Christmas is round the corner and this year again I wanted to bake this Easy Plum Cake. Plum Cake is one of the best edible gifts that you can send across your loved ones. I have tried many versions of fruit cakes and plum cakes during my initial days of baking and finally this version is my most favorite.
About Plum Cake
Traditional Plum Cake involves a lot of work and time as we need to soak the dry fruits in alcohol prior to baking and let it mature. But this Easy Christmas Plum Cake requires no soaking, no alcohol, you don’t even need to wait for butter to come to room temperature, no creaming of butter and sugar, no need to beat eggs until fluffy yes you heard it right – does that sound interesting? Yes this Plum Cake Recipe is one of the easiest that you can try. You just need to boil the dry fruits along with spices in water for few minutes and it is ready. The only time it takes is for it to cool down and the baking time. Christmas is the season for more cakes and bakes and kids enjoy homemade baked goodies so much that I am excited to bake more often. I baked this cake and we all loved the aroma and texture of this cake.
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Even though this cake does not use alcohol still it turns out moist and delicious. This is one of the Rich British Plum Cake recipes that I’ve tried so far. This recipe makes a 8 inch round cake. Plum Cake is also known as Fruit Cake or Christmas Cake. Plum Cakes are popular all over India especially Kerala. Nowadays it has become a tradition in Tamil Nadu too as I have seen many baking plum cakes for Christmas. The best thing about Plum Cake is that you can customize the dry fruits as you like it. Boiling the dry fruits plumps them up which makes it nice and juicy. The natural sweetness from the dry fruits reduces the amount of sugar added. Recipe adapted from : Joyofbaking
Plum Cake Ingredients
Flour – Maida or plain flour is best suited for this plum cake. All purpose flour can also be used. Sugar – I have used granulated white sugar. You can either use brown sugar or white sugar for this recipe. Dry fruits – I have used black raisins, golden raisins, tutti frutti, dates, candied fruits, nuts etc. Eggs – Eggs are used for the cake to make it fluffy and gives structure to this cake. Butter – Butter helps in making the cake soft and moist. I have used unsalted butter but you can use salted butter and skip salt. Flavoring – Spice powders including cinnamon powder, cloves powder and ginger powder is used. Additionally vanilla essence is also used.
Plum Cake Recipe Step by Step
Boiling the fruits mixture
1.To a sauce pan – add 1 cup water, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup butter. 2.Add in 1 cup black raisins, 1/8 cup golden raisins, 1/8 cup dates, and 1/2 cup candied dry fruits along with 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, 1 teaspoon ginger powder and 1/2 teaspoon clove powder. 3.Give a quick mix. 4.Boil gently for 5 minutes. 5.Partially cover and set aside to cool down. It will take at least 30-40 minutes to cool down. 6.Beat 2 eggs using a fork and set aside.
Preparing flour mixture
7.To another bowl add 1 and 1/2 cups flour along with 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. 8.Whisk it well for even mixing and set it aside.
Preparing caramel
9.To a small pan add 2 tablespoon granulated white sugar. 10.Heat it up and leave it undisturbed in few seconds sugar will start to melt. 11.Now swirl the pan until sugar melts completely. 12.Add 2 tablespoon water to it. It will splutter so be a safe distance. 13.Stir well until it becomes runny. 14.Caramel syrup is ready. This gives the deep brown color so I would recommend adding caramel syrup.
Preparing the cake tin
15.Prepare the cake tin – Take a 8 inch round cake tin and lay parchment paper for the base and brush with melted butter on the base and sides well.
Preparing cake batter
16.Add the boiled fruit mixture to a mixing bowl – by now it must have cooled. Now add the caramel syrup. 17.Add 1 teaspoon orange zest to it. Mix it well using a spatula. 18.Add beaten eggs to it. 19.Mix well. 20.Add 1/4 cup tutti frutti and 2 tablespoon cashews. 21.Preheat oven at 180 DEG C for 10 minutes. Add the flour mixture to it. 22.Fold in gently until no dry flour is seen. Once flour mixture is added do not over mix.
Baking the cake
23.Transfer the cake batter to the prepared tin. 24.Bake in preheated oven at 180 DEG C for 50-60 minutes. Check after 50 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center if it comes out clean then the cake is done. 25.Baked and ready – Cool down the cake for 15 mins in the cake pan then scrape the sides using a knife. 26.Invert and de-mold. 27.Remove the parchment paper. 28. Cool down the cake completely then cut into pieces. 29.Moist plum cake is ready! 30.Plum cake is ready to serve!
Expert Tips
You can use any dry fruits and nuts of your choice. But do not overload for 1.5 cups flour you can add from 2 cups to maximum 3 cups dry fruits. Do not skip caramel syrup as it gives nice deep brown color and flavor to the cake. Do not add more nuts. The caramel syrup tends to thicken once made so do not give more resting time. Do not over bake as the cake might turn hard. Bake until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Instead of boiling the dry fruits mixture in water you can replace water with orange juice and skip orange zest. Add more of black raisins for a perfect tasting plum cake. You can even add prunes. If you want to make a low fat bake then skip caramel part and add 3/4 cup sugar and try with whole wheat flour with the same measures for other ingredients.
Storing & Serving Suggestion
Plum Cake tastes great on its own as it is loaded with dry fruits and nuts. This cake keeps well for 3-4 days in room temperature itself. You can store in fridge and extend the shelf life for few more days.
1.What dry fruits can I add for Plum Cake?
Black raisins, golden raisins, candied fruit peels, candied dry fruits, tutti frutti, prunes, cashews etc.
2.How much dry fruits to add?
For 1 and 1/2 cups flour you can add dry fruits ranging from 2 cups to maximum 3 cups. Do not add more than 3 cups.
3.What is the difference between Fruit Cake and Plum cake?
Fruit Cake can be made with or without soaking dry fruits, it is basically a vanilla flavored fruit cake. A fruit cake is light brown in color. Plum Cake is made by soaking or boiling dry fruits and is deep brown in color.Caramel syrup is added to plum cake for a great flavor and color.
4.How will I know if my plum cake is done?
Bake for 50 minutes then check by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake, if it comes out clean or with crumbs then you cake is ready. If the batter still sticks bake for few more minutes accordingly. Mine took exactly 60 minutes.
5.What makes Plum Cake unique?
Plum Cake is usually made with a lot of dry fruits and nuts soaked in alcohol for days or even months. So this gives it a unique flavor, taste and we have achieved this by boiling the dry fruits and it is such a mess-free and easy cake to make for Christmas! If you have any more questions about this Plum Cake Recipe do mail me at [email protected]. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube and Twitter . Tried this Plum Cake Recipe? Do let me know how you liked it. Also tag us on Instagram @sharmispassions and hash tag it on #sharmispassions.
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