EGGLESS FRUIT CAKE | PLUM CAKE FOR CHRISTMAS

This is my first post on cakes. Though i’ve tried some cake varieties , i couldn’t post any.I wanted to post a cake recipe for christmas. I googled & found plum cake is the one which is mostly prepared for christmas..I got this recipe from  “Divine taste “.As this is an alcohol free , eggless cake , i decided to give a try.. I liked her blog very much. She has posted so many varieties of eggless cakes n cookies. I have bookmarked some more to try and this cake turned out very well.She has given the exact measurement.I just halved the recipe which yielded 10 pieces.. I gave some to my neighbour , she told it tasted exactly like the one they get in kerala & she took the recipe from me.. I was excited to hear a good comment for my baking ..I’ve tried to give step by step pictures..Please follow the same quantity mentioned here. I used less dry fruits n Nuts than mentioned.Make ur choice .As i used less dry fruits , i added more sugar.Boiled & Mashed potato is used as an egg replacer.. To avoid fruit sinking , we cook the dry fruits while making the caramel sauce.No one can find this is an eggless cake..It takes nearly 1 hour baking time. But its worthy ..Usually this cake would be round in shape. As i don’t have a round pan, i tried this shape. Hope it looks good

INGREDIENTS

For 1 cup – 250ml .. If ur cup holds 200 ml , please convert the quantity of ingredients to grams and try..

All purpose flour – 1 cup OR  140 gm Baking powder – 3/4 tsp ( 7.5gm) Cooking soda – 1/8 tsp Vanilla essence – 3/4 tsp Yoghurt/curd – 1 tbsp Cooked & Mashed potato – 1/2 cup ( 110 gm) All spice powder ( 1 clove , 1 small piece cinnamon & a small piece of nutmeg)  - 1/2 tsp  ( Cardamom is optional) Grated orange zest – 1/2 orange ( 1/4 cup) For Fruit mix/sauce: Mixed dry fruits & nuts – 200 gms ( cashews , badam , Pista , dates , dry grapes , Tutti fruti , Plum/ cherries , anjoor ,dried apricot , black raisin) Sugar / Brown sugar – 1/2 cup (110 gm)  ( I used 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp ) Butter – 1/2 cup ( 100gm) ( at room temperature ) Lion Dates syrup / Maple/ golden syrup – 1/2 tbsp Water – 1/2 cup ( 125ml) Cooking soda – 1/2 tsp Blanched Almonds – 20 nos (for decoration )

METHOD

Sieve the all purpose flour , cooking soda & baking powder in a wide bowl and set aside..Chop all the dry fruits & nuts separately and set aside.. In a saucepan, mix the fruits , sugar , butter , dates syrup & water.. Heat in low flame till the sugar dissolves .. Then increase the heat to medium and mix well..Butter will dissolve & let it boil. Keep the flame in medium & allow the mixture to boil for 20 mins.Stir now & then to avoid burning..Dry Fruits will be cooked well.In the mean time , grate the orange zest , blanch the almonds & make the all spice powder& mash the potato .Switch off the flame & mix the cooking soda..Set aside to cool .The consistency will be thick. After the fruits sauce cools down , mix the orange zest , yoghurt , vanilla essence , well mashed potatoes & all spice powder.Whisk well to become a smooth paste.Then add the chopped nuts, mix well.Now add the flour little by little to this paste while stirring in the other hand.It will form  a thick mass. The final batter will be of spooning consistency.. Take the baking pan and grease it with butter. Spread butter paper or any lining to cover the pan. Then spoon the batter & fill the pan. Level the batter smoothly using a spatula..Place the blanched almonds for decoration.Cover the pan with a thermal foil ..Preheat the oven @180c for 10 mins..Place the pan . Bake for 1 hour and check with the tooth pick or Knife for doneness. If it comes out clean , then ur cake is ready..If not keep another 10 mins and try. Mine took nearly 1 hour 5 minutes..Please keep an eye after 50 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside for 3-4 hrs to completely cool down. I left the cake overnight and the next morning i removed the cake from the butter paper. It came out very easily without sticking..This setting time is suggested for all the taste to blend well in the cake..Then Serve !!

NOTE

To avoid fruit sinking to the bottom,usually the dry fruits will be coated with maida.. I dint do that.. I just added everything to the sauce mixture. Demrara brown sugar is completely optional. As i have not used it , i dont have any idea of how it helps this cake. I am completely satisfied with our normal white sugar. The original recipe called for 1.5 – 2 hrs baking. Please keep an eye after 50 minutes otherwise ur cake may be burnt.The outer layer of cake looks blackish brown but the inside will be cooked soft.. Please give minimum 3-4 hrs of setting time and then remove the cake from the butter paper. The cakes should cool down completely.. U'll find crunchy taste in the cake which is because of dry apricots and nuts.. We can sprinkle some icing sugar on top of cake to have a nice look..

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