Old Fashioned Fruit Cake

Wishing all my friends a lovely Christmas...!!

Ingredients:
[The below ingredients are sufficient to create two 8"  cakes.]

To soak:

• Jam 2 Tbsp
• Dry fruits 650 g
• Orange juice ½ cup
• Granulated sugar 6 Tbsp
• Vanilla extract 1 Tbsp
• Rum / Brandy 5 Tbsp
• Lemon juice 1 Tbsp
• Powder of 1" stick cinnamon
• Grated nutmeg 1
• Powder of 12 cloves 

Mix everything together in a clean jar or container. If you plan to keep this mixture for more than a day, keep it refrigerated.

For the caramel:

• Granulated sugar 1½ cup
• Hot water ¾ cup

Put granulated sugar into a heavy bottomed pan and heat it in medium to high flame untill it reaches black in colour. At this point, switch off the flame and slowly pour the hot water little by little into the caramalised sugar. Keep it aside.

For the cake:

• Pwd sugar 300 g
• Unsalted butter 250 g
• Eggs 5 separated
• Granulated sugar 6 Tbsp
• All purpose flour 200g
• Baking pdr 1½ Tsp
• Cashew nuts 100 g
• Milk ¾ cup
• Rava 50 g

Grease and line the bottom of the two 8" inch cake pans with butter paper and keep it aside.

Beat the egg whites and 6 tbsp granulated sugar till it turns glossy and stiff. Cream the butter and powdered sugar till it becomes fluffy. Then add the egg yolks one by one and beat well after each addition. Put the soaked dry fruits and mix it. Then add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and rava) into it and mix well. Pour the milk and caramel syrup into this. Finally, fold in the beaten egg whites. Transfer this onto the greased cake pans.

Pre-heat the oven into 180° C. Bake it for 1 hr 45 mins. Baking time varies from oven to oven.

[Recipe courtesy: Ria's Collection]