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Rum soaked Christmas plum cake, Plum cake

Rum-soaked Christmas Plum Cake  

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Plum cake is a rich and flavourful dessert made with rum-soaked dried fruits, warm spices, and caramel for depth of flavour. The batter prepared with creamed butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, is baked until golden, creating a moist and festive treat perfect for special occasions.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 1 kg cake
Author sumisculinarynotes

Ingredients

For Soaking (The dry fruits quantity is for 2 cakes)

  • 1½ cups raisins, sultanas
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ½ cup dried prunes plums
  • ¼ cup dried apricots
  • ¼ cup fig
  • ¼ cup dates
  • ¼ cup tutti fruiti
  • 400 ml of Rum

For the Cake

  • 1 ¾ cups of All-purpose flour 210g
  • 1 ¼ tsp Baking powder
  • ½ tsp Baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 100 gms of Butter softened unsalted
  • ¼ cup of oil any neutral, odourless oil
  • 1 cup sugar 200g
  • 4 room-temperature eggs egg whites separated
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp apricot jam optional
  • 1 tsp Orange zest optional
  • 2-4 tbsps of drained rum from the soaked fruits optional, adjust based on your preference
  • Spices: ¼ tsp cinnamon powder ¼ tsp cardamom powder, 1/8 tsp clove powder
  • Alternate: 2 cardamoms 2 cloves, 1-inch size cinnamon grind with a tablespoon of sugar

For the caramel syrup

  • ½ cup sugar 100gms
  • ¼ cup warm water

Instructions

Soak the Fruits

  • Chop the dried fruits into small pieces and mix.
  • Transfer them to a clean, dry, airtight glass jar, pour rum over them and let them soak for at least 24 hours or up to several weeks for the best flavour. Stir occasionally to ensure they absorb the liquid.
  • This quantity of dried fruits is sufficient to make two cakes.

Prepare the Caramel

  • Heat sugar in a saucepan over low heat until it melts and turns golden brown.
  • Carefully add ¼ cup hot water to the caramelised sugar (stand back to avoid splashing) and mix until smooth.
  • Let it cool completely before using.

Separate Egg Whites and Yolks

  • Crack the eggs, carefully separating the whites into one bowl and the yolks into another.
  • Beat the whites until soft peaks form and set aside.

Prepare the Dry fruits

  • Take 2 ¼ cups of dry fruits from the soaked fruits and drain the liquid.
  • Toss them lightly with 2 tbsp of the sifted flour mixture. This helps prevent the fruits from sinking in the batter.

Prepare the dry ingredients

  • In a bowl combine the flour, cardamom powder, clove powder, cinnamon powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Keep them aside.

Prepare the Batter

  • Cream egg yolk, softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add oil and continue to cream them.
  • Stir in the vanilla extract and cooled caramel.
  • Sift and add the dry ingredients into the batter. Fold gently.
  • Fold in the beaten egg whites gently, ensuring the batter remains airy.
  • Add the soaked dry fruits and mix lightly.
  • Add 2-4 tablespoons of rum and combine.
  • Note: The quantity of rum is based on your preference. For a more intense rum flavour, add 4 tablespoons. If you prefer a milder taste, reduce the amount according to your liking.

Bake the Cake

  • Preheat your oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  • Let the cake cool completely before slicing.

Age the Cake (Optional)

  • If desired, brush the cooled cake with rum or your choice of liquid.
  • Wrap the cake tightly in parchment paper and foil. Store it in an airtight container.
  • Continue brushing with rum every few days for a richer flavour.

Notes

The soaked dry fruits in this recipe are enough to make two 1 kg plum cakes.
This quantity of fruits can be divided equally to prepare two cakes. You can double the rest of the ingredients if baking both cakes at once or save the remaining soaked fruits for later.
The soaked dried fruits and their drained rum provide an extra layer of flavour to the cake. For a stronger rum taste, you can add 4 tablespoons of rum to the batter. Reduce the quantity if you prefer a milder rum flavour.
If you'd like to add nuts to the rum-soaked plum cake, stir in 1/4 cup of chopped mixed nuts of your choice while mixing the batter.
Use any neutral, odourless oil of your choice for the recipe. This helps maintain the cake's rich flavour without adding any unwanted taste or aroma.