and spread some cake flour.

Pour cake batter to the pan , top off with flour coated fruit mix  and bake for 45 minutes
If a toothpick comes out clean, cake is done.
Remove cake immediately from oven and sprinkle 1 tbsp of rum over it, this enhances flavor.

Let the cake cool completely before slicing. Flavor enhances as cake ages. So it is preferable to bake cake at least 1 month in advance.

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