A sleepless night… Going over the process mentally again and again. Recalling whether everything is ready… Waiting for the alarm to go off and it did at 4.30 am. I jumped out of bed, calmed my agitated mind, and made myself a cup of tea. And then it began…. Yes, baking of the first fruit cake of the season… A little late perhaps… But does it matter? With 2 small kids around I decided to bake in the early hours of the morning.. Undisturbed. I have always looked at baking like an examination.. Meticulous preparation, no shortcuts, no substitutions, and absolute concentration.
Every ingredient that goes in is measured carefully. I always prefer to weigh the dry ingredients and measure the liquids by volume. The standardization of the recipe is always perfect when dry ingredients are weighed. After the cake is popped into the oven, I wait with bated breath for the end result and heave a sigh of relief only when the perfect square or round is unmoulded. Today I passed in flying colours. A perfect fruit and nut rectangle all soft, and fragrant. Tomorrow is another day, of baking, and looking forward to it.
Ingredients for Eggless Fruit and Nut Cake Recipe:
Fruits For Soaking:
- Mixed fruits (Cranberry, black raisins, yellow raisins, dates, apricots, figs 200 g.)
- Mixture of rum, brandy, and red wine for soaking.
- Place the fruits in a glass jar or bowl. Cover with the soaking mixture.
- Soaking till the fruits become plump and juicy.
Dry Ingredients:
- Maida 160 g
- 1 tsp of cake spice
- Baking powder 1 tsp
- Baking soda 1/8th tsp
- Slivered cashew and walnuts 50g
- Sieve all the dry ingredients into a bowl and add the nuts to it. Set aside.
For the Caramel:
- Sugar 2 tbsp
- Jaggery 2 tbsp
- Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan on moderate heat. When the sugar begins to melt and turn brown add the jaggery and begin stirring till you get a dark brown fluid.
- Switch off the flame. Add about 100 ml of cold water and set aside.
Wet Ingredients:
- Condensed milk 140 g
- Orange juice (tetrapack) 75 ml
- Butter 100g
- Vanilla essence 1 tsp
- Lemon rind 1/2tsp
- Orange rind 1/2 tsp
Preparation Method for Eggless Fruit and Nut Cake Recipe:
- Take a pan, add butter, Condensed milk, caramel, orange juice, and on low heat keep stirring till it forms a well-mixed liquid. Remove from flame. Cool. Add the essence and the rind.
- Sieve the soaked fruits. Retain the residual juice.
- Mix the fruits and wet ingredients with a spatula gently such that all mix in well.
- Now gently blend the wet ingredients with the dry. The mixing should be gentle. It does not require beating or folding.
- Check the consistency of the batter. It should be of pouring consistency. If too thick add the residual fluid spoon by spoon till the batter is light and if pouring consistency.
- Grease a 6 inches round cake tin or a 4 inches by 6 inches rectangular pan. Pour the batter and bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celsius for 50 to 60 minutes.
- Check with a knife. If it comes out clean remove it.
- After cooling remove from the pan. Cling wrap and leave it at room temperature for a day before slicing.
Soft & Delicious “Eggless Fruit & Nut Cake” is Ready 🙂
