MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

Christmas Fruit Cake

Let me be very honest with you guys, it was supposed to be a plum cake, since I did not get the rich dark colour that I aimed for, the cake was re-christened but it was yummy nevertheless

Ingredients:

Dry fruits -750 gms
(candied peel, dates,anjeer,cherries,cashewnuts,almonds,raisin,currant,tutti frutti)

Rum - 3 cups

All Purpose Flour - 350 gms

Caramel Syrup - 1 cup

White Sugar - 1 cup

Brown Sugar - 250 gms

Rind of one Lemon and Orange

Mixed Spice - 1 tsp (powdered nutmeg,cardamon,cinnamon and cloves)

Ground almonds- 100 grams

Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp

Butter - 250 gms

Eggs - 6

For making caramel: boil the white sugar with a few drops of water till it turns dark brown. Remove it from the heat and very slowly and from a distance pour one cup of hot water stirring continuously. Use a long spoon as the sugar might splatter. keep it aside.

Method: Soak all the finely chopped dry fruits in rum (the longer you soak the better it tastes. I soaked them for about a day)

Drain the fruits in a sieve and save the wonderful flavoured Rum(You can sip it or use it later in the cake as well:)

In a blender add the flour,almonds,rind and spice powder.

Cream the butter and brown sugar well with a whisk or hand mixer. Add the eggs one by one and blend it along with the vanilla. Add the flour mixture one ladle at a time and blend till all the flour is used up. Finally spoon in the gorgeous soaked dried fruits and mix really well with a spatula. Line two cake tins with butter paper.Divide the mixture into two cake tins and spread evenly.

Preheat the oven to 160 degree Celsius and bake the cake for about one hour or till a metal skewer comes out clean.

Cool the cake for about a day,after that make about 8 holes with a skewer. In these gaps pour in the reserved flavoured rum or fresh rum and then keep it for two days.

Thereafter slice it after refrigerating it (it is easier to slice this way)

Thank You for reading this post, since this is the first recipe that I have posted it is very special to me.

Merry Christmas to all you lovely people!