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.
what is silken tofu never heard of it before
It is a kind of soft tofu
shilpa, the cake looks yummm…happy holidays to oyu and yours 🙂
That was ‘you’:-D
That looks very moist and delicious…Great job as usual Shilpa… Happy Holidays to you both…
Hey Shilpa, The cake looks very nice and yummy..Am sure I would dig into it before it cooled too :)…Will try this sometime..
Cake looks yum. Thanks for an eggless cake. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO BOTH OF YOU!!!
Helpful step by step images, Shilpa. Esp the caramel one helps. I made fruit cake for Christmas too, should blog it.
Shilpa..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! 😀
hi.. can anyone send me an invitation for vcuisine.blogspot.com on the following address…
[email protected].
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.
I wish I were your neighbour!!!. Cake looks fantastic.
Looks 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.
It looks sooo yummy..
i dont have oven,so cant try this 🙁
anyway thx and will surely try when i buy oven 🙂
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Hi 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).
Hi.. shilpa..
Wat a yummy cake for X’mas.. I love this cake.. i shall try this soon.. :)..
Looks yummy
Lovely 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.
Wonderful 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
hey 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
Shipa: 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.
Hi,
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.
I 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.
Awesome Shilpa. I am gonna definitely try this 🙂
hello,
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
Shilpa: 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.
Hi 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.
Hey 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.
hi 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
Hi Shilpa,
This 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.
Hello..
ON 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 :
[email protected]
Wow, shilpa this cake looks yummy & healthy.
Thanx 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 🙂
Hi 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.
hello Shilpa,
I 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.
I 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.
hello 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.
Hi,
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!
One 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.
Was 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!!!
This is a very good cake without egg. I like this very much. My family also like this cake. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi 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.
Hi,
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.
really ur dishes r fantastic i am unable to explain my thoughts about ur dishes
hi shilpa
cake 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.
Hi Shilpa… thanks for the quick reply… i will try it and let u know how it turned out 🙂 thanks again!
MMmmmm 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….
Is 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.
hi, 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.
Hi 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 🙂
can 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
Martica
You amaze me.Whatever recipe I search for ultimately leads here and then I think why do I need to check anywhere else.
But 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
This is the recipe i have been searching for a long time. Thank u dear. ur cake looks tempting.
I 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.
Hey, 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.
Dear Shilpa
I 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.
First 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.
Hi Shilpa,
I was searching for the eggless fruitcake recipe and i think this is ultimate. For the first time i am preparing the cakethis will be the one. I have a question. does vanilla extract and vanilla essence makes the difference?
can the fresh orange juice is substituted with no pulp tropicana orange juice?and can marmalade be substituted with any fruit jam or spreadable fruit?
Shilpa: You can use either vanilla essence or extract. Yes, you can use tropicana juice. I haven’t tried the fruit jam/spreadable fruit. You have to try it and see.
Thanks Shipla! This was an easy recipe.I had all the ingedients at home today to try out this unplanned “cake event”. The cake came out nice and brown in 25 minutes.It is still warm so I have not tasted it, but it definitely smells yummy!
halo shilpa cake looks yummy!
just had a few clarifications, firstly for the fruit cake is it 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of baking powder?
and have u tried to bake this in a microwave , if yes then is it the same procedure of keeping the power on 60% and baking it for 8- 10 mins.
Shilpa: yes, thats what is written in the post, so sorry, I am not getting your question. I haven’t tried baking cakes in microwave.
thank u shilpa that answers my doubt! 🙂
dear Silpha,ur eggless cake recipe so great,and the 2nd times I was made I try to improved it with my local fruit like bangkuang,red guava and a sweet rosella the result so ammazing…..I got the crunchy freshly in the deeping mouth,so nice……I got a defferent style.thanks to U to inspire me to make a new cake…..
Hi shilpa,
i prepared this cake on my daughter’s B’day…
it was awesome…and my friends also liked it so much…
thankyou for the recipe…it was moist and tasty…
but the cake sank in the middle but the taste was really unforgettable…can u tell me y this happened?
and i dint open the oven door till the cake was done..
thanku shilpa…
Hi shilpa,
i prepared this cake on my daughter’s B’day…
it was awesome…and my friends also liked it so much…
thankyou for the recipe…it was moist and tasty…
but the cake sank in the middle but the taste was really unforgettable and i dint open the oven door till the cake was done..
thanku shilpa…
Perfect Receipe!!
I tried it though the pre preparation is more time consuming the cake turned out to be perfect.
Thanks for the perfect veg- cake.
Nice recipe. Even I am always in lookout for eggless cake recipes. I am going to try this recipe right now. Will let you know how it turns out.
I made this cake following your recipe by making a couple of changes. The cake was delicious. Thanks for coming up with such a wonderful eggless cake recipe. I will post this cake recipe in my blog by mentioning the source for the recipe as your blog.
Thanks a lot.
Priya.
Hi Shilpa, your eggless cake is simply mouthwatering less its vegan. 😉
however, i need some expertise from you with regards to the baking of the mentioned recipe as i want to make this cake for a good fren of mine and also gain some insight to making eggless variations,
Q1. what is the purpose of adding the orange juice to the recipe? is it mandatory? does the orange juice induce the flavour in the cake?
Q2. what is the use of adding marmalade in the cake? is it for flavouring or to act as a thickener?
Q3. if i’d wanna add commercial caramel (bought fm stores), what is the amount required for the recipe?
Q4. if i want the cake to be chocolate flavoured, is it best to add cocoa powder or chocolate chips? if can, please tell me when can i add the chocolates to the mix?
Q5. if i wanna double the recipe as it is, any minute details in ingredients i need to consider?
i know i’m asking too much but i just wanna learn the proper way…:) thank you so much for your help on this…really appreciate it….
I am a lover of eggless plum cakes but i am not having oven, can i make my own plum cake in pressure cooker? please do tell me how to make EGGLESS PLUM’ CAKE IN COOKER…
This looks to be interesting i will try this week end and tell u the result of it
Hi, Your cakes seems very tempting and i am gonna give it a try.. on thing i didnt get.. what did you mean by tutti fruit( did u mean mixture of fruits??)
Shilpa: These are candied fruits readily available in Indian store.
Looks yummy. Going to give this a try very soon. And thanks for the caramel preparation, I make a eggless brownie with brown sugar and always wondered if I could caramelise sugar and use it instead. Brown sugar is a lot more expensive at the grocery store than white sugar.
Hi Shilpa,
I want to know, can i do this in microwave. If yes please suggest me what all i have to use.
Or I have a cooking range i.e., 4 burner Gas Stove. And i have never used the grill part in that cooker, since i am vegetarian. Please tell me the detail procedure as i don’t know how to heat the oven to 350F 350F for about 10mins.
Sorry Anupama, I don’t understand what you are saying. You have a cooker which has grill?? and 4 burner gas stove?? And then you are asking about oven. I am confused.
Hi Shilpa,
Can butter be substituted with oil,as my I cannot use any milk product in my receipe
Neha, I have’t tried with oil. I think butter makes the cakes fluffy. But give it a try with oil and see what happens.
Hi there! I know this is an old blog post (and question) but I thought I would let you know that I tried the recipe, but substituted with oil instead of butter (only because I didn’t have any on hand). Firstly; it tasted amazing… but didn’t bake too well. It took about an hour in the oven and even then it was very crumbly (but again, tasted amazing). It was more the consistency of fruit pudding so I am enjoying it with some icecream 🙂
I forgot to tell you taht I tried the eggless dates cake receipe ,it turned out really good.
My husband and son liked the cake.
Thanks
can i use brown sugar instead of white sugar?
yes
thanks a lot shilpa for this lovely recipe…i was searching it for long time..i made it yesterday and it was really great…me and my husband liked it very much…will try your another recipes too…
dear shilpa,
i really adore your recipes ,i will try this this sinful cake this weekend.
keep on posting such recipes
all the best
Hi,
I tried your recipe of the cake and came out very well. Thanks for posting the recipe in detail. I just made few changes and tried the recipe and i shall also post my outcome of the cake in my blog soon along with your name.Thanks again.
Hi Shilpa,
Thanks for the receipe. I made this today and it didnt turn up really well. It came out crumbled and was not binding properly. I used brown sugar instead of while sugar and did not use caramel and jam. Do you think thats why it happened?
Please help.This is the 2nd time I am trying 🙁
Thanks.
I would suggest using the recipe as it is a trying once before making any modifications.
thanx mam for posting the recipe in detail .I tried the egglless dates cake its reallygud .my
husband likes it very much.
I tried this fruit cake today…was unplanned…but luckily I had all the ingredients 🙂
I used brown sugar instead of white sugar, half plain flour and half wheat flour, fresh orange juice, sherry, and used all dry-fruits like pecans, walnuts, cashews, dates, figs, apricots, prunes etc, marmalade, spices and rest of the ingredients 🙂 Turned out very good….although i found a lil more oily…I mean the texture is perfect…but when i eat …i find my hands a lil oily…mayb supposed to be that way…mayb next time will reduce the butter content and see. And yeah i measured 100 grams butter…and then melted it…so that comes to half cup melted butter…(for people who don’t have kitchen scale…and need extact proportion)….and also i baked it in the microwave owen. My microwave…has a cake bake option…i used that…but reduced the time to 30 mins. For those who are trying in the microwave oven…u can set the microwave to 180 C (350F)…and bake for 25 – 30 mins.
Hey..wanted to tell u…now that its completely cooled in the fridge…it’s no more oily and it cuts and tastes perfect! Thanks.
Yesterday I tried your date cake recipe…I am on a baking spree…:)….and I can confidently try ur recipe’s…as I know they come out perfect.
thanks…..wonderful cake. i made this twice ..everybody in my family liked it….Thanks for giving us a marvellous cake.
i have one doubt..always the sugar caramel gets solidify and it remains like stones in the cake..it is not getting mixed properly..do u have any suggestion for making it not solidify!!!
May be you need to take it off the heat a little early
hi shilpa!
the recipe looks great! and i really want to try it out, but quick question, you have written 1cup (125gms). Isn’t one cup 200 gms?
Hey shilpa,
I made this cake for my birthday. The cake turned out so good.
It dint last more than a day.
I had problem with caramel. In the first time the sugar starts to crystalize. then i googled why and tried again with 2tbsp more water and increased the heat.Finally i got the caramel.
Thanks for the recipe.
Hey shilpa,
My whole family is a big fan of this cake. Cake vanishes in just a day. Now i want to bake this cake and courier it to my sister in connecticut. Can u tell me how many days this cake can survive?
I have kept it for max 2 days.
thanks for the quick reply shilpa. I am going to make this cake and send it to CT. I hope the cake reach them fresh and good.
Hi, I tried your cake in the dead of the night yestrday. The caramel gives it a very unique taste. I did, however, make a few adjustments… Firstly I threw out the nuts as I wanted my lil baby to be able to eat it. I ommited the laici because I din want the cake to taste like chai (lol) and lastly I used fresh vanilla bean instead, which didn’t make much of a diff because the taste was drowned by all the candied fruit (sigh, what a waste of good vanilla). Overall, it was good. 🙂 thanks for a great recipe that I will definately use over and over again.
Hi shilpa,
Can i skip orange marmalade in cake? Will it make any difference in taste or texture?
Tate will be slightly different
hi shilpa,
Tried the cake but the caramel did not mix with nuts properly, was like a lump.Do i have to add more nuts.The cake turned out medium sweet as caramel did not mix uniformely.pls suggest.
Take out the caramel from heat before it becomes too hard
hi shilpa please help i have had a request for eggless fruit wedding cake can i put your recipe in deep tins and would i need to adjust cooking time could you also help with weights for 12″ 10″ and 8″ inch round and square i need the cakes to min 3″deep when cooked looking forward to hearing from you sharron.
Sorry, I don’t know weight. I had tried this a while ago.
Thank you for this recipe.
Hi Shilpa,
Thanks a ton for the recipe. My friend suggested this recipe of yours and the cake came out very well.
Just popped this baby in the oven! I added some glaced cherries and some orange rind too. If the batter is anything to go by this is going to be one yummy cake! Thank you 🙂 xx
Just thought I’d leave you a little message on how my cake making went. After 30 mins when I inserted the skewer it came out gooey and the cake was obviously not set, I could tell because when inserting the skewer it wobbled a bit. I just took it out now, an hour later and it’s finally done. I’m not sure what happened… I used a preheated oven (180c). All in all, it looks amazing, and I can’t wait to try it 😀
Yes Natasha, this definetely bakes for like 50 minutes. mine just came out and by look wise I can tell that its come out well. can’t wait to cut and serve my husband who eats only fruit cake.
Hi Shilpa,
Made this today… I added some cherries and walnuts as well.. it was awesome!!! only one observation- to caramelize the sugar, when I added a tbsp of water acc to the recipe, the sugar hardened and did not caramelize at all. I then took a fresh batch of sugar and heated it up without the water. It caramelized within 2 mins….
You think I may have done something wrong the first time?
Great! I am trying it now. it’s a teetotaler’s vegan cake. I love it. I can tell my daughter that we also make rich cake for Christmastime this time. THANK YOU
i just can’t get the caramel right…it just gets solid after i remove from stove…already destroyed three batches of sugar getting the caramel right dunno where ia m getting wrong:(((….please help me…
Caramelized sugar is hard when cooled. You must use it right then before it cools!
If the caramel gets solid, add little hot water and mix. It will liquify.
What if we want to add only honey instead of sugar? any recommendations?
Mine is in the oven now…followed all the advice. I had the same problem with the sugar crystallizing and looked it up on google. I then added 1 tsp lemon juice, and wet the side of the pan with a brush dipped with water to stop the crystallization. Then only shook the pan but didn’t stir at all ( only in the beginning to mix the water and lemon juice. It all worked well.
Can’t wait to see end result…
Hi,
This fruit cake recipe is awesome. I have baked it thrice and each time it is as delicious and leaves my family wanting more. The only problem I am facing is that my cake keeps crumbling.
One turn-around i found is to make smaller muffins/ cup-cakes instead of a big cake. This successfully avoided the crumbling issue.
But i would like to have one big cake that doesn’t crumble. Any ideas on that?
Shilpa,
Do you use caramel right after u take it off gas? Because as it cools it would solidify.
How does it remain liquid till u finish rest of the process of cake?
Neeta
Yes, I add it as soon as it is done. I keep everything else ready
Hi Shilpa,
This cake sounds awesome! My daughter’s first b’day is coming up in the next month. I was planning on baking this cake. I am allergic to eggs, so was on the lookout for an eggless cake. One of my friend’s had made this cake for her son’s second bday, and it was absolutely awesome.Can you suggest an icing that would look great on this one. Also, alternatively,can you suggest any other eggless cake which would be appropriate since my baking skills are v basic. Awaiting your reply. Thanks
Alternatively, could you suggest an eggless version for the fruit Gateau (A fruity cake). I am keen on making a fruit cake for the bday. Thanks
Hi Shilpa!
What size baking tin did you use for this cake?
Hi. Don’t we require to beat the butter & sugar in this recipe. Does it turn out fluffy/ soft? Pls reply soon. Would love to try out!
Yes, this is a tried and tested recipe.
It looks YUMMMMMMMY! going to try it for today evening! 🙂 Thanks Shilpa! 🙂
it came out very yummy! 2 issues i had, it crumbles very easily and caramel solidifies as soon as i remove it from heat. how to avoid this?
Hi!
This was the first time I tried a random cake recipe from the net!
I substituted the dry fruits mix with currants, dates and walnuts.
Tasted awesome, but crumbled way too much!!
Still, a recipe to keep and experiment more on, so thank you! 🙂
Hi,
Very Nice Recipe. Today I tried it, Its so yummy. ThankYou So Much For Your Recipe.
How do I get fresh orange juice in this season??? 🙁 :'(
Hey, just a couple of tips for whoever has been having issues with the caramel, firstly I replaced all the orange juice with juice of 1 lemon and added that to the sugar before caramelising to help stabilise it. I also washed down the sides of the pan with warm water a few times and it caramelised quite well.
Secondly, mix only the butter and caramel first, after a few mins Add the dry fruits And only once it’s quite cool add the sugar, otherwise the caramel might harden. Also mix in everything only once it’s fully cold otherwise the cake comes out oily.
And lastly, I found that using about half the amount of butter as mentioned gave me much better results. Hope this helps!!
great recipe, thanks – I added linseeds (flax seeds), soaked some in the orange juice for 10 mins – I find this helps bind cakes that don’t have eggs, may stop the crumbling problems.
Any alternative for orange juice please? Would lime juice do?
And can I use homemade mango jam instead of mixed fruit jam?
Yes you can use any jam. I have not tried this with lemon juice. You will have to try!
Thanks a lot for the recipe.It was simply amazing.Baked it last night and it happens to be one of the best cake I have baked till now!
I take order for cakes, but have never prepared eggless cakes. I tried this cake and it was out of the world. Thanks mam for the wonderful and detail recipe.
is there a printer friendly way to get this printed?
thanks
Hema, we will be working on that feature, right now it is not there
I’ve tried this couple of times now and it comes out very well. Although it crumbled this time. Not sure what went wrong..
Thanks for the recipe! this one is definitely a keeper.
Yesterday there was a party in my family, we made this cake. It was very awesome!!!! Everobody praised of this cake.