PLUM CAKE

       'Tis the festive season all over again. The  stationery shops bring out shiny green paper trees and plastic ornaments for it. Park Street is all decked up and shines at night in all its glory. And every pop up cake shop at your street corners tell you one thing. It's plum cake time!
       This plum cake comes out just amazing. I've searched the internet high and low, noted down some recipes, tried and failed a couple of times, till I got it right.  I'll apologise for not having a non-alcoholic version. I hope you'll have fun making this cake. Seasons Greetings!

Ingredients: A handful each of- 

• Cashew nuts (broken / chopped), 
• Raisins, 
• Black currants, 
• Dates (deseeded and chopped), 
• Tutti Frutti, 
• Candied Orange peel (chopped),
• Sugar – 1 ½ cup,
• Flour - 1 3/4 cup,
• Butter (soft, at room temperature) – 125 g,
• Baking powder – 1 1/2 tsp,
• Eggs (at room temperature) – 2,
• Vanilla – 1 tsp,
• Powdered Cinnamon – 1 tsp,
• Powdered Nutmeg – ½ tsp,
• Dark Rum – 150ml + 100 ml.

Method:

• Soak the nuts, raisins, black currants, and dates in about 100ml of rum for atleast 3-4days (you can soak them for a week or even a month). 
• Drain the dry fruits and nuts, and reserve the liquid (if any). Add more rum to the it to reach 150ml. Keep it aside. 
• Powder half the sugar. 
• In a non-stick saucepan / frying pan, sprinkle the rest of the sugar evenly. 
• Add 3-4 Tbsp of water, and put the pan over heat. The sugar will melt and caramelize. Keep an eye. 
• When the caramel has turned a deep brown, take it off the heat. Let it cool. It will solidify into glass. 
• Bring it back on heat, and as it melts, add the 150ml Rum that has been kept aside, and stir it in. Bring it to a boil, and let the alcohol bubble away. 
• Add around 50-60ml of water and stir the caramel sauce to get rid of and lumps. Let it cool down completely. 
• Pre-heat oven to 180°C. 
• Take a square-ish cake tin. Cut 2 long strips of baking paper (cut into same breadth as the tin), and place one strip length-wise, and one breadth wise, the two strips overlapping at the base of the tin. 
• Cream the powdered sugar and butter using an electric whisk. Add the vanilla. 
• Add the eggs, one by one, and whisk it in. 
• Add the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon powder, and mix. It will start getting lumpy. 
• Then add the entire caramel and rum mixture, and whisk. Add a pinch of salt if you are using unsalted butter. The batter will be little on the runny side. 
• Add the drained nuts and dry fruits, chopped orange peel, and tutti frutti, and fold everything in. 
• Pour the batter into the lined tin, and bake at 180°C for 1 hr 15 mins. (Check after 55 mins.) 
• Take the cake out when it is done and let it cool in the tin for 10 mins. and then release the sides and take the cake out holding the paper, and let it cool completely on a wire rack. 

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Merry Christmas and happy, happy holidays to all you wonderful friends!