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Christmas Fruitcake: Version Two

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When I was young, my version of Christmas was huge colorful stars, carols and Christmas fruit cake. We got cakes from our neighbors, however amma never baked one. If she was here today, she would have been amazed by my baking experiments. Bakeries are filled with colored fondant cakes which are deadly delicious and sweet one, and after having eaten neighbor’s cakes, we will seek some more, and appa will finally buy from the bakeries.
In case of Fruitcakes either you love it or you hate it there is nothing in between. We are in the first type of cake lovers. Just the other day when I was talking to my friend Andrea, and told her that we had gone to Specs and bought some rum and brandy for making the cake, she was enthusiastic to know the name of rum and brandy. She also asked me which cake was I planning to make, I told her I am making a fruit cake, and can I give you one. Her answer was sudden “No”, surprise me with anything else but not fruit cake. I have decided to make a chocolate rum raisin cake for her, but as she has gone to see her family and is out of town, I will make it for her at a later date.
Last year I made a traditional fruit cake, but this time I don’t want to make caramel as my little one will be around in kitchen all the time pulling and pushing everything she can get her hands on. So I made a cake without Caramel, however I didn’t see any taste difference in both version. I used dry fruits like, cranberries, apricot, figs, dates, raisins and some tutti fruiti (nothing but colored papaya pieces). I had bought Figs thinking of making biscotti, but ended up using it in fruitcake; you don’t normally encounter Figs in a fruit cake. 
I love to collect spices, but get to use only a small part of my collection. Hence for the fruit cake I used almost all my spice collection. I didn’t have any candid peels in hand, so skipped that part. I soaked the dry fruits in brandy for 72 hours, if you soak for more time, you will get more flavors. Normally I will drain the dry fruits while adding to dough, this time, my hubby told me, why you are not using the fruit soaked brandy, use it in cake. If you don’t want to use alcohol, use orange juice, surely the flavor will differ slightly, still it will taste good. This time I skipped adding cashew nuts and used a combination of hazelnut and blanched almond. I smeared the nuts in almond extract to make them more flavorful. 

While looking at Dundee Christmas cake in the internet, I was inspired by that idea of topping the cake with almonds. I topped the fruitcake with both hazelnut and blanched toasted almond in concentric alternating circle. Though making this cake is a 2 hours procedure, starting from assembling all ingredients, separating egg whites and yolk and baking them in the oven, it is worth all the effort. If you are fan of fruitcake, try this one sure you will be amazed by its flavor and taste. Here goes the recipe.

Print recipe from here

For first version of Fruit cake take a look at here

What you need

Soaking
Raisins: ½ cup
Dried Cranberries: ½ cup
Dates: ½ cup (11no chopped finely)
Dry apricot: ½ cup (9 no chopped finely)
Dried Figs: ½ cup (6 no remove the top and chopped finely)
Tutti Fruti: ½ cup/112g ( Dried and colored  papaya  pieces )
Brandy /Rum: 1 ½ cup ( I used Brandy, Christian brothers and Conqueror Gold Spanish Brandy )

Nuts smeared with almond extract
Hazelnut (Chopped finely): ¼ cup
Almond (Chopped finely): ¼ cup
Almond extract: ⅛ tsp

Batter
Cake flour : 2 cup/313g
Butter : 14 Tablespoon (1 ½ sticks)
Granulated sugar: 1 ⅓ cup
Salt : ½ teaspoon
Egg yolk: 4 at room temperature
Egg whites: 4 at room temperature
Baking powder: 11/4 teaspoon
Orange juice: 1 cup
Vanilla extract: 1teaspoon

Spices
Caraway Seeds: 1 teaspoon (powdered)
Ground nutmeg: 1 teaspoon
Ground Cinnamon: 1 teaspoon
Ground cloves: ½ teaspoon
Ground cardamom: ½ teaspoon
Ground ginger: ½ teaspoon


For Topping
Hazelnut: ⅓ cup/44g
Blanched Almonds: ½ cup/ 53g

How I made:

Chop all the dry fruits including nuts into small pieces and soak them in brandy for at least one day advance. I soaked for them form 72 hours. Smear the nuts with almond essence and keep it aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan and 5-inch loaf dish. Line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pan.
Sift together cake flour, salt, baking powder and spice powder in a bowl and keep aside.
Separate egg whites and yolk. In a bowl beat egg whites using a hand mixer until you get white peaks and keep aside.
In an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed, until everything mix well and incorporated. Add egg yolk one at a time to sugar butter mixture and mix well. Then add vanilla extract and orange juice mix everything and combined well. Add flour-salt-baking-spice powder mix and soaked fruits in small quantities and incorporate everything. Scrape down the sides of bowl once at twice. And fold in fruits and nuts into the batter. Stop the mixer and fold egg whites gently until no white streaks visible.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smoothen the tops with a spatula.  Top  the batter with blanched almonds and hazelnuts in concentric  pattern alternatively. Bake for 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean.Keep a pan full of water in the oven when baking the cake (replace water if needed to keep it topped up).
Cool the cake in pan for 15 minutes and later invert them and cool completely for 45 minutes. Keep cake one or two days before serving.
Enjoy,

Preparation time: Soaking 72 hours + 2 hour
Yield: 15 serving
Verdict; Yummy
Will you make it again: yes I will

I am sending this delicious cake to

Twelve days of Bloggie-mass; 4th day hosted by a moderate life
Bakeomania by Suma

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  1. Suma Rowjee says

    I love fruit cakes and one with this many nuts will be a real feast :-). Thank you for sending this cake to me for my event!

    Reply

  2. Faith says

    I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Swathi! This fruitcake is a real masterpiece...it looks amazing!

    Reply

  3. MaryMoh says

    I love fruit cake. Yours looks very delicious. Hope you are enjoying this Christmas season!

    Reply

  4. kothiyavunu.com says

    Awesome Swathi, Very prefect christmas cake..
    Merry Christmas to you and family!

    Reply

  5. MiniBinoy says

    swathy this cake has come out so well.. i love the illustrations ...and the ingredients u hv used are the perfect ones.. WISH YOU AND UR FAMILY A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

    Reply

  6. MiniBinoy says

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    Reply

  7. vineetha says

    Hai Swathi,
    Nice cake dear...I am also planning to bake one cake tomorrow which demands alcohol,but not sure whether to use it as my little one will be eating a lot..did u give it ur little girl??

    Merry Christmas To u and ur family.

    Reply

  8. Magia da Inês says

    ♥♫ Querida amiga,

    "Que o Natal não seja apenas uma data... mas um estado de espírito a orientar nossas vidas... e que o amor se renove a cada ano da nossa convivência."

    ♫♫♫ Feliz Natal!!!
    ♥

    …………(¯`O´¯)
    …………*./ | \ .*
    …………..*♫*.
    ………, • '*♥* ' • ,
    ……. '*• ♫♫♫•*'
    ….. ' *, • '♫ ' • ,* '
    ….' * • ♫*♥*♫• * '
    … * , • Feliz' • , * '
    …* ' •♫♫*♥*♫♫ • ' * '
    ' ' • . Navidad . • ' ' '
    ' ' • ♫♫♫*♥*♫♫♫• * ' '
    …………..x♥x
    …………….♥

    Bj♥s
    Brasil ♫♥

    Reply

  9. G.Pavani says

    Awesome n yummy cake..

    Reply

  10. Chow and Chatter says

    looks wonderful 🙂

    Rebecca

    Reply

  11. Ameya says

    I simply love fruitcake, and yours looks heavenly!!

    Reply

  12. ♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ says

    Oh what a wonderful plum cake , am still to post mine ,but will be in time for easter am sure!
    happy hols with love and Merry Christmas!

    Reply

  13. Ananda Rajashekar says

    I'm up for any kind of fruit cakes this looks brilliant Merry Christmas 🙂

    Reply

  14. Torviewtoronto says

    delicious christmas cake
    happy holidays

    Reply

  15. Sushma Mallya says

    beautiful cake, loved the step wise pics you post each time..

    Reply

  16. Joanne says

    I know fruitcake is an American Christmas tradition, but i've honestly never had it before! Yours looks delicious.

    Reply

  17. Jaisy James says

    wow perfect and yummy cake happy christmas dear

    Reply

  18. Lebouffe says

    Whooosh! That's something! Lovely!

    Reply

  19. Indie.Tea says

    You know, I've come to think of fruit cake as being Indian. My parents said it was the only thing that they did for Christmas growing up.
    Yours looks so good!

    Reply

  21. Kurinji says

    OMG, cake looks yummy....
    Kurinji

    Reply

  22. Elisabeth says

    OMG, Swathi-I love this cake recipe, so full on goodness, and with the rum and brandy...what a yummy and beautiful festive cake.
    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  23. Gayathri's Cook Spot says

    Thanks for the step by step preparation tutorial. Cake looks delicious..

    Reply

  25. notyet100 says

    perfect looking cake,will be glad if u send this for jingle event
    thaks for detail recipe

    Reply

  26. Ellie (Almost Bourdain) says

    This version looks delicious!!

    Reply

  27. Sangi says

    yummy fruit cake n love the detailed pics...

    Reply

  28. Sumi says

    yummy cake..nicely made

    Reply

  29. Sanyukta Gour(Bayes) says

    wow...delicious n yummy...simply amazing dear

    Reply

  30. Madhavi says

    Yummooo cake!!

    Reply

  31. Panchpakwan says

    Wow I love this yummy cake so much..wish i could eat from here..

    Reply

  32. Gulmohar says

    I love fruit cake and I just finished baking for us ;-)yours look awesome

    Reply

  33. Peggy says

    Looks like a way better version of a fruitcake than I remember seeing as door-stoppers as a child, hehe!

    Reply

  34. Miriam says

    How do you get your food pictures to always look so beautiful? 🙂 Have a very happy holiday Swathi!! Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

    Reply

  35. savitha ramesh says

    delicious and it portraits ur hard work swathi.....

    Reply

  36. kitchen queen says

    the cake looks very tempting perfect and yummy.

    Reply

  37. divya says

    tats a mouthwatering platter...simply amazing

    Reply

  38. Priya says

    Omg, Swathi am inviting myself to ur place..soooo tempting and beautiful looking cake..

    Reply

  39. Melissa (The Sword in the Scone) says

    Hello! Your fruit cake looks delicious, but I was wondering if you could give me some insight on a particular Indian dish, rasam soup. I've been eating it at my favorite restaurant for years, but I don't know exactly what's in it. I know I taste tomatoes, tamarind, black pepper, and asafoetida. It is smooth and does not have chunks of vegetables or lentils in it. Can you tell me what variation this is and how to make it?

    Reply

  40. sinfullyspicy says

    The cake looks totally yum Swathi.I love that u used figs in the fruit mix -Merry Christmas!

    Reply

  41. Sayantani says

    this looks like dandee cake...the last pic is delicious.
    between when did you placed those almonds on top?

    Reply

  42. Rachana says

    The cake looks so tempting... Wish to have a slice 🙂

    Reply

  43. Pavithra says

    Looks excellent.. perfect texture.. awesome job.

    Reply

  44. Pushpa says

    Stunning and flavorful fruit cake Swathi,Looks delicious.

    Reply

  45. Soumya says

    yummy cake...worth the effort..very tempting clicks and excellent presentation...
    Merry christmas to you & family..

    Reply

  46. Nostalgia says

    Looks great! I haven't made any this year but is a sure favorite

    Reply

  47. Subhashini says

    Ohh God it is eye catching dear

    Reply

  48. Silence Sings says

    Dear Swathi the cake looks so tempting and perfect....the specks of nut made it more scrumptious...

    Reply

  49. Hari Chandana says

    Woww... amazing job dear.. looks simply delicious and perfect.. nice presentation !!

    Reply

  50. Kairali sisters says

    Awesome cake Swathi..I am hungray now..

    Reply

  51. Priya Sreeram says

    truly awesome--hats off on your labour of love !

    Reply

  52. nala-bhima says

    wow!! looks so yummy perfect for christmas..

    Reply

  53. Jay says

    Superb..yum cake recipe..looks like perfect treat for celebs..:)
    Tasty appetite

    Reply

  54. Shanavi says

    Very good one yaar, seems takes a lot of time to finally have this delicious cake..Will try when I'm free..

    Reply

  55. Sharmilee! :) says

    Looks like lot of work...but u have done it perfectly...looks yum

    Reply

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