Ooty: When good wine is around, can cakes be far behind?

Ooty: Homemade rich-plum Xmas cakes have come to be the festival mainstay in the hills here in recent years. Of course, homemade Xmas cakes needs nearly ten months for maturation.

B. Wilfred Rozario (37), an expert in preparation of homemade cakes here in the  hills, said that homemade cake for Xmas is an ancient culture and tradition, but, forgotten over the decades due to new bakery technologies in Xmas cake-making.

Stating that he was trying to revive the home made rich-plum homemade cake making culture for Xmas, he said that a kilogram of refined wheat flour and little amounts of dry fruits, nuts, dark raisins, apricot, orange peel, cheery,
nutmeg, butter, black jack(confectionery), sugar, commercial brown sugar, and a mix of spices  are essential ingredients for the Xmas homemade cake.

“Brandy, run, whisky and vodka should be added to refined wheat flour and other ingredients and they should be mixed well. This mixture, which is a soak, should be kept in a container and be allowed to mature for ten months. This much time is needed for mellowing, maturing and for good fermentation to give good flavor and taste to the cake,” he explained.

After the ten months time, this mixture should be taken out and be baked in a wood-fired oven for four hours using an aluminum vessel.

Icing can be done over the top according to the taste, he said.  “This homemade rich-plum Xmas cake is known for its richness, taste and energy.  “This cake has the quintessential Xmas cake taste and flavor,” Wilfred Rozario said, adding, he sells this homemade Xmas cake, for which preparatory work begins as early as February/March, for Rs 900 per kg.