Time for some xmas cake

I usually make a rich and yummy Plum/fruit cake for Xmas recipe of which I had posted last year. But this year I wanted to make a fruit cake but also wanted to do something different. So I started doing what I do the best, I started browsing ofcourse 😉 I read many recipes online but somehow none of them really stuck home (though I must say I love this Florentine cake and might make it before Saturday once 🙂 )

I had my fruits soaked in rum ready and hence I decided to pick something from one recipe, something from another, something from my own and made my own fruit cake 😀

Anyone who knows, would have guessed by now what is the most major change I did to the cake… I made it out of whole wheat flour 🙂

What I used

To be soaked before hand

• 2 cups of dried fruits I used the following
  • sultanas
  • raisins
  • figs
  • dates
  • dried cranberries
  • prunes
• 1/2 -1 cup of  rum (depending on how strong the flavor u like, I used about 3/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoon orange zest

For the cake

• 1 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup of maida
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 6 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup oil
• 3/4 cup demerara sugar
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used the following)
  • blanched almonds
  • pistachios
  • cashewnuts
  • Pine nuts (chilgoza)
• handful of whole blanched almonds to  decorate the cake

 

How I made it

• Sift the flour and baking powder once and keep aside

• Grease and dust your baking tin and line it will double parchment paper or butter paper. I used 8-inch round springfoam pan and a little batter was left as I didnt fill it as much as I could have

• Mix sugar and oil together till light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time and keep mixing till well blended

• Fold in the flour gently and than add the dried fruit mixture along with all the liquid slowly till just mixed
• Add the nuts and mix gently again
• Pour the batter into the pan you have prepared, level with a spoon and decorate with blanched almonds… (I love the crispness they add to the baked cake
• Bake at 175 C for 30-40 mins and than reduce the temperature to 160C, cover the cake with parchment paper or foil and bake again for 30-40 mins or till the skewer comes out clean
• Let it cool completely for 4-5 hours before removing the paper. Typically the cake is than seasoned with rum a couple of times before eating but we dont have so much patience in our household… so what are you waiting for? Have a slice?

And I am sending this to Blog Anniversary event of the lovely blog Cakes and More. The book that Suma has as a give away is one on my must have list…

And ofcourse this one goes to my regular Champa’s Bake-Off 😀