Rich Rum Fruit Cake… For a Very Merry Christmas
I had been in search of a perfect Rich Fruit cake for many months now. Just the way we used to have back home, during Christmas time – rich, moist, a zillions pieces of fruit at each bite, bursting with different taste & flavor. And every day the taste got better.
It was only during this time of the year that those enormous bowls would come out, to make the cake batter. For lots of cakes had to be baked for sharing. The whole family got involved in preparation & each had their own role to play – Chopping, measuring, and taking turns beating up the batter. Then the batter all ready would be transferred to even bigger containers to be taken to the local bakery to have them baked. The tiny oven at home was not enough to bake so many loaves at the same time. The bakery, I remember would be kept open all night, on the 23rd of December, for many would take their cake batter there.
Then it was our turn to wait for the cake to come home late at night. Paper wrapped warm cakes would be opened and tasted immediately… and then we would go to sleep. Next day would be busy in preparation of giving out the cakes.
My search has ended. I have seen so many Fruit Cake posted with in the last few weeks, & all had been my inspiration. Finally I picked a recipe which sounded very familiar with what I saw being made at home. The recipe has been been adjusted from Sailus Kitchen & Here.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2.5 tsps baking powder
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Medium Oranges Pureed (With Skin)
- 1 cup butter
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1/2 teaspoon clove
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 cup caramel (see below for the ingredients & how to make the caramel)
- 4 Cups of Assorted Dried Fruits & Nuts ( I have used Raisins, Currants, Cranberries, Prunes, Apricots, Tropical Mix- (Pineapple, Mango, Papaya), Dates, Pecans, Almonds, Candied Ginger & Orange & Lemon Peels) (see Below for preparation of the dry fruits)
& What to do with them:
You will also need:
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 1/4 teaspoon clove powder
- 1.5 cup rum (preferably dark)
- 1 cup red wine
[Use Orange juice if you do not want to use Rum & Wine. In the grocery store ( In the Baking Isle of Grocery Stores, they have some kind of a Rum Substitute/Flavor available, which does not contain alcohol. If you want the authentic Rum Flavor in your cake, do use this.]
Chop all the Fruits & Nuts & whatever you have decided to use, into small pieces and soak them in rum & wine mix in a large jar. Mix in all the dry powders (nutmeg & clove), give it a big shake & let the fruits macerate for atleast a week. The longer they soak…even for a couple of months, the better. Make sure the there is enough space in the jar for the fruits will almost double in size. ( I used 2 large jars & half filled them each). Every few days shake up the jar.
For the Caramel:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup water
How to make the Caramel:
Heat a heavy bottomed pan and cook the sugar and a tbsp of water on low high heat. The sugar will melt and start to change color to brown. Swirl the pan around, once or twice. When you find that the color has changed to a little darker golden brown color, turn off heat. ( If you want dark caramel, let the sugar turn darker shade of brown, otherwise switch off the heat when the sugar starts to just brown lightly). Immediately, pour half a cup of water very carefully into the caramel and stir to mix well.
My first time making this caramel, & reading around a little bit in other blogs about caramel flop shows, I really thought the first trial would be doomed. But Thanks to Sailu’s Instructions! This is how my caramel came out the very first time & I am very proud if it:-)
Preparing the batter to bake:
Sieve the flour & baking powder & keep aside.
Separate egg yolks from the whites. Whisk the egg yolks separately with vanilla.
Beat the butter, pureed oranges and powdered sugar till smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolk mixture little by little,
Combine the powdered spices and caramel, & combine this to the above mixture till blended.
Add the sieved flour & baking powder to this in few batches and combine till blended.
Strain the soaked fruits & nuts. Save the rum & the wine.
Add the dried fruits (toss the dried fruits in couple of tablespoons of flour) and fold it gently into the batter with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Whisk egg whites till it forms peaks and gently fold into the cake batter till well combined.
Grease the cake pans and line with parchment papers. This cake will need 2-3 layers of paper to prevent it from getting dark. I actually greased Newspapers & used them to line the cake pans.
Pour batter up to half of the prepared cake pans and bake in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees F for about 45 minutes. Check once at 45 minutes & do a toothpick test.
You might have to bake beyond an hour. So bake at 200 degrees after 45 minutes, till the cake is light brown and when the toothpick or a skewer comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack. When cooled to touch, remove the cake from the pan and peel the paper.
Make few holes on the cake and drizzle the top with the saved rum & wine. You can do this several times & use more rum if you want it really rum soaked.
Cool the cake completely before wrapping it.
The cake matures best after atleast a day. So keep away the cake for a minimum of a day before serving for the flavors to best infuse.
The cake was as good as it could be. It was moist, as if totally rum drunk 
… the fruits & nuts inside looked & tasted gorgeous. Everything was just right. After many years I baked a fruit cake on the exact day that we did long time back, a cake I longed for, every bite filled with memory, joy & festivity.
Merry Christmas!!
Sending the cake to Santa’s Holiday Challenge hosted by Tasty Treats.
Related Posts:
Christopsomo-All in the Spirit of Christmas
Spiced Rum Sweet Bread
Spiced Cranberry Raisin Bundt Cake
Tags: apricots, bake, baking a fruit cake, candied fruits, candied peel, caramel, cherries, christmas, christmas cake recipe, Christmas/Thanksgiving recipe, cranberries, dark fruit cake, dried fruits, fruit cake, fruit cake for holidays, fruit cake recipe, fruit cake with caramel, fruit cake with rum, holiday cake, holiday cake recipe, holidays, How to make Caramel?, how to make fruit cake, how to make plum cake, making caramel, making fruit cake, nuts, plum cake, plum cake recipe, Raisins, recipe for caramel, Rich fruit cake, rich plum cake, rich rum fruit cake, rum, rum cake, rum substitute, spices, winter
December 24th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
i am always game for the rich fruit cake, opposed to the creamy ones!
real nice.
Same here Navita:-)
December 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
YUM! I am a huge fan of plum cakes and fruit cakes And the fruits soaked in rum and wine? amazing! THey look moist and delicious. Great job as usual.
Yes Fruits soaked in Rum & Wine
. Thanks!
December 24th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onRich Rum Fruit Cakeâ?¦ For a Very Merry Christmas | eCurry – The …Here’s a quick excerptThis entry was posted on Wednesday, December 24th, 2008 at 11:51 am and is filed under Desserts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. … [...]
December 24th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Me too, I also love the plum cakes which we get in bakeries in India. I’m sure your’s tasted just like that. Mine tasted good too but it was a different good. I think you can use aluminum foil for lining the pans instead of newspaper.
I will try aluminium foil next time. i remember seeing when I was small that newspaper was used… so i thought it provides better insulation.
December 24th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
what a lovely cake recipe and the pictures look so yummy! wishign you a merry Christmas too!
Thanks ! & same to you PG.
December 24th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
That cake looks divine Soma! So many similar memories .. I used to love the cashews in the cake that came in every bite. My Choto Mashi makes an awesome rum cake … and she pours a little more rum on the cake and lets it soak.
Have a great Christmas !
Yes so many similar memories:-) I did write about soaking the cake with Rum, Sharmila… It does taste better that way. Same to you!
December 24th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
wow..looks delicious…I just love the way you describe elaborately all your recipies…and lovely photos Soma !!
Merry Christmas to you n your family.
Thank you so much for your appreciation!
Same to u & your family!
December 25th, 2008 at 1:59 am
A few Xmases ago, I lived on rich fruit cake and plum cake during Christmas week! I like your caramel picture, above all!
Wow! I would love to do that:-) We are eating a lot too. Thanks!
December 25th, 2008 at 2:00 am
Oh, happy Christmas!
December 25th, 2008 at 3:35 am
Fantastic fruit cake Soma and it does look so festive. Love ur decoration and ur cake is awesome.
Thanks Shibani:-)
December 25th, 2008 at 7:46 am
mmm..very fruity and festive cake. Happy Holidays:)
Thanks Yasmeen:-)
December 25th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Merry christmas to you all, Soma. I am awed by all the pictures and the beautiful decorations. I loved rich fruit cake,but never ventured making it.
Thanks Supriya! Merry Christmas to you too!
December 25th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Merry cristmas to you too woooow what acake yaar drooling over it mmmmmm
Merry Christmas to you too !Thanks.
December 25th, 2008 at 10:36 am
drool drool drool the cake looks delicious! merry christmas to you all!
December 25th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Very nice Cake ….Merry Christmas to Soma and family….What is the alternate of Rum?
December 25th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Going to use orange juice…..Sorry did not notice it before………..
Fatema, I have added some more details in the post.
December 25th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Merry Xmas! Lovely fruit cake ….
Merry Chrismas to you too!
December 25th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
mouth-watering fruit cake. Yum! Happy holidays.
Happy Holidays to you too! Thanks!
December 26th, 2008 at 12:29 am
wow this fruit cake looks really yummy. wish i had it now.. i did have some rum choco cake today in the morning and i liked it a lot.. pics are great!
I wish I had your Rum Choco cake LOL…
December 26th, 2008 at 12:45 am
and Merry Christmas!
December 26th, 2008 at 4:36 am
Hey i had it once in Goa, and since i wasn’t previously exposed to such cakes i was afraid that after eating it i will feel dizzy (under alcohol influence)so i was like nibbling on it, and it was bit bitter too.Don’t know whether it always like that or that particular cake was bitter.But this one looks so tempting ,i m wondering whether i can try this again??
And i was actually EYING on that caramel ,it looks so perfect..wonderful !
Alka… Unless u soak the cake with rum after it is baked, the alcohol used for soaking and added before baking actually evaporates, so it does not get you drunk.. LOL . It should not taste bitter, unless the caramel was overdone, or the fruit peels were big & chunky.. which can be bitter.
December 26th, 2008 at 8:47 am
your fruit cake looks really yummy…..beautiful photos….Happy holidays to you too Soma!!!
Thanks Swapna! Happy Holidays to you too!
December 26th, 2008 at 9:26 am
This does look the perfect cake for this time of year. Have a great Christmas!
Thanks Scott!
December 26th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Happy Holidays Soma!
But i really do not care … I will say again & again that I love fruit cake & cannot have enough of it:-) Happy Holidays to you!
I love your cake and I wish people would not look at me in a wierd way when I say I actually like fruit cake!
Anu, i am aware of the “weird” look …
December 26th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Soma…If I am using the orange juice, do I need to keep the fruit in the refrigerator ?
December 26th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
hai soma…….lovely yummy fruit cake
December 26th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Hai Soma
Soft n moist cake. Looks lovely.
Wish you a happy new year! May all your dreams come true.
cheers
Vij
December 28th, 2008 at 5:56 am
What a rich and delicious cake, Soma! Just got back home from a short vacation – the sight only makes me want more!
December 29th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Wow this cake really brings back memories, looks beautiful and perfect
December 29th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Nice looking fruit cake! I like the caramel in it. Happy Holidays!
December 30th, 2008 at 6:11 am
Ooh that’s how I like my fruit cake.. Heavily studded, moist and dense. Yum
May 19th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
hello soma,
thanks… u made my search easy… looks yummy… will try it and then get back to u regarding this rum cake…
September 25th, 2009 at 4:52 am
been wanting to make this for years! thanks for posting this!
December 4th, 2009 at 9:27 am
I didn’t use any paper or foil in my pans and it came out just fine.
I also forgot to buy oranges to puree so I just used 2 cups of orange juice – came out just fine.
Thanks for letting me know
It does work without the papers! I got frantic since it was my first time and I wanted to stick to the old ways.
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I used your recipe to make caramel for my fruit cake and it came out perfectly in just the first attempt. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas!
December 24th, 2009 at 1:44 am
Thank you so much for this post. I made for this years christmas , to be precise just today .. and the cake has come out so well.. my husband loves it… thanks a ton for such a wonderful detailed recipe.. happy holidays and wish you a very happy new year ..
February 28th, 2010 at 8:06 am
Hi,
Quick question is the temperature mentioned here (325) in centrigrades or Farenheit?
I tried making this cake yesterday at 325 Farenheit and even after baking for 3 hours it turned out un cooked.
Any information is greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Raj
It is 325 Fahrenheit. I mentioned in the post that after 45 minutes if you need to bake, reduce the temperature and bake longer till the inside gets cooked.(you need to reduce the temperature so the outside does not burn and turn dark, but to cook the inside). But 3 hours seems a bit long, unless the batter got too runny. Did you bake it in a regular oven or toaster oven? I would assume the regular oven…. just wondering what could have happened..
Could you complete baking it beyond 3 hours?