Christmas in Kerala is what memories are made of. I haven’t come back in 6 years so this year is extra special. Except for once or twice when I was a kid, Amma hasn’t made fruit cake at home from scratch because every year we are inundated with fruit cakes from friends celebrating Christmas. This year’s first cake is this Kerala plum cake from Omana Paul, a popular caterer and good friend of ours. Their plum cake is very popular and they make thousands at this time of the year. Amma had the recipe so I wanted to share it in time for Christmas. I have also shared an eggless fruit cake recipe if that’s what you are after. This tutti frutti cake is perfect for those who don’t really like plum cakes or raisins. I have a few of those in my family too but tutti frutti, they love! Also check out a list of easy Christmas cakes and cookies. This fruit cake recipe doesn’t need you to soak the dry fruits in advance and it’s alcohol-free so you can make the cake instantly just before you need it.
Step by Step Kerala Plum Cake / Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe
This Kerala plum cake recipe requires you to caramelise sugar into a thick sugar syrup. Don’t be like me and worry about it, it’s really not that hard, you just need to be careful while doing it. In a pan on medium heat, melt 1/2 cup sugar slowly. Do not add any water, just the sugar in a pan Keep stirring and let it turn a deep dark caramel colour. Don’t let it burn.In the picture below, the sugar is just starting to melt along the sides. Gently stir to get it going. You should start getting the smell of caramel at this stage. Stir occasionally and keep heating. When it reaches the stage as shown in the below picture, you are ready to move on to the next step. Turn off heat and add 1/4 cup water to the sugar syrup. The syrup will harden a bit and sizzle. Turn the heat back on and slowly heat the mixture until the sugar crystals dissolve. This will take around 10 mins and the mixture will foam and bubble a bit like below. Once all the sugar crystals are dissolved and you get a smooth syrup, turn off heat. Set aside and let this mixture cool while you proceed with the preparation of the fruit cake. Set the oven to pre heat at 350F / 180C.Add 3 tablespoons flour to the dry fruits and nuts and dredge completely to coat it. This is so that they don’t sink to the bottom of the batter while baking. Set aside. Mix the remaining flour with baking powder, spices, and salt until well combined. Mix till no streaks of spice powder can be seen. Beat the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until soft – about 5-6 mins by hand, 2 mins with an electric beater. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Next, add 1 egg and beat well until incorporated. Then add 1/3 of the flour mixture and fold gently. Likewise, alternate between the eggs and flour mixture until they are both used up. Add the cooled sugar syrup.. (You can see the consistency of the sugar caramel syrup here) .. and dredged fruits and gently fold everything in together. The batter is ready! Grease a 6″ cake pan generously with butter. Pour batter into the cake pan and smooth the top gently if uneven. Bake for 50-55 mins until the top turns a dark brown and when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs. You can start checking from 45 minutes in case your oven bakes the cake faster. The top may look like it is overdone but don’t worry about that, it’s just the sugar syrup giving the cake crumb a darker colour. Make sure the inside is also completely cooked before you take the cake out of the oven. Let the fruit cake cool completely before cutting otherwise it will crumble. Typically, Kerala plum cake or our Christmas fruit cakes are not frosted so just dust the the cake with icing sugar or powdered sugar when the cake is completely cooled and store in airtight containers in room temperature for up to three days, or refrigerate for up to two weeks.
