Eggless Plum Cake

 Eggless Plum Cake has an amazing warm aroma of spices. Marinating the dry fruits and nuts in rum adds a beautiful holiday flavour to the cake. Soft, fluffy, not too sweet and packed with fruits and nuts, the cake is delicious and addictive.



Shrill calls of the Great Barbet shatter the silence of the cold winter evening. The wind whispers through the pine trees and wails through the valley. It is getting darker minute by minute as another cold day ends. The green hills begin to wear shades of grey and then look almost dark silhouettes against the moonlit sky.




A pack of black raisins and golden raisins lying in the pantry need to be used. Along with nuts and homemade orange peels, we soak them in rum. An Eggless Plum Cake is on the way.

The brightness of the morning erases all the dullness and drabness that winter inflicts. It’s a bright and beautiful morning with songs of a thousand birds rending the sky. The wild Cherry tree has been hosting birds and bees to feed on the nectar of its flowers. 



A Scimitar Babbler has been foraging on the ambrosial nectar all morning. 




It cranes its neck and pokes every flower

The fruit and nut mix drinks the rum overnight and plumps up. It smells divine. This version of the cake really suits baking in the cold weather. The butter cut into chunks needs to be rubbed into the flour. This makes mixing easier. The heavenly aroma of spices fills up the nook and crannies of the home as the cake bakes.





This is a versatile recipe. One can add nuts and dry fruits of choice. One can use fresh orange juice in place of rum to soak dry fruits and nuts.

Let the cake rest overnight for the flavours to develop. Brush with rum twice when resting. It gives a rich taste.



I have also baked this cake with whole wheat flour. I have replaced butter with oil. The cake becomes healthier with no compromise on taste and texture. If you are baking with whole wheat flour, take 1 and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour. Let the cake rest for a day to two before slicing.






Eggless Plum Cake

Ingredients

Fruit and Nut mix

  • 1/3 cup black raisins
  • 1/3 cup golden/green raisins
  • 1/3 cup chopped figs or apricots
  • 1/3 cup glace cherries
  • 3-4 tablespoon chopped candied peels or 2 tablespoon orange zest
  • ¼ cup chopped almonds
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts
  • ½ cup Orange juice or rum

Caramel

  • 4 tablespoon unrefined sugar
  • 4 tablespoons water

 

Cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour / 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • ¼ teaspoon clove powder
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder
  • 1/8  teaspoon dry  ginger powder
  • ½ cup (100 grams) butter 
  • ¾ cup warm milk
  • 2 teaspoons vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup unrefined sugar

Instructions

  1. Grease and line one 8 inch cake pan.
  2. In a large bowl, take all the dry fruits and nuts. Add orange juice or rum and soak overnight or for at least 4-5 hours, stirring in between. The dry fruits should plump up with very little or no liquid remaining.
  3. To make the caramel, take sugar in a thick bottom vessel. Cook on low heat. The sugar will start melting. Shake the vessel for even browning. Once the caramel turns golden, turn off the heat. Add water little by little. Keep stirring and cook on low heat until caramel dissolves and you get a nice, thick, golden syrup.
  4. In a glass, take milk. Add vinegar. Mix well. Let stand for 10 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C
  6. In a large bowl, take all the dry ingredients except sugar. Whisk well. Add cubed butter and rub into the flour with your hands until well incorporated and you get a sandy texture. Add soaked dry fruit and nut mix. Reserve some to add on top of the cake. Mix well. Make a well in the centre. Add caramel, sugar and milk mixture into the well. With the help of a spatula mix everything well to get a thick homogenous batter. Add more milk only if the batter feels dry.
  7. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the reserved soaked dry fruit and nut mix on top.
  8. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the top turns golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  9. Let cool in the oven for 5-6 minutes. Transfer to the cooling rack and slice the next day. You may brush the cake with rum once cold. If you can keep the cake for two days before slicing, brush with rum twice- morning and evening.

 

 

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1 comment:

  1. Hi,should the butter be cold,as u mentioned need to rub butter with flour

    ReplyDelete