TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS CAKE ( RUM CAKE)

Hi All,

Traditional CHRISTMAS CAKE using Rum!! I think so far this is the one cake which I tried beyond my limit.Though the recipe is so simple ,using rum ,brown sugar in cake is new to me.Even I have not tasted Rum cake before.Last year my husband insisted me to make traditional cake for Christmas but I never got guts to try it.But this year I planned this cake ahead and finally got rum , soaked fruits ,baked them and it was yummy.While baking I was scared the whole house was going to fill with Rum smell and if we eat the cake the same odour will come from me also.

So scary I closed all the windows and doors while baking 😏 ,But this cake proved me that all my beliefs were wrong.This is one of the best cake I ever baked and also the rum and brown sugar gave wonderful taste,dark brown colour and amazing softness to cake..

I referred Jamie Oliver's website for this cake recipe and within two days I received JAMIE OLIVER'S book from Betterbutter contest team (for contest winning in health powder recipe) as a gift , wonderful surprise😇😇😇!!

This cake is worth of waiting and worth of try.

The recipe is as below,

SERVINGS : yields about 30 slices.

RECIPE REFERENCE : Jamieoliver.com

INGREDIENTS :

(Ingredient list is a bit big but it is necessary).

All purpose flour / Maida – 125 gms ( 1 cup) + 5 tsp for fruits mixing and dusting.

Brown sugar – 200 gms ( 1 1/2 cup).

Butter – 120 gsm ( appx 1 1/4 cup).

Eggs – 3 nos.

Orange zest – 2 tsp.

Lemon zest – 2 tsp.

Vanilla essence – 3 tsp.
Baking powder - 1 tsp.

Salt – 1/2 tsp.

SPICE POWDER :

Cinnamon – 1” piece – 1 no.

Cloves – 2 nos.

Nutmeg – peanut sized – 1 no.

FRUITS MIX TO BE SOAKED :

Rum – 1 cup.

Cranberries – 1/2 cup.

Cashews – 1/2 cup.

Raisins – 1/2 cup.

Walnut – 1/2 cup.

Black currants – 1/2 cup ( black raisins).

Almonds – 1/2 cup.

Pista – 1/2 cup.

Apricots – 1/2 cup.

Cherries – 1/2 cup.

Dates – 1/2 cup.

Prunes – 1/2 cup ( I skipped it).

NEED CLARIFICATION ABOUT MY MEASUREMENTS ? PLS CLICK TO CLARIFY.

PREPARATION :

1. Chop the fruits and nuts to small pieces and add them in a wide bowl , add rum and mix well.Close the bowl and keep it aside for minimum 1 week.
   
   
2. For every two days open the bowl and give a quick mix and keep it closed again.If you plan early you can even soak the fruits and nuts for one year also.
3. After 1 week squeeze well the fruits alone from rum and mix them with 4 tsp of all purpose flour and keep it aside till use.
   
4. Grind our spice powder(cinnamon , cloves and nutmeg) ingredients to fine powder .
   
5. Sift flour , salt , spice powders , baking powder twice for even and lump free mixing.
   
   
6. In your food processor add butter and vanilla essence and beat till creamy ,then add brown sugar and beat till fluffy.
   
   
7. Now add one egg at a time and beat till foamy , likewise add all eggs one by one and beat.
   
   
8. Empty the wet contents from processor to a wide vessel , add the dry flour mix (sieved ingredients) little by little and mix well.
   
   
9. Add mixed fruits , orange zest , lemon zest and mix evenly.
   
   
   
   
10. Pre-heat your oven to 160”C for 45 mins .
11. Grease the cake tin with butter and dust it with flour.
    
12. Fill the cake tin with the prepared cake batter and tap it twice for even spreading.
    
    
13. Bake them in pre-heated oven for 40 mins or more till the tooth pick comes out clean.
14. When done remove from oven , let the cake cool down to room temperature .
    
15. Invert the tin and remove the cake , slice and enjoy your own ,home made , soft and yummy traditional Christmas cake.
    
    
    

NOTES :

1. You can replace rum with orange juice too.
2. You can add any fruits and nuts of your choice.Also if you don't have much time you can even soak for minimum two days and use but one week gives you best results.
3. Orange zest and lemon zest is nothing but grating the orange and lemon with their skin.
   
4. Mixing flour to nuts before adding to batter is done to avoid the nuts settling down at the bottom of cake while baking so don't skip it.
5. Baking temperature may vary from oven to oven , so after 30 mins of baking insert a knife or tooth pick to check clean.
6. As I don't have electric beater Iam using my food processor ( mixer) for beating butter and eggs , you can use electric beater too.
   7.Squeezing the fruits from rum is important , else your cake will get rum smell.
   
   
   
   HAPPY COOKING!!