Fruit Cake

Homemade Fruit Cake

Basic recipe credit - Mrs. Usha Gopinath ( Ushakka )

Ingredients

130 g all purpose flour ( maida )
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon milk
2 eggs
110 g powdered sugar
115 g butter
30 ml ( 2 tablespoon ) caramel sugar
30 g cashew nuts, broken
30 g raisins
30 g orange peel
30 g cherry
30 g tutti - fruity ( or any other fruits like golden raisins, dates, prunes, figs.. )
1/2 teaspoon spice powder ( make a powder of small piece of nut meg, 2 cloves, 2 cardamom and 1/4 - inch piece cinnamon with 1/4 teaspoon sugar )
1/4 cup flour for dusting fruits
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 teaspoon extra butter ( for greasing baking pan )
1 tablespoon extra flour dusting ( baking dish )

How To Caramelize Sugar ?

Short method - Heat a heavy bottomed kadai on a medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon sugar. When it melts, color changes from yellow to dark brown. Switch off the heat . Add 3 tablespoon extra water and mix well. Maintain a safe distance from the gas stove when mixing with water.

Method

Dust fruits ( cashew nuts, raisins, cherry, tutti fruity & orange peel ) with 1/4 cup flour and keep aside in a separate container for 1 hour.

Grease baking dish with 2 teaspoon butter and dust with 1 tablespoon flour ( sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of flour inside a cake pan and shake to coat all greased surface. Turn pan upside down to tap out the excess flour ).

Pre heat oven at 170 * C or 325 * F.

Sieve flour, baking powder and salt.

In a big bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add egg one by one and beat until smooth and creamy.

Gently add dusted fruits ( do not add extra flour ) and spice powder. Mix it well slowly.

Add milk and vanilla essence. Gently fold sieved flour mixture. Stir slowly till blended. Add caramelized sugar and mix gently.

Transfer this cake mixture to a greased baking pan ( or paper lined ). Spread evenly with a spatula and bake at 170 * C or 325 * F for 1 hour or till golden brown or till a sewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool ( approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour ). Run a knife round inside of the pan to loosen the cake, and then invert the pan. Cut into desired shape and size.