Christmas is just a couple of months away and what better than baking your own cake for Christmas ! Personally Christmas reminds me of the delicious fruit cakes that I get to have from my neighbours back home during my childhood days.
Fruit cakes are perfect for gifting too,they can be prepared well ahead of time, refrigerated and gifted during the festive season.Since most fruit cakes incorporate rum or brandy(alcohol),they age well with time and the flavor matures just in time for the festival.Since I am making this cake for everyone in my family including elders who are very specific about the ingredients that goes into the cake,I am sharing an alcohol/egg free version of the fruit cake here. Nonetheless believe me the taste of the fruit cake is definitely not compromised !
Ingredients
1 cup nuts(broken cashew,sliced almonds,pista)
1 cup dry fruits(raisins,prunes,cranberry,apricots)
1 cup self rising flour
1/2 a cup plain white sugar
1/3 cup of almond powder(I used MTR Badam drink mix)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp cranberry syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Preparation
Take 2 cups of water in a deep bottom vessel and bring it to boil.Drop the nuts and dry fruits into the boiling water and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Now add the butter to the nut and fruit mixture and stir in till the butter melts into the mixture.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F or 180C before you start proceeding to the cake batter.
Add the rest of the ingredients one by one and keep stirring continuously in order to get a smooth batter.Pour the cake batter into a greased 9 inch baking tray and place it on the lower rack of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the baking tray and test the cake with a tooth pick to see if it has baked completely.(The tooth pick should easily come out without sticking).
Slice the fruit cake once cooled into pie shaped pieces or squares according to your preference.
Store the pieces in a nice air tight container and refrigerate.The fruit and nut cake tastes good when served cold !
Fruit cakes are perfect for gifting too,they can be prepared well ahead of time, refrigerated and gifted during the festive season.Since most fruit cakes incorporate rum or brandy(alcohol),they age well with time and the flavor matures just in time for the festival.Since I am making this cake for everyone in my family including elders who are very specific about the ingredients that goes into the cake,I am sharing an alcohol/egg free version of the fruit cake here. Nonetheless believe me the taste of the fruit cake is definitely not compromised !
Ingredients
1 cup nuts(broken cashew,sliced almonds,pista)
1 cup dry fruits(raisins,prunes,cranberry,apricots)
1 cup self rising flour
1/2 a cup plain white sugar
1/3 cup of almond powder(I used MTR Badam drink mix)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp cranberry syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Preparation
Take 2 cups of water in a deep bottom vessel and bring it to boil.Drop the nuts and dry fruits into the boiling water and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Now add the butter to the nut and fruit mixture and stir in till the butter melts into the mixture.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F or 180C before you start proceeding to the cake batter.
Add the rest of the ingredients one by one and keep stirring continuously in order to get a smooth batter.Pour the cake batter into a greased 9 inch baking tray and place it on the lower rack of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the baking tray and test the cake with a tooth pick to see if it has baked completely.(The tooth pick should easily come out without sticking).
Slice the fruit cake once cooled into pie shaped pieces or squares according to your preference.
Store the pieces in a nice air tight container and refrigerate.The fruit and nut cake tastes good when served cold !
