My primary school, Carmel Convent, the grey pinafore uniforms, the school bus ride from Bandra East to Bandra West and Philoo Aunty; who was an aunt to us in every way imaginable. My dad’s rakhi sister who doted on us and my sister and I were flower girls in her wedding. Sewed us beautiful frocks- often hand painted and hand embroidered, got me my very first pair of “imported” jeans! Our neighbor, Grace Aunty, who I thought was the coolest lady around because while all the other aunties drove cars, Grace Aunty drove a Jeep!
I am not sure why this cake is called plum cake, since it has no plums. But that is how it is known all over. Walk into any bakery in India and you will find this without fail. Especially during Christmas time, when they take over the prized top part of every display counter in the bakery and are made in the thousands. Very popular in Kerala too because of its large Syrian Christian population, it is also called the Kerala Plum Cake. A dark, rich cake with candied fruits, currants and spices. A tender crumb, intense caramelised sugar taste, spicy undertones and ever so slightly boozy, if adding rum. Fear not, the non-drinkers can do what I did by replacing the rum with a few teaspoons of rum extract and if still squeamish, eliminating it altogether. The two things that make this cake are the currants and the caramel sugar syrup. The syrup is not difficult but just needs to be watched. Also, the cake should be made a couple of days before you plan on eating it to allow for the flavors to really soak in.
If you grew up in India and have the same nostalgia for this cake, or if you feel like sharing some of mine, make this cake and think of Christmas in balmy weather, giant paper star lanterns, tabletop christmas trees, nativity scenes, carolers at night and skinny Santas walking around in the streets.
Christmas Plum Cake
Printable RecipeMakes one 6-inch cake. You can also make it in a 7-8 inch pan; the cake will not be quite as tall and the baking time will be shorter.
7 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup + 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tbsp sugar (you will need at different times)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup currants
1/2 cup mixed fruit peel
8-10 dates, chopped
juice of half a lime
zest of one lime
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp garam masala or powder 2 cloves, one small piece cinnamon, 2 cardamom and 1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp rum extract or rum
1 tsp vanilla extractLine the bottom and sides of a greased 6-inch pan with parchment paper.Mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and keep aside.In a large pan or skillet, add one tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp water and once the sugar melts, add the grated ginger. Cook for a few minutes and then add the orange juice, lime juice and zest, currants, fruit peel and dates. Cook for 10-15 minutes until all the juice is evaporated and the fruits form a sticky mass. Add the rum extract, if using and the garam masala. Keep aside to cool.
For the caramel syrup, heat the 1/4 cup sugar with one tbsp water in a skillet. The sugar will start melting and then turn honey colored. Keep cooking on medium heat until it turns really dark, like coffee decoction. Turn off the stove and add 1/4 cup water carefully since it might splutter. Put it back on low heat and the sugar will melt forming a syrup (takes about a minute).
Preheat oven to 315 degrees F.
Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat some more. Add 1/4 cup of the caramel syrup. It might look curdled but don’t worry.
Add the fruit mixture and marmalade (if using) and beat for a minute or two.
Fold in the flour gently in 3 batches just until the flour disappears. Do not overbeat or the cake will be tough. The mixture will turn a nice tan color.
Transfer batter to cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Check from about an hour. The cake should be a deep, dark brown in color.
