Christmas Cakes  and  stars on the  front  porch  are  major  part of my memories of   X’mas  in  Kerala. It  did  not  matter  whether  you were a christian  or not,  stars  and the fruit cakes  were  enjoyed by all.  Here  was   a  recipe that  in all probability  was introduced by the   Europeans,  embraced  by  locals  who  turned  it into their  own. This celebration  cake hardly needs  any frills.  This Christmas Fruit Cake was  filled  with  dry fruits  and  nuts, generously  spiced   and  enriched with  butter  and  eggs.  Tender,  sweet , spicy  and  fruity it  was indeed a  treat  to wait for.  Served   with a  glass  of  homemade   wine ,   these  were  simply irresistible .

In the  olden days  these  were  made  only during  the  Christmas.  To make  them  last   longer some of  these   were liberally soaked  in  alcohol   for  preservation. Bakeries used to  place a thick  layer  of  fondant on the  cakes to preserve  the freshness . When I first started baking   fruit  cakes, my  go to recipe   was  that  of Mrs. K.M  Mathews .  She was  among the  first  to  catalog many of  the   traditional recipes of  south India.  Over  the  years  it  the  ingredients  have  changed  my recipe  has  evolved  into  what  I have  today .

The  very first   step  is  to   chop   dry fruits   and  soak  them in  rum /brandy. This is  often done  days in advance .  Usually  the fruits  will be a  combination of   black and   golden  raisins  and  dates .  Interestingly  these  were  not  native  fruits in  Kerala  and  were   shipped   from   far .  Lacking  proper  food  storage  and  transportation  facilities  these  were  dried  until every last  ounce of  moisture  was   taken  out . A  touch of  alcohol  brought  the   fruits back to life   without  significantly raising the  water content.  The long baking  time of  these  cake  ensured  that   virtually  all the alcohol  got  cooked  away.   Now a  days  it is  easier to   find   dried  fruit   that  are still  soft, so   this  long soaking  is  not  as  important  as  it  was  .  I would  still  recommend  soaking  for  a  few  hours  at  least ,  giving  it a  few  shakes  in between  to  distribute  the  alcohol  evenly.

Another  dried  component  was  the candied  orange peel.  Oranges   were  not  an indigenous   crop of  South  India . The  candied  citrus peel   would  have  been a  way to incorporate  the   citrus   that  was  only available   seasonally .   Personally  I am not a  fan of  all  that   synthetic  coloring  that  goes into commercially  available  candied  citrus  or (tuti fruti ).   One can  make   the   candied  citrus  peel  at  home ,  but   with   fresh  oranges   being  available  pretty  much  year  around  I  prefer  to   grate   the    zest .  But  it is a  matter  of  personal  preferences .

 

It is  very important to start with room temperature ingredients .  So this  is  the  time  to  get  the  butter , eggs  and milk  out of  the   fridge , if you haven’t done  so already.  The  next step is  to  caramelize  sugar .   Heat  sugar (4 tbsp)  in a  heavy bottomed pan .  Keep  the  heat  at medium   till the   sugar  melts , then   reduce  to  low.  Once  the  melted  sugar  turns  brown (caramel)  add  1/2 cup of  hot  water   to it .  Be  careful of  the   steam being  generated .  Increase heat  to medium .  Some  sugar  might  have  lumped  up .  Give  it a  good  stir  and  let  it  come  back to  boil . Turn   the  heat off  once  the  liquid  starts to  boil.

Sift  the   dry ingredients  together –  the  flour ,  baking powder ,  the  powdered  spices   and  salt.  Add  caraway seeds , if  using ,   and  give  the mix  a  good  stir . Set  aside . Cream the butter and  sugar,  reserving  2  tablespoons of  sugar  .   Always  start  with  room temperature  butter  and   eggs .   Here I  were  using  fine  sugar ,  if   you have   large sugar  granules   give in a buzz  in the  food  processor .

Separate  the   whites  and   yolks .  Some   white  in  yolk is  not an issue , but  there  should  be  no yolk in the   whites .  Ensure  that  the  bowl containing  the  yolks  do not  have  any traces  of  fat/oil  in it .

Mix in the   yolks  to the   butter  sugar  mixture . Add them one  by one . You  will  notice  the   mix   changing  color .

Add  orange  and  lemon zest  as  well as  vanilla  essence  and  mix  well .  Drain the  dry fruits off  any excess alcohol  ,add  2  tablespoons  of  the   flour  mix   to it  and  toss  to  coat .  Combine  the  fruits   with the  butter  sugar  mixture  and  set  aside .

Beat  egg  whites   with   the  reserved  2  tablespoon  sugar  and 1  teaspoon  lemon  juice till stiff  peaks   form . Take 2  tablespoon  flour  and toss with the  chopped nuts   .  Mix milk  to the  caramel   syrup . Set aside.

   Add  the  flour  and  the  liquid   in parts to  the   fruit  mix   to  form  a  thick batter . Start  and  end   with  flour . Gently fold in  the  nuts .