how to make Plum Cake. Kerala Style - Episode 7

#KeralaStylePlumCake, #PlumCake
Ingredients
For Soaking:
· Mixed fruits - 2.5 cups
· Rum - 1.5 cups
For Caramel:
· Sugar - ½ cup
· Water - 1 tbsp
· Warm water - ¼ cup
For Cake:
· Plain flour (maida) - 2 cups
· Baking powder - 1¼ tsp
· Baking soda - ½ tsp
· Sugar - 1¼ cup
· Unsalted Butter - 250 gms (1 cup + 2 tbsp, approx) @ room temp
· Eggs - 4 @ room temp
· Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
For Spice Powder:
· Cloves - 4-5
· Cardamom - 4-5
· Cinnamon - a small piece
· Nutmeg - a small piece
· Pinch of sugar
Instructions
Soaking of Fruits
1. Combination of chopped sultanas, black currants, dried apricots, sugar glazed plums, chopped almonds. If you want you can add tutty fruity in different colours
2. Try to soak the dried fruits in rum for a minimum of 1 week, at least. Shake the jar of soaked fruits once in a while.
Caramel Preparation:
1. Combine ½ cup sugar & 1 tbsp water in a sauce pan. Heat it & let the sugar melt.
2. When the colour of the melted sugar becomes dark brown, remove the pan from fire & add ¼ cup warm water to this. [be careful at this stage since the water tends to splash & can cause burns]
3. Bring it back to the heat & boil for a few more mins, 3-4 mins. Remove from fire & let it cool completely.
Spice Powder:
1. Grind all the spices with a pinch of sugar, to a fine powder & keep aside.
Cake Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven @ 180 C for 10-15 mins, before baking.
2. Drain the soaked fruits & keep aside. Toss the drained fruits in 1-2 tbsp of flour. (This will prevent the fruits from sinking to the bottom of the cake).
3. Sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spice powders and set aside.
4. Take butter, sugar, vanilla in a bowl and beat using a electric beater till it is creamy.
5. Add in 2 eggs first and beat till creamy. Add the remaining 2 eggs and beat again till creamy.
6. Now add in half of the flour mix and half of the caramel. Fold gently.
7. Add in half of the soaked dried fruits. Fold gently.
8. Now add remaining flour; remaining caramel and soaked dried fruits, fold again.
9. Grease the baking dish & line with baking paper.
10. Pour the batter into the prepared tins.
11. Bake in the pre heated oven for 40-45 mins or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. (The baking time can vary depending on the oven & also the size of the tin used)
Alcohol free version:
Soak dried fruits in fresh orange juice. Leave it overnight at room temp. The rest of the recipe is the same
alcohol free :
soak the dry fruits in orange juice, reaming methods same as above.