Super Moist Eggless Christmas Fruit Cake that is loaded with the goodness of EXOTIC Berries, Dry fruits that were soaked in RUM only for few hours yet packed with intense flavors. This Recipe is my go to recipe when i dont have pre soaked fruits soaked in Rum for days but need to make within few hours. I never liked the taste of store bought Plum Cakes but fell in love with the homemade recipe which includes the choice of dry fruits that we like and the buttery moist sponge with moist boozy dry fruits with it makes it a perfect Christmas Fruit Cake!
The Buttery Soft Sponge of a plum cake has a beautiful caramel tint from the homemade caramel syrup and dark muscovado cane sugar with a slight hint of warm notes of Cinnamon and other whole spices to keep you warm during cold Winter days.
Eggless Cakes are always one of my favorites, they are so moist and tender. Also low in calories they are really a treat to indulge in this festive season. They are also so easy to make, no beating of eggs, no keeping butter at room temperature, a whisk is all you need.
Last Minute Eggless Rum Plum Cake
Last Minute Eggless Rum Plum Cake is loaded with juicy berries soaked in Rum only for a few hours yet so flavorful!
Ingredients
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- 1/4 Cup | 50gm Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Water
- Lemon juice 1 Tspย
- 1/2 Cup Hot Water
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- 1/2 Cup | 60gm Black Raisins
- 1/2 Cup | 60gmย Dried cranberries
- 2 Tbsp Golden raisinsย
- 6 Tbsp Mixed Fruitsย (2 Prunes, 3 Glazed Cherries, 1 Dried Kiwi, 1 Apricot)
- 1/4 Cup Orange Juice( I used packaged orange juice)
- 1/2 Cup Dark Rum( I used Old Monk Rum)
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- 1 1/2 Cup | 180gms All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1/4th TSP Dry Ginger powder
- 1/4th TSP Nutmeg powder
- 1/2 Tsp Cloves & Cardamom powder (I took few cloves & cardamom in a blender to grind to fine powder)
- 6Tbsp | 85gm unsalted Butter, melted
- 3/4 Cup packed | 150gm Dark Muscovado/Brown Sugar You can also use regular sugar instead
- 3/4 Cup Milk, room temperatureย
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Essenceย
- Caramel Syrup
- 1 1/2 Cup Soaked Fruits
- 1/4 Cup chopped Nuts
- 1 Tsp Orange zest
- 1 1/2 Tsp Vinegar/Lemon juice
Instructions
- Grease and line an 6 inch round pan with parchment paper. I used a 6 inch tin with height 2.2 inches. You can use either a 7/8 inch tin as well. Dust the sides with flour or place parchment paper on the sides as well. Always prepare your baking tin ahead of making the batter. That way the batter does not sit idle for a long time and will have a perfect soft texture.
- ย Mix the Berries with Orange Juice and Rum. Warm the mixture for a min or two in a microwave safe glass bowl. Cover immediately & keep Airtight at room temperature overnight in a warm place. I kept it inside oven to keep it warm. Next day, Strain the soaked dry Fruits, reserve the juices for feeding the cake later.
- Sieve together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt & spices. Sifting the dry ingredients helps to get a softer crumb in the cake texture.
- Prepare the Caramel Syrup by heating sugar, water till amber colored on LOW Heat. Once color changes to deep amber, SWITCH Off the Heat and immediately Add Hot water to it slowly from the sides. Be careful of Spashes. Add lemon juice to prevent further crystallization.ย
- Let the syrup cook for 9-10mins on LOW flame till it gets bit thick. Do not let it become too thick though. Let it cool down a bit before adding to the cake batter. If it becomes too hard, then add some hot water and heat it again.
- Melt butter. Remove any lumps in the dark muscovado sugar and add it to the butter and mix well. Add milk, vanilla essence, caramel syrup. Whisk it well.
- Add the dry ingredients slowly in three batches. Add the soaked dry Fruits, chopped nuts. ย
- Add the Vinegar at the end. After adding vinegar, pour it immediately to the baking tin and bake it as vinegar will react with the baking soda but if delayed the effect will not be the same. Cake turns out softer and rises well.
- Transfer the cake batter into the greased tin and level it out with a flat spatula or back of a spoon. BAKE @180C for 1hr 10-15 MINS Or Till a Toothpick inserted Comes Clean. After 30mins of baking, I decorated with the reserved dry fruits or nuts at the top as they tend to sink if added earlier. Also the fruits look fresh and stunning that way. Cover with an Aluminum foil after 60mins of baking to prevent burning at the top surface. Due to the caramel syrup, the top browns faster in a plum cake.ย
- Once baked well, Brush the top with the juice from the soaked fruits while the cake is still Hot.ย This ensures that the cake absorbs it well. Cover with a cloth and Allow the cake to cool down completely.
- Demould the cake, brush the sides as well with the leftover juice and wrap it in a parchment paper first, then wrap it tight with a Cling Wrap. Finally Wrap it with an Aluminum foil and keep it stored at room temperature till next day. Be careful while wrapping the cake should not come into direct contact with the aluminum foil directly as alcohol doesn't react well with aluminum.ย This process of packing ensures the fruit cake stays moist for a long time and does not dry out.
- A Fruit cake always tastes better either the next day or few days later after the spices get some time to marry with the crumbs of the cake.
Video
Notes
If you are in a hurry to bake this cake, you can either microwave the berries with rum and orange juice till they are plump mixing after every min or warm them on low heat in a pan on stovetop for just a few minutes. After warming, cover and keep airtight to help the fruits to absorb the rum and orange juice.ย
Using plain packaged Orange juice which has no soda added is good but it should not be sour. Freshly squeezed Orange juice also works only ensure the oranges are sweet.ย
Instead of Dark Muscovado Sugar, Dark Brown/White Sugar can also be used.
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