Recipes of Rum and raisins

One of the most delicious Christmas delights has to be fruitcake, especially the rum soaked kind. The secret to getting a delicious cake often lies in the method of soaking the fruits and the amount of time they are soaked in alcohol. With Christmas a month away, this is the right time to start soaking fruits in alcohol, as they need a minimum of 30 days to ferment. We bring you three recipes of cakes (including an alcohol free version) that you can prepare for Christmas.

For the perfect cake

• Here are a few tips that will help you in the process of soaking the fruits
• You need a minimum of 30 days to soak fruits in alcohol. Though the ideal amount of time to soak the fruits is a year.
• The best alcohol for soaking fruits are dark rum, brandy and even red wine. Dark rum should be the first choice as it has a malt, caramel taste.
• While soaking the fruits, it would be a great idea to use powdered spices that give a sweet taste. Dry roast and grind spices like star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. It gives a sweet and spicy taste to the cake.
• For the fruit mixture, you can roughly chop raisins, prunes, a few cashew nuts and almonds. You can also add candied ginger, lemon and orange peel. Once the fruits are soaked, seal it in an airtight container.  —As told by Chef Francis Fernandes, ITC Kakatiya

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Eggless Christmas cake - Prerna M, Pi Cookies and More

Ingredients
1½ cups flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup dry fruits (you can also used fruits soaked in alcohol)
2 tbsp chopped cashews
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp orange/vanilla/lemon essence
1 tsp cinnamon powder
½ cup butter
2½ tbsp oil
A pinch of salt
2/3 cup of water

Method
Boil the water in a saucepan. Add the dry fruits to the boiling water followed by brown sugar. Add butter, essence and baking soda to the mixture in the saucepan. Set aside and let it cool. Sieve and add the rest of the dry ingredients to the cooled mixture. Add in the chopped cashews and finally the oil to the batter. Pour the batter into a cake tin lined with baking paper and bake for about 25 minutes at 200ºC.

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Kerala Fruit Cake (alcohol-free)

Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
½ cup chopped cashew nuts
1/4 cup raisins
½ cup mixed dry fruits (dates, cherries, orange peels)
1½ cups white sugar
2/3 cup butter,
3 eggs
1 clove, 1 cardamom pod, small piece of cinnamon, pinch nutmeg (pound to a powder)
1 tsp baking powder1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Method
In a pan on medium heat, melt ½ cup sugar slowly. It will first melt and then caramelise. Don’t let it burn. Turn off heat and add about 1/4 cup water. Turn the heat back on and slowly heat the mixture until the sugar crystals dissolve. Let this cool and set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC. Add 3 tbsp flour to the dry fruits and nuts and dredge completely to coat it. Set aside. Mix the remaining flour and baking powder, spices, and salt until well combined.

Beat the butter and 1 cup sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add 1 egg and beat. Then add a bit of the flour mixture and fold. Likewise, alternate between the eggs and flour mixture until they are used up. Add the cooled caramel and dredged fruits and gently fold in. Pour batter into a greased cake pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50-55 minutes until the top turns dark brown. Dust with icing sugar when the cake has completely cooled.

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Rum and Raisin orange cake

Ingredients
100 ml orange juice
60 ml rum
125 gm cake raisins
20 gm candied ginger
(boil the ingredients for 2 minutes and then cool, reserve a few raisins for decoration)
3 eggs
150 gm butter
½ tsp salt
1tsp baking powder
125 gm sugar  
200 gm flour
70 gm cocoa powder
2 tbsp cinnamon powder Frosting
150 gm icing sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
½ tsp cinnamon powder

Method
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Prepare the cake mould by applying oil and grease-proof paper. Keep aside. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and cinnamon powder. Keep aside. Cream butter and sugar till smooth. Add eggs one at a time and beat slowly till light. Fold in flour mix.

Add the raisin-ginger mix along with the juice slowly to the mix and fold in well. Pour the mix in the cake tin and bake for 1 hour. Check with a knife. If it comes out clean the cake is ready. Let the cake cool and rest. For the frosting, mix icing sugar cinnamon powder and juice slowly. Spread on the cake and sprinkle  raisins.