Christmas Cake - Kerala Style.

Its our Christmas tradition to make the cake and see how close it is to the taste of plum cake we get it kerala.. I hope we get there some day :). This is one dish which is always a team effort :) Jeo, Kunji and I get very busy with things to get our Christmas cake ready..

We too pound cake combination (1 Pound butter -1 Pound sugar -1 Pound flour). Using this recipe you get 3 cakes - two 6inch circle cakes and one 8 inch circle cake.

 

Ingredients:

1. Raisins : 3/4 Pound * we added 1/2 pound Thomson raisin and 1/4 pound currants
2. black dates: 1/8 Pound
3. candied orange Peel + cherry fruit: 1/8 Pound * we add Old English Fruit and Peel Mix
4. orange peel - fresh - 2 tsp
5. Candied Papaya : 1/8 Pound
6. candied ginger : 1/8 Pound.
7. Brandy :1 Cup

     8. cashew nut : 1/2 Pound.

 

     9. sugar for caramel syrup: 1/4 Pound ( 1 Cup)  *we use the light brown sugar - Zulka :)

    10. eggs : 1 pound - about 6 large eggs.

    11. lemon Juice: 3 tsp.

    12. All Purpose Flour : 1 Pound (4 Cups).

    13. Baking Powder: 1.5 tsp.

    14. Salt: 1 tsp.

   

    15. butter: 1 Pound.

    16. cane sugar: 1 Pound ( 4 cups).

 

    17. Cinnamon powder: 1 tsp (heaped)

    18. Nutmeg: 1 tsp (heaped)

    19. Cloves Powder: 1 tsp(heaped)

    20. Dry Ginger powder: 1 tsp(heaped)

    21. Cardamom Powder:1 tsp(heaped)

    22. cocoa powder: 1 tsp (heaped)

 

    23. Vanilla essence): 4 tsp.

Directions

 

Getting ready :)

•  dice fruits from 1-6 into very small pieces and soak them in brandy for at least 2 days. We use Christian Brothers brandy.
• Dice cashew nuts into small pieces.
• Next is to prepare the caramel. In a heavy bottom pan, melt the sugar till it becomes dark brown. Now add 1 cup of boiling water to the mix - be very careful doing this as the solution boils up and might burn your hand..  Stir and ensure there are no blocks. Once it comes to one thread consistency, keep the caramel in a pan with boiled water - we want the caramel to be just warm and not cold and crystalized before adding to the cake mixture
 
• separate the egg whites and yolks. Add lemon juice to the whites and fluff them well.
 
• Mix all purpose flour, baking powder, salt and the spices separately. Use a Sieve to sift all the powders together to mix them up uniformly and to aerate them. Keep the "flour" ready.
 
 
Finally to make the cake:
 
• preheat the oven to 350 degree F.
• use the electric mixer to Cream the butter and sugar to form a very light and airy creamed mixture. Air bubbles getting trapped during this process is what gives the cake its texture.
• add the following ingredients in order and beat them well till well incorporated:
• Egg yolk
• vanilla essense
• caramel
• Now time to add the "flour" - stir only enough to get them incorporated. Over mixing with flour will bring out the gluten and make it difficult for the cake to raise. 
• Add the fruits soaked in brandy
• add cashew nots
• and then fold in the fluffed egg whites. 
• prepare the tins with parchment paper or butter - we line the pan with wet towel outside too.
• pout the batter (about 2/3 full in a pan) and bake at 350 degree for 30 mins. Reduce the temperature to 300 degree and keep checking every 15 mins to see if cake is cooked and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 

 

Tips: 

 

1. Bring the egg and butter to room temperature by keeping it outside for atleast 8 hours.

2. Once the cake is cool, coat the cake with some brandy - 4-8tsp and cover in wax paper and store it in a cool, dark, dry place. The more it sits the better.

3. make the cake at least a week before you want to use it..

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree (I used the kabocha pumpkin from Asian Stores - puree it without water)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

For frosting:

•  One 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp  vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for sprinkling

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. On 17 1/2- by 12 1/2-inch jellyroll pan grease with butter and put parchment paper and grease it and flour it.
• With an electric mixer, beat the eggs, granulated sugar till it becomes soft, fluffy and a pale color. Add pumpkin, vanilla and lemon juice until smooth and fluffy.
• Sift together the flour, ginger, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add the sifted ingredients to the egg mixture and mix until fully combined. Spread the batter in the jellyroll pan.
• Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 14 minutes. If you touch the surface, it should bounce back. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
• Invert the cake onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper.
• Sprinkle some of the confectioner' sugar on a large towel (use regular kerala thorthu) and carefully transfer the warm cake to the towel. Dust more confectionary sugar on the top surface, folding the sides of the towel over the cake. Roll the cake up in the towel and cool in the refrigerator thoroughly for about 45 minutes.
• With an electric mixer, combine the confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla and beat until smooth.
• Carefully unroll the cooled cake and spread the mixture on top of the cake.
• Gently re-roll the cake up and refrigerate it until you're ready to slice and serve. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.