Kerala Fruit Cake

Ingredients:
For soaking:

• Mixed fruits : 3 cups
• Rum : 1½ cups

For Caramel :

• Sugar : ½ cup
• Water : 1 Tbsp
• Warm water : ¼ cup

For spice powder :

• Cloves : 2
• Cardamom : 2
• Cinnamon : small piece
• Nutmeg : small piece

For Cake :

• Flour : 2 cup
• Baking powder : 1¼ Tsp
• Baking soda : ½ Tsp
• Sugar : 1 cup + 2 Tbsp
• Butter : 250 g
• Egg : 4
• Vanilla : 2 Tsp
• Jam : 1 Tbsp

I used a mix of raisins, sultanas, dates, cashews, walnuts, almonds and candied orange peel for soaking. Roughly chop the dry fruits and dates. Then soak it in rum and keep it in an airtight container. I soaked it for 1 month. The longer you soak, the better. For the caramel syrup, heat the sugar and 1 tbsp of water in a pan. When it melts and turns to dark brown colour, remove it from fire and pour ¼ cup of warm water into this. Again, boil it for a few minutes. Then remove it from fire and cool it completely. For the spice powder, add all the ingredients into a grinder along with little sugar and powder it well. Keep it aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Grease the cake pan and keep it aside. Drain away the liquid from the soaked dry fruits. Take 4 tbsp of drained liquor and keep it aside. Toss the drained fruit in 3 tsp of flour. Sieve the flour with baking powder and baking soda twice. Then powder the sugar and keep it aside.

Next, separate the eggs and beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Then beat the egg yolks with softened butter till smooth and creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar into this and beat well. Then pour vanilla essence and cooled caramel syrup followed by spice powder. Again beat it and  add the flour in two batches and mix well. Add jam and combine all the ingredients well. Fold in the egg whites in two batches and slowly mix it with the flour till no streaks are visible. Finally, fold in the soaked fruits and 4 tbsp of liquor. Transfer the batter into cake tin and bake it for 40 to 45 mins.

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