Plum for these Christmas cakes

Ingredients 225 gm sultanas 225 gm raisins 110 gm candied peel chopped 75 gm seedless dates chopped 75 gm dried apricots chopped 25 gm cocoa powder Hintz 50 gm cranberries 125 ml brandy or rum 275 gm butter softened 275 gm soft light brown sugar 5 eggs 1 tsp finely grated orange zest 50 gm ground almonds 275 gm plain flour 1 tsp mixed spice 14 tsp ground cinnamon 14 tsp freshly grated nutmeg You will need 23cm 9in diameter cake tin or 20 x 20cm 8 x 8in square cake tinu00a0Festive cutters Method gt Place the dried fruit and the candied peel in a bowl Pour on the brandy or rum and allow it to soak for at least 2 hours if not just heat it up a bit gt Preheat the oven for 10 mins at 180 degrees Grease and line he tin with butter paper at the bottom gt Cream the butter in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer until soft gt Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy Add the eggs one at a time beating well between each addition gt Stir in the orange zest and ground almonds then sift in the flour and spices and fold in gently Fold in the dried fruit and any brandy or whiskey left in the bowl Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin gt Bake in the oven for 15 to 2 hours at 160 degrees or till a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean a round tin will take longer or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean gt Cover the cake still in the tin with foil and allow to cool gt Once the cake has cooled remove it from the tin and cover again This keeps it moist Recipe courtesy Chef Rakhee Vaswani Palate Culinary Studio Representation Pics Baking tips from the chef gt Heavy and dense cakes take longer to bake and need a lower temperature for even baking gt Dates apricots and a little cocoa powder are used as well as sultanas raisins and currants to give the plum cake a rich and intense flavour gt As with all traditional Christmas cakes if this is made a few weeks in advance you get a lovely moist texture gt This cake can also be made much to a busy personrsquos relief a few days in advance or even the day before gt A practical method to bring the intensity is to warm up the dry fruits and peels with the brandy so no soaking is required gt If you donrsquot have time to soak dry fruits in advance heat these with rum or brandy allow it to cool down a bit and add it to your mix for a dense and intense flavour gt For a decorative look brush your cake with warm apricot jam and cover it with a layer of white fondant to look like a beautiful Christmas snow cake Decorate further with some apricots and walnuts For the novice baker ingredients 250 gm flour 200 gm condensed milk 1 tsp baking powder 12 tsp baking soda 12 cup soft butter 350 gm mixed blanched almonds sultanas raisins currants candied citrus peels all soaked in dark rum for at least a week 1 tsp mixed spice powder 12 tsp nutmeg 50 ml tbsp brandy 100 ml water Method gt Sift dry ingredients together gt Combine the flour condensed milk water spices and brandy in a bowl and whisk well gt Fold in the dried fruits and make sure it is well incorporated gt Pour into 2 greased 8 inch baking trays and bake for 25 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees celsius gt Remove demould cool gt Serve with hard sauce Baking tips from the chef gt Soak the fruits in a good quality rum to have an intense flavour after baking so that it all seeps in gt Drain the fruits well before baking so that the batter does not become too liquidey and thin gt Add the spices freely to have a fragrant pudding Recipe courtesy Ayushi Shah Icing On Top The Christmas Goodie Guide Gaylord For Cakes pies muffins and tarts At Veer Nariman Road Churchgate Call 2821269 2821231 American Express Bakery For Plum Cake Christmas puddings and marzipans At American Express Bakery Shop 87 Sushma Building Hill Road Bandra W Call 26422857 J Hearsche amp Co For Plum Cakes and Sponge cakes and assortment of breads At 90A Classic Corner Building next to Mocha Mojo Hill Road Bandra W Call 26435361 Fiesta For Marzipan Plum Cake Plum Cake Bars At Oscar Classic Shop 3 Orlem opposite St Josephrsquos School Malad W Call 28611313 Brownie Point For Plum Cakes At Shop No 15 Rosario Apartment IC Colony Borivali W Call 65272591 Vienna Bakery For Rich Plum Cake At 125 Behind St Anthony Church Santacruz E Call 26672811 26672811 City Bakery For Plum Cake At 204 Dr Annie Besant Road Worli Call 24931215 Compiled by Soma Das amp Ruchika Kheru00a0