Eggless Christmas Plum Cake
Eggless Christmas Plum Cake using Instant No Soak method for the dry fruits in Orange Juice
Ingredients
DRY FRUITS
- 1/2 Cup Orange Juice I used Packaged Orange juice which is not sour and no soda added
- 1/4 Cup | 40gm Black Raisins
- 1/4 Cup| 40gm Golden Raisins
- 1/4 Cup | 30gm Cranberries
- 1/4 Cup Mixed Fruits (1 Apricot, 1 Kiwi, 2 Prunes, 3 Cherries)
CARAMEL SYRUP
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Water
- 1/2 Cup Hot Water
- Lemon juice 1 Tsp
FOR THE CAKE BATTER
- 1 Cup | 120gm All Purpose Flour/Maida
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1/4th TSP each of dry ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, clove powder
- 1/2 Cup Milk, full fat room temp
- 1/2 Cup | 100gm Sugar, powdered
- 1/4 Cup | 57gm Unsalted Butter, Melted & cooled
- 1 TSP Vanilla Essence
- Caramel Syrup
- 1/2 Tsp Vinegar
- 1 Cup Soaked Dry Fruits
- 2 Tbsp Chopped Nuts (1 Tbsp Cashews, 1 Tbsp Almonds & Pistas)
Instructions
- Grease a 6 inch baking tin with oil, Place a parchment paper on the bottom. Dust the sides with flour, discard the excess flour. It is best to do this step before starting with the batter for best results.
- Mix all the Dry Fruits in a pan with Orange Juice. I have used packaged orange juice which is not sour and no soda added. Do not use the fizzy can ones.
- Now if you have time you can soak them for an hour or maximum overnight. But if not, then simmer them on LOW HEAT for 5-6 mins till the berries become plump. Let them cool down.
- Prepare the Caramel Syrup by heating Sugar & 1 Tbsp of Water on LOW HEAT. Do not use Spoon, keep tilting the pan for an even color. Once color changes to dark golden, then switch off flame. Add Hot water immediately from the sides carefully bit by bit. BE careful of any hot splashes. Add Lemon Juice and switch on the Flame. Cook for another 9-10mins on LOW HEAT till the quantity reduces by half. Do not let it become too thick though. Let it cool down before adding to the cake batter. If it becomes too hard, then add some hot water and heat it again. Cool it again then add to the batter. I usually do this step as i start preparing the dry fruits so it cools down by the time batter is ready.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices together.
- Melt the Butter and allow it to cool down. Powder 1/2 Cup or 100gms of Sugar for easy mixing.
- Whisk the milk with the powdered sugar well. Add the melted, cool butter. You can replace the butter with oil instead but it lacks the taste of a good butter cake.
- Add Vanilla Essence and the Caramel Syrup. Add Vinegar. Fold in the Soaked Dry Fruits along with chopped Nuts. I reserved some soaked fruits for decoration.
- Transfer the batter to the greased tin. Bake @180C for 45-50 mins or till a toothpick comes clean. Cover with an Aluminum foil after 35 Mins of Baking to prevent burning at the top surface.
- Brush it with Melted Butter/Rum to keep it Moist while it is hot. Cover it and let it cool completely
- Store it airtight. tastes best the next day. Weight was 606gms.
Video
Notes
You can use either freshly squeezed orange juice which should not be sour and soak the dry fruits after warming it slightly for an hour or two. Fresh Orange juice however goes bad after 24 hours so do not soak more than a day. I used Packaged orange juice which was not sour and no soda added. Do not use soda orange cans or fizzy drinks. Soaking them instead of heating is better but if you are running short of time, then simmer them till they are plump.
Fruit cakes tend to burn at the top surface the last 10 mins of baking so i always cover the tin with an aluminum foil after 35mins of baking. Due to the Caramel Syrup in the batter, the browning happens on the top.