Christmas Cake/ Plum Cake

Christmas Rich Plum Cake

Plum Cake/Christmas Cake - Gifting Cakes

I'm sharing my Mother's Christmas cake recipe. She has learned it from her mother. This cake recipe is popular in my family and most of my family members from St Andrews, Trivandrum use this recipe.

Every Christmas, I bake in 250gm cakes for gifting it to my friends and relatives. I hope you will also make your Christmas special by gifting and sharing homemade plum cake.


If you are planning to make cake for this Christmas, then November is a good time to start the process.  The more time you give for soaking fruits, raisins, and nuts, better will be outcome .


Ingredients for Christmas Plum Cake:

• 1/2 kg Maida
• 1/2 kg butter (unsalted)
• 1/2 kg sugar
• 1/2 kg mixed dried fruit (walnuts, almonds, cashews,raisins, dates, cherry,candied peal), chopped into small pieces and soak them in rum. (Christmas Cake Mix)
• 1/2 kg egg(My mom always weigh the eggs)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsps vanilla essence
• 3 tbsps orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 15 cloves
• 4" cinnamon stick
• 2 small/ 1 large nutmeg

Preparation: Steps to make Christmas Cake

1. Powder the spices  by grinding the cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg  in a  grinder. Keep it aside.
2. Spread the chopped dried fruit on a clean  surface or bigger tray or plate and sprinkle the flour over it and keep on mixing it.
3. Now add the powdered  spice powder and baking powder together.
4. Prepare the baking tray by lining them with good butter  paper.
5. Mix 1 cup of sugar in a vessel with 2-3 table spoons of water, cook on medium flame till all sugar dissolves and the syrup starts to turn dark brown to black in color and begins to smoke a little. Just keep it on the heat  till it melt again. Turn off the heat and  add 1 cup water and keep it back in the stove and cook in medium heat, till it become thick syrup.
6. Cream sugar and butter till smooth  and fluffy.
7. Now beat the egg yolk along with essense.
8. In a separate bowl beat the egg white to stiff peak.
9. Add the orange marmalade and  the dark sugar syrup at  and blend till the batter is smooth.
10. Slowly add the flour , fruit mix into this and mix well, do not use the blender now.
11. Preheat your oven to  180 C.
12. Pour the mixture into the baking tray.
13. Set the oven for 170 C and bake for 20-30 mts. 
14. Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting

Here's to the joy of Xmas!
Back in 80's when we stayed in Trivandrum, my parents used to bake cake in large numbers and distribute to our neighbors, relatives and close friends. I remember those wonderful Christmas seasons when we hosted our extended family for Christmas feast, and the melodious voice of Jim Reeves played in the living room.

Now, many years has passed... life has changed, we moved to another city and people drifted away.  


Well, the charm of old times is gone, but now these homemade Christmas cakes brings back fond memories of those wonder years.


Merry Christmas!


Marina


P.S. If you find this recipe difficult to follow, then you can attend one of my  Christmas cake baking lessons. Get a good foundation in baking with personalized instructions on cake baking.

P.S.S I also teach cupcakes, tea cakes, pastries, exotic cakes. If you like to know details of my customised baking class, pls contact me at ph # 9379398865.

 BTW, I sell Christmas cake in Bangalore and Trivandrum. Get in touch with me to place orders for Christmas cake.