Ezee Fruit Cake/Non Alcoholic Fruit Cake - Merry Christmas Wishes

Wishing all my Friends & Readers a Very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

I would like to take a moment this Holiday season to Thank all my wonderful readers and fellow bloggers, who has always been very encouraging and very supportive through out. 

Anyone prepping up for a last minute Christmas Fruit cake bake? Do not worry if you do not have dry fruits soaked in alcohol. I promise you can still bake a great fruit cake - A non alcoholic, ezee breezy one. I've a traditional Kerala Plum Cake recipe here, posted some time back if you would like to make it the authentic way. 

So let's proceed with the making of this Non-alcoholic Fruit Cake.

Ingredients:

1.      All-purpose flour - 1 ½ cups + 1 tbsp to coat the dry fruits

2.      Baking powder – 1 tsp

3.      Salt – a pinch

4.      Pumpkin Pie Spice – 1 tsp (or Ground cinnamon – ½ tsp +Ground cloves – ½ tsp.)

5.      Ground ginger - 1 tsp(optional)

6.    Butter – ½ cup (diced)

7.       Light brown sugar - ½ cup to caramelize + ¾ cup for cake

8.       Eggs – 2 

9.       Water - 1 cup

10.   Pure vanilla extract - 1tsp

11.   Raisins - ½ cup

12.   Dates chopped – ½ cup

13.   Tutti frutti – ½ tsp

14.   Add more dry fruits like cashews, glazed cherries etc. if you have them handy.

 How I made It: - 

• Preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
• Take a baking pan and butter them or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray and set aside.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, ground ginger and salt into a bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside
• Add all the dry fruits to a wide bowl, add 1 tbsp. of flour over. Blend the dry fruits with flour using a spoon (This is done so that the dry fruits do not sink in the bottom of the batter)
• To make Black Caramel: Boil water in a pan and set aside. Heat up a thick bottom pan and add ½ cup sugar to it. Keep the stove heat between medium-high heat and stir the sugar. As you keep stirring, you can see first it start to stick, and then they caramelize to brown sauce. Gradually it will start to get black. When they turn black, slowly add boiled water and mix well. Switch off the stove. Stir well till the black caramel is melted and set aside.(Please be cautious when you pour hot water in to the caramelize sugar)
• In a bowl, add butter and beat well with a hand mixer or wire whisk till it becomes creamy. Add rest ¾ cup of sugar and beat well. 
• Add eggs one at a time and beat well till it becomes creamy. 
• Slowly pour the black caramel little by little and run the hand mixer to get a thin batter
• Fold in the flour mix, add vanilla extract and dry fruits and combine everything well. 
• Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. 
• Enjoy with a cup of coffee or Tea !