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This is not the traditional Christmas cake.
The bold letters for those, who came here looking for traditional Christmas cake. I don’t think I have ever tasted a traditional fruit cake that is associated with Christmas. I wanted to try one for a long time now. But most of the recipes I saw had rum in it. As I have never used any kind of alcohol in my cooking, I was a bit hesitant to try it. The second reason was eggs. 90% of my readers want eggless cakes, I have been observing this for a long time now. If I post some cake with eggs, they anyway ask for a substitute. I feel very uncomfortable giving some advice that I have not tried myself. So I thought of trying out something without these two star ingredients. Also, I didn’t want to go out for grocery shopping in this cold weather, wanted to try with something that I have in my pantry.
This recipe is based on a rich plum cake recipe that I saw in a old Kannada magazine. It originally had 6 eggs and some of the proportions were different. I spent almost an hour thinking of substitutes for most of the ingredients. But when I started posting this, I realized I could have searched in the google and would have found so many recipes that would have fitted my requirements :(. Anyway, I am happy that I tried this, because it came out very moist and very delicious. I could not stop myself from digging in to this as soon as it came out of oven. So it kind of crumbled :).
Check out some fruit cake recipes at Jugalbandi, Dalithoy, Spyciana, Mishmash, Passionate about baking, whats for lunch honey, Food in the main and others.
Ingredients:
1 cup(125 gms) all purpose flour
1/2 cup(100gms) + 1/4 cup(50gms) sugar
7 tbl spn(100gms) butter
Spice powder - 2″ cinnamon + 4 green cardamoms + 5 cloves powdered
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tea spn vanilla extract
1/2 tea spn baking powder
1 tea spn baking soda
2 tbl spns orange marmalade (any mixed fruit jam can be used)
1/4 tea spn salt
Dry fruits -
1/3 cup(50gms) raisins
1/4 cup(50gms) chopped prunes
1/2 cup(50gms) chopped pecans
1/2 cup(50gms) chopped cashews
1/2 cup(100gm) tutti frutti
Method:
Preheat the oven at 350F for about 10mins.
Take all the dry fruits in a bowl. Melt the butter and add it to the fruits. Mix.
Heat 1/2 cup sugar with 1tbl spn water in a thick bottomed pan till it becomes dark brown in color (caramel. If you burn this, the cake become bitter, so be careful).
Add this to the fruits and mix. When it is cooled a bit, add orange marmalade, orange juice, 1/4 cup sugar and salt, spice mixture, vanilla.
Sieve together flour, baking powder and soda.
Add these dry ingredients to the fruit mixture a little at a time, mixing with a spoon.
Grease a baking dish and pour the batter into it. Bake it at 350F for about 25-30mins or till a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Wait till it cools down to room temperature and then cut it. (I tried to cut it before it cooled, so it crumbled).
PS: This cake is very dense due to amount of dry fruits used in it.
this is my favourite kind of cake, soaked in booze, of course.
happy holidays to you.
for egg substitutes in such cakes, each egg can be replaced with 1/4 cup silken tofu.
Shilpa: I was expecting this comment from you Bee ;). Thanks for silken tofu tip, I will search for it in my next shopping spree.
December 24th, 2007 at 11:58 amshilpa, the cake looks yummm…happy holidays to oyu and yours
December 24th, 2007 at 5:31 pmThat was ‘you’:-D
December 24th, 2007 at 5:32 pmThat looks very moist and delicious…Great job as usual Shilpa… Happy Holidays to you both…
December 24th, 2007 at 6:18 pmHey Shilpa, The cake looks very nice and yummy..Am sure I would dig into it before it cooled too :)…Will try this sometime..
December 24th, 2007 at 11:28 pmCake looks yum. Thanks for an eggless cake. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO BOTH OF YOU!!!
December 24th, 2007 at 11:49 pmHelpful step by step images, Shilpa. Esp the caramel one helps. I made fruit cake for Christmas too, should blog it.
December 25th, 2007 at 3:06 amShilpa..Happy Holidays to you..lot of research there on cake but don’t b upset over not googling ..you hv a terrific outcome!! I wd surely try out this one..when.. is a big question though!
December 25th, 2007 at 6:40 amhi.. can anyone send me an invitation for vcuisine.blogspot.com on the following address…
December 25th, 2007 at 8:04 pmtellpayal@gmail.com.
Thanks in advance
Shilpa: Payal, The invite can be sent only by the blog owner. So if you have her mail id, please mail her and ask for permission.
Your cake recipe looks cool!
I am always in search of eggless cakes i am going to try this one for sure.
Can you tell me about the baking dish - what make and where can i find it? i want to buy one.And is it microwave safe.
Shilpa: If you are in India, the baking dishes are available in any big stores that sell microwave, oven etc. Cheap ones are available in small stores also. If you are in US, they are available in baking isle of any supermarkets. The ones I have are not microwave safe. I personally like the aluminum ones because they are very weight less and are really good.
December 25th, 2007 at 9:37 pmI wish I were your neighbour!!!. Cake looks fantastic.
December 25th, 2007 at 10:35 pmLooks nice and tasty, Shilpa. However, I thought you didnt like cinnamon flavour in cakes??
Shilpa: Here the cinnamon was not overpowering as it has other spices in it Banu. Also, I used the cinnamon available in Indian store, for some reason, I feel that is mild compared to the one available in American groceries.
December 25th, 2007 at 11:47 pmIt looks sooo yummy..
December 26th, 2007 at 3:49 ami dont have oven,so cant try this
anyway thx and will surely try when i buy oven
[...] out more fruit cake recipes at Annita, Shammi, Archana, Bee, Mishmash, Shilpa and [...]
December 26th, 2007 at 5:41 amHi Shilpa,
I am a great fan of this site.i tried the cake and it turned out great except for one tiny thing:
i dont know what i did wrong,but when the caramel cooled,it hardened into crystals.it stuck to the utensil and not even a knife could take it off.the remaining part remained liquid and free-flowing,so i could make it into a batter,but the crystaline stuff that was stuck had a major amount of sugar,so the cake was not sweet like it shud have been.needless to say that cleaning the pan was a major pain!any tips on what might have gone wrong?appreciate a reply.
thnx
Shilpa: It looks like caramel got overcooked. If you cook it little more than required, it becomes hard. Please read wikihow for more tips. The best thing to do is, stop cooking when it is slightly changed color and becoming brown. I think if you had cooked it again with little water, it could have been brought back to normal I guess. (btw…I have messed up caramel many times before I could make it perfect).
December 26th, 2007 at 3:19 pmHi.. shilpa..
December 26th, 2007 at 3:40 pmWat a yummy cake for X’mas.. I love this cake.. i shall try this soon.. :)..
Looks yummy
December 27th, 2007 at 11:12 pmLovely recipe. Just hit your site while googling for egg less fruit cake recipe that I wanted to try for so long. As you said, Most of the recipes I saw contained the star ingredients eggs and alcohol. If not both at least one of them.
Yours looks delicious and I can’t wait to try this for New Year Eve. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
December 28th, 2007 at 10:40 pmWonderful recipe, as i was looking for an eggless light-sweet cake recipe, this came in time and so i made it right away and it came out so beautiful that we finished the whole cake in one day, ofcourse i invited a couple of friends to taste it and we actually had to fight for the last few crumbles………gr8 job shilpa and thx for the cake recipe…….i always wonder how u give the exact measures and the perfect step by step instructions……..have fun
December 29th, 2007 at 2:27 amhey shilpa there was just another thing abt the cake recipe, you hadn’t mentioned when to add the spice mix and the vanilla essence, i just guessed that it should be when we make it into a batter and added it to the dry fruits mixture, let me know if i shud have added it otherwise……..but like i said the cake was YUMMYYYYYYYYYYY………..and i’m baking another batch tomorrow
December 29th, 2007 at 2:45 amShipa: Thanks Ritha. You added them at right step, Thanks for mentioning. I have updated.
i’m new to ur site,its very nice. today i tried ur simple egg cake it turned very good. only thing i bake this in microwave.it doesnt turn brown on the top but in tastewise it so yummy. one query shall i bake this fruit cake in microwave, if it so for how many mins. i baked simple egg cake for 6 mins.thanku happy new year.
Shilpa: Abi, I haven’t tried baking any cakes in microwave so far. So if you are successful baking simple egg cake, try the same with fruit cake also. It should take about same time.
December 29th, 2007 at 11:31 amHi,
I love making cakes. I used to make them since my childhood. I need to bake a cake for my Mother’s B’day. Can you please send me a recipe for Date and Walnut cake (With Eggs). I actually forgot the recipe.
Thanks,
Savina R.
Shilpa: There is a date & walnut cake on the blog under cake section of “main menu”. Please check.
December 30th, 2007 at 12:40 pmI AM BAKING CAKE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND MY OVEN IS A NON-CONVECTION TYPE BUT HAS OPTION TO BAKE CAKE. MY CAKE GETS VERY HARD AND ALSO DOES NOT TURN BROWN COULD U EXPLAIN DO WE USE THE GRILL OR NO
Shilpa: Please check out the user manual that comes with microwave. I am not sure whats wrong. Sorry.
December 31st, 2007 at 3:46 amAwesome Shilpa. I am gonna definitely try this
December 31st, 2007 at 12:00 pmhello,
congrates shilpa, your cake looks nice and yummy and I’m planning to make one. Actually I have heard that mixing time is important during cake preparation and in your recipe you have not mentioned anything. Since I’m trying to bake a cake for the first time, pls tell me how long should I mix the ingredients
January 1st, 2008 at 5:03 amShilpa: Its mixed till all the ingredients have come together.
Shilpa,
Can I use the bottled caramel instead of caramilizing the sugar myself? Please let me know.
Thanks,
Seetha
Shilpa: Yes Seetha. You can use it. I think that is better than preparing at home, because if you heat it more it becomes hard. You have to use by approximation now because I don’t know the exact measurement :(. I would use about 1/2 cup of it because anyway this cake was bit less sweet.
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:20 pmHi Shilpa, the cake looks too good, i m planning to try this recipe this weekend, will let u knw once i have tried, do you have recipe for chocolate truffle cake, i specially want the recipe for icing which is very moist and creamy..thanks.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:55 amHey Shilpa,
Thanks for the recipe. Would you please let me know where can I find tutti frutti? Is it available in the Indian grocery store?
Thanks
Shilpa: Yes, it is available in Indian store.
February 4th, 2008 at 12:42 pmhi shilpa,, the fruit cake, i just baked is yum-o,, my goodness it turned out so well,, we all loved it,, thank you very much
February 6th, 2008 at 4:32 pmHi Shilpa,
March 11th, 2008 at 7:36 pmThis cake looks yummmmmmmy. I m going to try this for my first cake class. I ll keep you updated after trying.
Thanks for the recipe.
hi shilpa,thanks 4 ur recipe.i never made a cake in my home.i’ll must try this.but i have some doubt.what do we mean by preheat oven as it is told that u can’t use oven in empty mode.and pl tell me how to grease the baking dish?mine is convection grill microoven.
Shilpa: Niru, I have no idea about convention grill microwave ovens. You have to check the manual. Usually in baking terms, preheating the oven means, heating the oven to given temperature for specified before keeping the cake for baking. This ensures that when cake is kept in oven, the oven is at required temperature and ensures even baking. Grease the baking dish - take a tea spn of butter and apply a thin coating of it in the baking dish. Then put a tea spn of dry flour in it and spread it evenly so that there is a coating of very thin layer of flour in the dish.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:10 amHello..
March 16th, 2008 at 2:19 amON ONE TV SHOW I HAD SEEN..INSTEAD OF USING RUM IN CAKE..WHAT YOU CAN DO IS..
SOAK ALL THE DRY FRUITS (whichever u r using) in APPLE JUICE OVERNIGHT. BETTER TO USE FRESH APPLE JUICE. ALSO..WHEREVER RUM IS INTRODUCED..YOU CAN INTRODUCE THE SAME AMOUNT OF APPLE JUICE INSTEAD..(PREFERABLY FRESH..)
I LOVED THE CAKE… IT LOOKS AMAZING AND I FELT LIKE TAKING AND EATING IT FROM THE SCREEN ITSELF.. I AM SURE ITS DELICIOUS..
Hello Dear,
I didn’t understand that “what is the meaning of greasing the cake pan and with what material it should be greased”. Please help me. I shall be very thankful to you.
My e-mail address is :
Silent_Punjabi@yahoo.co.in
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:14 amWow, shilpa this cake looks yummy & healthy.
April 9th, 2008 at 7:40 amThanx for sharing. I’ll be making it soon & let you know how it turned out.
Geeta
Hi Shilpa, i really enjoy going through ur site. i’ve tried quite a few recipes from here. But the best ones that are now regulars are the whole moong dosa and the eggless fruit cake (the cake has made me really popular with my nephews
April 26th, 2008 at 6:49 amHi Shilpa,
After the success with my 1st cake (Simple egg cake) I tried this cake for my fathers b’day, it turned out great, it was too good and every one appreciated, iam so happy i dint expected it would be so delicious, as i was a bit uncomfortable making egg less cake.
Only change i made was, insted of tutifruit i tried cherrys, as tutifruites were not available with me at that moment.
Thanks for great recipe, iam enjoying it.
If you can post the plum cake recipe wherein we need to marinate dry fruits in rum for day… i would love to make this cake.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:17 amhello Shilpa,
June 14th, 2008 at 8:24 amI tried the fruit cake today. The taste was just fine, but the cake sagged in the center. The ingredients were measured right. What could b the reason.
Hi Shilpa,
I want to try this cake from a very time, but unable to
find tutti fruity, could u please tell me frm where u
bought it.
Thank u.
Shilpa: Indian store.
June 25th, 2008 at 5:51 pmI made this cake last weekend…it turned out great. Im happy with recipe only 2 comments:
1) the caramel hardened quickly as soon as the heat was off and it made it difficult to mix with the dried fruits some of it caramelised with the fruits and became lumpy…how do I avoid this as the sugar was not evenly distributed.
2) Is there as a good substitute for the caramel…could i use brown sugar instead?.
Thank you and jus luv this recipe!
Shilpa: Next time, try adding a little water and heat if it becomes hard. That should solve the problem.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:19 pmhello shilpa,
i tried making this cake today, it came out really well and the texture was also perfect. everyone liked the cake in the family. thanks for the recepi.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:08 pmHi,
Thanks for the great recipe! It came out almost exactly as described. I guess I did not let it cool fully, and so, when I cut the cake, it started crumbling a bit. Also, the fruits kind of went to the bottom a little more than to my taste. Will try with a slightly thicker batter next time.
Thanks again and keep up the good work!
July 20th, 2008 at 5:49 pmOne can use condesed milk , it works same as the caramelised sugar. it holds the batter together.Watch out for the sugar measurement, u may or may not like to add sugar to it as milk is already sweet.
July 20th, 2008 at 9:03 pmWas looking was this plum cake recipe for a long time. Thanks a ton……….it is eggless too which is more wonderful. The picture looks so yummy I want to try it right away!!!
July 21st, 2008 at 9:16 amThis is a very good cake without egg. I like this very much. My family also like this cake. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
August 9th, 2008 at 1:59 pmHi Shilpa,
I want to try this cake.It looks yummy.What is vanilla extract? Can i use canned orange juice (real or tropicana) instead of the fresh orange juice?
Thanks
Shradha
Shilpa: Shradha, vanilla extract is a flavoring and is available in baking section. Yes, you can use canned juice.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:35 amHi,
I just started looking at your site from past 6 months, beautful looking recipes and i also tried out some of them they cam out great. Pls give me more inputs in cake making like how to make fondant in India, so that we can make better 3d cakes. and pls give me recipe of simple egg less sponge cake without high costing ingredients like condensed milk if i have to make multi layer cakes it will end up costing me very high expense. kindly help.
I loved the recepie of fruit cake and date cake i am going to try it very soon.
Kindly help
Meera
Shilpa: Thanks for your kind words Meera. Please ask your questions to Swati at sugarcrafts India. You will see some of the most beautiful cakes on her blog. So far I have not made fondant at home, I learned about fondant in USA, so I am not sure what ingredients available in India can be used for this. Swati would be able to help you. Thanks for understanding.
September 12th, 2008 at 1:28 pmreally ur dishes r fantastic i am unable to explain my thoughts about ur dishes
September 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pmhi shilpa
September 25th, 2008 at 11:38 amcake is really yummy.
Hi Shilpa! am a fan of ur baking! this cake looks absolute delish and i wanna try this out asap, since i have dried prunes and tutti fruti at home… but no orange juice
… I was wondering if I can use a pink grapefruit canned drink in substitute for orange juice or if pineapple juice would work… please let me know asap. Really appreciate it!
Thanks a ton!!!
Shilpa: You can try pineapple juice Aparna. I think that should work.
October 11th, 2008 at 8:00 pmHi Shilpa… thanks for the quick reply… i will try it and let u know how it turned out
thanks again!
October 12th, 2008 at 10:23 amMMmmmm Mouthwatering…. that too eggless to Sone pe suhaaga.
great work yaar…. I know Iam a bit late(almost a year) to comment on the recipes, but its simply mind-blowing..
was wondering if you can publish cakes(eggless) which can be made in microwave….
October 20th, 2008 at 2:42 amIs it possible to do the same cake using a microwave oven??? Will the duration differ???
Shilpa: Yes, you can make it in microwave and it gets baked in very less time. I haven’t tried it though, so can’t tell exact timings.
October 28th, 2008 at 2:26 amhi, i’m from india, i love ur website and diff varieties of ur recipes…i do have a convection oven with maximum of 220′C i want to know the basics of convection cooking, could u help me in that… i want to bake this cake for my husband. in convection mode how much should v preheat and how many min should v keep that 4..send me a mail so that i can have it saved. i prefer eggless cakes only..thanks..
Shilpa: Please follow the steps given in the post. I have given temperature in Fahrenheit, you just have to convert it to Celsius.
November 11th, 2008 at 9:24 pmHi Shilpa,
I had messaged you a few days back asking you for some advise about baking this cake (substituting orange juice for grapefruit sada)… but I didnt really get around to making it that time. Didnt have enough of all the ingredients.
Today, I finally got the chance and so here I am writing to you. It was my brother’s bday today and I decided to make this cake. It turned out amazingly well. I was quite worried about making the caramel, but that too came well, luckily! a little bit of caramel got stuck to the bottom of the pan which I was using to mix all the ingredients, but overall had no problems with the caramel. The only thing that I would probably change the next time around is the amount of spice that goes into the cake. My family isnt too fond of these spices, especially cinnamon and cloves… The spices (especially cloves, since they have a strong flavour) were a little overpowering. I think though, it tasted just like fruitcakes bought in India. However, the next time around, I will most likely reduce the amount of spice that goes into the cake…probably only add half a tsp (or less) of cinnamon powder, cardamom and perhaps just one clove. Maybe i’ll even try omitting the spices altogether (but I wonder if thats not such a good idea…what do you say?).
Nevertheless, I do have to compliment you. I think you are definitely deserving to be on the ‘daring bakers list’. Keep posting recipes here. I am a huge fan of yours (and my family loveeeeees your Date Cake)
You’re awesome
November 25th, 2008 at 1:22 amcan you please give me an idea what other nut beside pecans I can use. I am allergy to pecans. If you be kind to response soon this cake looks delicious and I want to try as soon as possible for the holiday season. I been looking for a vegan alternative to fruit cake. I belive I found it. Thank you so much
Regards
November 30th, 2008 at 8:22 pmMartica
You amaze me.Whatever recipe I search for ultimately leads here and then I think why do I need to check anywhere else.
December 4th, 2008 at 7:34 pmBut this time I thought i wouldn’t find the vege fruit cake recipe…but you have beaten me at it.welll jokes apart…You have made me a fan.I always follow ur recipes to the dot and they come out soo well.Thanks for taking the effort for all of us.
yummmm….this cake looks absolutely delicious.A great way to ring in the Christmas season
December 10th, 2008 at 11:29 pmThis is the recipe i have been searching for a long time. Thank u dear. ur cake looks tempting.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:09 pmI have been trying to find a receipt for a fruit made with canned fruit. I make it some time ago and have lost the receipt. It has flour, sugar, eggs, nuts, canned pineapples, maraschino cherries, and I think it may have had raisins and coconut. The person that gave me the receipt called it a Maude Cake. I have also been looking for a receipt for prune cake and have not been sucessful. If you have these receipts or know where I can get them I would appreciate especially the fruit cake. Thanks in advance.
December 13th, 2008 at 5:33 pmHey, the cake looks so yummy!!!! Can it be baked in a Microwave oven instead of a normal oven??
Shilpa: It can be baked in microwave.
December 19th, 2008 at 6:20 pmDear Shilpa
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:50 amI have been meaning to try this recipe of yours since a very long time…and I just finished making it, well, what better day than Christmas Eve…..waiting for it to cool, but I must confess, I cudn’t resist and I have sneaked off a bite…and so has my 3-year old son…simply fabulous! We loved it! Thank you for this recipe and here’s wishing you happy holidays and a very happy new year!
Chitra
I love the cakes. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe. I will definately try this.
But can you help me in one thing? Is it possible to make this without oven?
Anyways, thanks!
HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Shilpa: You can bake it in cooker (without whistle) the way you make idlis.
December 26th, 2008 at 1:17 amFirst of all, wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!
I tried this recipe last week and it came out great. I was moist, soft and just-the-right-amount-of-sweetness! This was my very first cake. My husband and family liked it, though they would have preferred an egg cake. But I thought it was great and considerably healthy too! Thank you so much for my very first cake recipe!
I also tried soaking the fruits for a couple of hours in orange juice along with two cinnamon sticks. It gave the cake an amazing flavour! However, there was a small glitch when I poured caramel into the fruits mixture. It just crystalized! I had a hard time trying to make it melt. I tried pouring a tiny amount of hot water into it (very little water). I guess it sort of helped, though there was still pieces of crystal caramel. Also, when I baked the cake, all the caramel crystals sort of came to the top and spilled over. Because when I checked it, some had spilled over the side of the dish and got cooked there. So, thankfully there was no mess. I tore off the part that stuck to the side of the pan and ate to find it was the crystal caramel which was still somewhat chewy now. If u have any suggestion for this, let me know.
Anyway, on the whole, the cake still came out well!
I took it to office and everyone loved it! They couldnt believe it was eggless and yet so soft and moist!
I will definitely share this recipe and website with my sister and her family who are more health-conscience.
Thank you again for this. I have a question though. After baking and cooling, does the cake have to be served upside down? your pic seems to be say so. I remember my mom used to serve the cake upside down so I did the same, though my husband’s family said it should be right-side-up. What do you think?
Sorry for a long comment!
Happy holidays!
Shilpa: I normally serve my all cakes upside down as the base of the cake usually has a flat surface. You can serve it anyway you want.
December 26th, 2008 at 2:53 am