Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Fruit cake



Ingredients:
  • Butter - 100gms
  • Ghee - 125gm
  • Fine grain brown Sugar - 1.5cups
  • Egg yolks - 4nos.
  • Vanilla essence - 1tsp.
  • Sugar - 4tblsp (to caramelize)
  • Mixed dry fruits – 500gms (dates, raisins, currents, cherries, mixed fruits, orange peels, apricot, ginger candy etc)
  • Cashew nuts - 100gm
  • Brandy/Rum/Wine - 1/2cup
  • Cake flour/ Maida - 2 cups.
  • Baking powder - 1/2tsp
  • Baking soda - 1/4tsp
  • Milk - 1/4cup
  • Egg white - 4nos.

Procedure:
  •  Chop all dry fruits and cashew nuts finely and soak them in Rum/Brandy in a clean dry bottle for minimum one week. Lnger it is soaked, tastier it is.. 
  • On the day of baking the cake, steam the dry fruits for 10 minutes and allow the fruits to cool completely.
  • Heat 4tblsp sugar in a pan shaking continuously. When it becomes dark brown add 1cup hot water and stir until it becomes thick.(this can be done a day ahead)
  • Sieve together all purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda. Toss the steamed cooled mixed fruits in the flour-mix well in a large bowl, so that the fruit is completely coated. Keep aside.
  • Cream butter, ghee and sugar; add egg yolks one by one and beat in. Add vanilla essence, caramel syrup and beat well. Add flour-fruits mix slowly alternating with milk to the cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour-fruit mixture. Stir well with spatula to blend uniformly.
  • Beat egg whites till stiff . Fold in egg whites in to the cake mixture.
  • Pre heat oven to 170C/340F. Line the bottom and sides of cake pans with lightly greased parchment paper. Pour cake batter in to prepared pan. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hours or till a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. (Start checking after 30min if you are using low height cake tin. My cake was cooked in 25 min, i used a very flat cake tin) Cool in pan on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

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