Ingredients
Method
- Wash and Pat Dry all the Dry Fruits Well. Any moisture will reduce their longevity.
- Chop them into tiny bits. Chopping them not only gives a better taste and texture to the cake but also helps in releasing their juices and nutrients during soaking.
- The choice of the dry fruits used decides the texture and taste of the cake. Using Cranberries and Black Raisins, Prunes, Blueberries etc tends to give it an exotic taste and a darker color without making the cake too sweet. Candied Ginger Or orange peel gives a really good kick to the overall taste. It helps to balance the sweetness of the cake. Tutti Frutti can also be added but i personally do not like the taste so i did not add.
- Transfer them into a clean dry bowl and mix Freshly Grated Orange Zest. Mix Well.
FOR GRAPE JUICE SOAK (NON ALCOHOLIC CAKE)
- Make Homemade Grape Juice which pairs beautifully with the essence of a Plum Cake. Heat Water and Sugar till the sugar dissolves completely.
- Wash and Dry the Grapes properly. Add them to the Sugar Syrup. Add Lemon Juice. Cook for 10-15mins till the grapes are soft.
- Strain the Juice and Mash the Pulp. Strain the Juice again through a finer Sieve. Discard any thick puree.
- Store the Grape juice in an airtight container. Stays good for a month if refrigerated.
- Transfer the Dry Fruits into a clean dry Glass Jar with a Lid and Add the Grape Juice till all the dry fruits are completely immersed. Keep Air tight. Give it a Mix and store it refrigerated for upto a Week before baking the cake. Stays good only for 2 days if kept at room temperature. If Refrigerated, bring it to room temperature before mixing with the cake batter.
FOR RUM SOAK ( ALCOHOLIC CAKE)
- Transfer the same Quantity of Dry Fruits into a bowl and mix Freshly Grated Orange Zest, Mixed Berry Jam, Honey.
- Pour Dark Rum till all the dry fruits are completely immersed. Keep Air tight. Give it a Mix. Do not refrigerate it. Keep it at room temperature. Due to the alcohol, it has a long shelf life. I keep it soaked for atleast a week or 10 days before baking the cake. The longer the better the flavor.
- If Refrigerated, bring it to room temperature before mixing with the cake batter.
- Give it a Shake once every day. Once the top part of the dry fruits get dried up, you can add some more RUM and mix with the back of a clean dry spoon. Repeat this till the day you use it for baking.Check the post Part 2 of How i baked the Rum Cake. Click here https://theartisticcook.com/christmas-plum-cake-with-rum/
Video
Notes
The choice of the dry fruits used decides the texture and taste of the cake. Using Cranberries and Black Raisins, Prunes, Blueberries etc tends to give it an exotic taste and a darker color without making the cake too sweet. Candied Ginger Or orange peel gives a really good kick to the overall taste. It helps to balance the sweetness of the cake. Tutti Frutti can also be added but i personally do not like the taste so i did not add. Dates also tend to make the cake too sweet so if you use it, use in less quantity.
Chopping the dry fruits into tiny bits not only gives a better taste and texture to the cake but also helps in releasing their juices and nutrients during soaking. So do not skip this part. I have shown how i chop them in the recipe video in detail. I personally do not like to bite into large chunks of dry fruits so chopping them into smaller pieces helps in giving a good mouthful experience.
Store the Grape Juice Soaked Dry fruits refrigerated and add more grape juice if gets dried up. You can bake the cake the next day or upto a week.
Do not refrigerate the RUM soaked dry fruits. Keep them at room temperature, away from sunlight, shaking and mixing the dry fruits every two days. Stays good upto a year.