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Eggless Plum Cake for Christmas

An easy cake for Christmas which even Santa Claus will like.

Course Dessert
Cuisine Baked
Keyword Plum Cake
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Soaking Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 1 hour 15 minutes
Author Samira

Ingredients

My 1 Cup = 240 ml

For Soaking Fruits

  • 1/2 tsp Tea Leaves
  • 1/2 Cup Mixed Fruits
  • 3/4 Cup Water

For Caramel Syrup

  • 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar or Jaggery Powder
  • 1 tsp +4 Tbsp Water

For The Cake

  • 1 Cup 130 g Wheat flour (See Note 3)
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 Cup Chopped Nuts Almonds, cashews, walnuts etc
  • 1/2 Cup Soaked Fruits Apricots, raisins, dates, prunes etc
  • 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon Powder
  • 1/2 Tsp Dry Ginger Powder
  • 1/4 Tsp Clove Powder
  • 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg Powder
  • 1/4 Cup Oil See Note 4
  • 4 Tbsp Condensed Milk
  • 4 Tbsp Curd
  • 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Essence
  • 4 Tbsp Caramel Syrup
  • 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Soda water Club Soda/Carbonated Water

Instructions

For Soaking Fruits

  1. Chop dried fruits like dates, apricots, raisins, tutti fruity etc.

  2. Make strong tea by adding tea leaves in boiling water. Give a boil. Strain it and let it cool down.

  3. Once cool, add chopped fruits.
  4. Soak these for at least 24 hours.
  5. Strain it and use or store it in the refrigerator.
  6. Can store these up to 15 days.

Make Caramel Syrup. (See Note 2)

  1. In a pan, put 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp water.

  2. Do not stir or mix.

  3. Heat this mix till brown sugar melts and caramelises.

  4. Switch off the gas stove. Stirring continuously,  very carefully add 3 to 4 tablespoon water. Sugar is extremely hot at this stage and can cause severe burns so do it very carefully and with a distance.

  5. Switch on the gas, give 2-3 boils and take it off the gas stove.
  6. Let it cool down a little and then use.
  7. It hardens/sets as it cools. We need liquid caramel syrup, therefore, in case it hardens much then heat it gently. Soon it will return to its liquid state and then use it.

Making The Cake

  1. Grease a round baking tin of 7".( I made it in 6" plus 2 muffins)
  2. Start Preheating oven at 170 degrees for at least 15 minutes. Till the oven gets ready, you too prepare the cake batter.
  3. Sift wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all the spices at least 3 times. Sifting aerates the flour which in turn makes the cake light. So, do not skip this step.
  4. Add chopped nuts and soaked fruits in this dry mix and toss nicely so that everything gets coated with flour. Again this is very important for the even distribution of fruits in the cake. Otherwise, fruits tend to sink down into the cake.(keep aside 1 tbsp chopped nuts for sprinkling on the top)
  5. In a big bowl, take all the wet ingredients (except soda water)...oil, condensed milk, curd, vanilla essence and caramel syrup.
  6. Mix with a whisk properly for a minute or so till everything mixed nicely.
  7. In this wet mix, add the dry mix of flour and nuts in 2 or 3 batches.

  8. Adjust consistency using soda water. Keep the consistency slightly on the thicker side only. (See Note 3)

  9. Pour this batter into the greased baking tin.
  10. Sprinkle nuts and tutti fruity on top. (Optional)
  11. Tap the tin 2-3 times to release the air bubbles in the cake batter, if any.
  12. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or till the skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
  13. In case, cake sticks to the skewer then bake for 5 minutes more. Since each oven is different, so you need to keep a check on it 30 minutes onwards. (Mine took 45 minutes)This cake takes little longer time than the usual cakes.
  14. After taking out the cake from the oven, wait for 4-5 minutes.loosen the sides with a knife and invert the cake on a wire rack and let it cool down.
  15. Always invert the cake on a wire rack otherwise it will get soggy from the bottom.
  16. Serve with love or gift it to your loved ones.
  17. Can keep this at room temperature for 3 to 4 days in winters.
  18. If kept in the refrigerator, even lasts for about a week.

Recipe Notes

  1.  Can make this cake with all purpose flour(maida) also. Can even use half of each flour, that is, 1/2 cup wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. In case you make it with all-purpose flour, adjust the quantity of aerated soda water, requires less quantity.
  2. You can use any oil, be it refined, olive, canola or any other. Avoid coconut oil as it has a very strong flavour. I used groundnut oil here. 
  3.  Add soda water in the last, when your oven is ready. Immediately after adding soda water, pour it into the baking tin and straight into the oven.
  4. Baking time may vary from oven to oven, so keep a check 30 minutes onwards. But it normally takes longer time than usual cakes.  Can adjust the quantity of dried fruits and nuts as per your choice and preference.
  5. Salt is added to enhance the flavour of the sugar, so go ahead.
  6.  In case, the top gets cooked fast, whereas the bottom part needs more cooking, then cover the top part with aluminium foil.
  7. You can also bake this cake in disposable baking pans. In that case, no need to grease it or line with parchment paper. Simply pour the batter and bake.