Wishing All My Readers A Merry Christmas
Let us celebrate Christmas with this delicious eggless Plum Cake. This was the other recipe which Swathi gave for the Baking Partner's challenge this month. I saved it for Christmas. The original recipe was suggested by Archana of Tangy Minds and the recipe had eggs. So I set out making it eggless and crossed my fingers when the cake was baking in the oven. I used pureed apple as the egg substitute. This is the first time I am using this so I was not very sure of the result. The aroma of the fruit cake filled my house and it was fantastic. The cake also raised well and browned nicely. I was in a hurry because it was the day I was going out on a trip and I couldn't wait until the cake was completely cool. So when I removed it from the pan and inverted on a plate, it got stuck. So if you are trying this cake, be patient and wait until it cools completely. The syrup you add makes the crust moist and so while hot it is sticky. Even after the sticking part, I was able to restore the cake, and the cake tasted wonderful. Wait for atleast a day before slicing the cake so that it develops all the flavours. When completely cool, cover with foil and place it in an air tight container. My daughter loved it. But the cake is quite heavy because of the dry fruits. A very small piece will make you feel full. Make this and enjoy your evening with a cup of coffee or tea. I will be taking it to MIL's place to share it with my nephew, niece, BIL and SIL today. Enjoy the day.
Ingredients:
For The Dry Fruits
Mixture:
Golden Raisins-1/2 cup
Apricot-1/4 cup (chopped)
Dried Figs-1/4 cup (chopped)
Candied Orange Peel-1/8 cup
Orange Juice-1/4 cup
Cashew Nuts-1/2 cup
For The Caramel
Syrup:
Sugar-3 tbs
Water-1 ½ tbs
Lemon Juice-a few drops
Boiling Water-1/4 cup
For The Cake:
Butter-1/2 cup
Caster Sugar-1 ¼ cups
Curd-1/3 cup
Almond Essence-1/2 tsp
Flour- 1 ¼ cups
Baking Powder-3/4 tsp
Powdered Cinnamon-1/4 tsp
Powdered Ginger-1/8 tsp
Powdered Nutmeg-1/8 tsp
Powdered Clove- 1/8 tsp
Procedure:
For The Dry Fruit
Mixture:
- Add
chopped figs, apricots and golden raisins in orange juice.
- Bring
it to boil, simmer and cook for 1 minute.
- Add
the cashew nuts and cook for one more minute.
- The
mixture will become dry.
- Remove
from stove and allow it to cool.
For The Caramel
Syrup:
- In a
sauce pan add sugar, water and lemon juice.
- Heat
the mixture. Do not stir.
- The
sugar will start caramelizing.
- When
nicely brown, add the boiling water and swirl.
- When
it boils, remove from flame. There should not be any sugar lumps in the
solution. You will end up with a nice brown syrup.
For The Cake:
- Sift
flour with all the spices and baking powder. Keep it apart.
- Preheat
oven to 170C.
- Cream
butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add
the caramel syrup and beat.
- Add
apple puree, curd and almond essence and beat until incorporated. The
mixture may look curdled but it is fine. Add the dry fruits mixture and beat.
- Now
add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon gently.
- Line
an 8”
loose bottomed pan or a spring form pan.
- Grease
the pan. Pour the batter into it.
- Bake
for 1 ¼ hours.
- By 15
minutes the top will start browning. Place a piece of foil on top of the
cake to avoid the burning of top.
- Insert
a knife and check if it comes out clean.
- When
done, remove from oven and allow it to cool for 1 hour before removing it
from the tin.
- Loosen
the sides of the cake with a knife.
- Place
the pan on a tumbler and gently remove the outer ring.(if using a loose
bottomed tin)
- Place
on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before removing the base
plate and the butter paper.
- Slice
it and enjoy.
Prepare the dry fruits mixture
Heat sugar, water and lemon juice. When it turns brown, add boiling water and swirl.
The syrup is ready. Allow it to cool.
Cream butter and sugar. Add the caramel syrup.
Add apple puree.
Add curd.
Add essence and dry fruits mixture.
Add flour and mix with a wooden spoon.
Line and grease a loose bottomed pan.
Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake until done.
Invert onto a plate and remove the butter paper.
Dust it with icing sugar
Slice it up and serve.
Very moist and fluffy crumb.
Labels: BAKES, BAKING PARTNERS, CAKE, CHRISTMAS, EGGLESS
