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..