Rum Fruit Cake
Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour / Maida - 2 cup / 240 grams
Sugar - 1 1/4 cup / 250 grams
Soft Unsalted Butter - 250 grams
Eggs - 5
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Dry Ginger Powder / Chukku Podi - 1 tsp
Cinnamon Powder / Pattai Podi - 1 tsp
Cloves Powder / Krambu Podi - 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom Powder / Yelakai Podi - 1 tsp
Vanilla Essence - 2 tsp
For Caramel:
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
For Soaking:
Dates - 1 cup chopped finely
Apricot - 1/2 cup chopped finely
Prunes - 1/2 cup chopped finely
Cherries - 1/2 cup chopped finely
Kishmish / Sultanas -1/2 cup
Raisans / Black Currants - 1 cup
Nuts - 1 cup chopped finely (cashew, walnuts, almonds, pista)
Dark Rum - 1 cup
All Purpose Flour / Maida - 2 tblspn for tossing dry fruits
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degree C.
Start by soaking dry fruits in rum for a day. I did it for 2 days. By this time the fruits will absorb the rum completely.
Take two baking pan and line it with parchment paper, butter the sides and bottom of the pan and set aside.
Take sugar in a sauce pan and heat it on low heat. Now it will start to crystalize. Keep stiring and it will slowly start to melt. Keep heating on low heat till it gets nice dark colour. Now take it off the heat and add in water and heat till the sugar dissolves again. Set aside to cool.
Take dry fruits in a bowl and toss it with 2 tblspn of flour. Set aside.
Sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spice powders and set aside.
Take butter, sugar, vanilla in a bowl and beat using a electric beater till it is creamy.
Add in 2 eggs first and beat till creamy. Add 3 eggs and beat again till creamy.
Now add in half of the flour mix and half of the caramel. Fold gently.
Now add remaining flour and remaining caramel and fold again.
Add in dry fruit mix and fold gently.
POur this in the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 mins.
Remove it and let it cool. Now invert it and peel off the parchment.
Slice and serve.
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