Kolkata(Calcutta) Christmas Fruit Cake recipe for Xmas

It is a classic, rich and dark Kolkata(Calcutta) Christmas Fruit Cake recipe prepared with flour, sugar, softened butter, well-beaten eggs, rum & orange juice-soaked mixed dry fruits, cake spices, and vanilla essence. Since my childhood days in Kolkata, known to me as Xmas special cake.

Today I am making this Christmas Cake without soaking dry fruits. Actually, when I made this cake, Christmas was just around the corner and I had no time in hand for soaking fruits. Generally, except this year, I do soak my fruits, 1 or 2 months back which a traditional fruit cake recipe needs. But this year due to my mistake, for the first time instead of soaking, I cook my dry fruits in rum. Afraid of the result but it comes out superb, more than I expected. No difference in taste from the traditional recipe.

Here I have used tutty fruity, pitted dates, 2 types of raisins, and dried cherries. However, you can also use Figs, Apricots, Dried Plums/Prunes, Black Current, and Different Berries (Cranberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, etc) as per your choice. 

Tips to make a perfect dry fruit cake for Christmas?

Perfect Beating – Perfect beating helps in the rising of the cake by making many air bubbles in the batter. So beat the butter, sugar & eggs until soft & creamy will make your cake soft & fluffy.

Fold The Flour – Never ever beat the flour mix (flour+baking powder+ baking soda) with the batter. Only fold it nicely. Folding means a simple mixing with a spatula.

No excess use of Baking Powder – Due to excess use of baking powder, cakes rise abnormally and lastly got cracks on the top.

Is your Christmas Cake sinking instead of rising after baking?

Reason No. 1 – Because of overbeating cake loses the air bubbles, which results, does not rise up but a sinking cake. Solution: no overbeating.

No. 2 – Even if the oven is not perfectly pre-heated, that might be the cause of the sinking. Solution: Perfectly preheat.

No. 3 – Do not open the oven before 30 mins of baking. Especially, not repeatedly opening the oven door in curiosity. That will reduce the temperature of the oven if the cake can not get the perfect temperature, not rise up but instead sink.

Do dry fruits sink to the cake bottom?

Before adding in batter must roll the dried fruits (including nuts) in flour, preventing sinking fruits to the bottom. Described in my recipe.

Cake gets hard?

1. Due to less beating, air bubbles wouldn’t create in batter, which can be a reason to get a hard cake.

2. Even due to the use of more flour, the cake gets hard. For making a perfect cake, the perfect measuring of each ingredient is very important.

3. Or you may use micro mode instead of convection mode. Micro mode is only for heating up the food, not for baking. Instead can use OTG or a Gas stove.

Cake is getting burnt while baking?

1. If sugar substances or milk are used more than requirements, cakes quickly get caramelized & a chance of burning before perfect baking.

2. Baking in high temperatures can cause burning. Always, maintain the temperature.

How to bake Christmas Cake in gas oven?

1. Heat a pan on the high gas flame for 10 mins by covering the pan.
2. Place a stand on the pan.
3. Put the cake tin on that stand.
4. Cover the pan, and keep it on medium heat.
5. After 30 mins, first, start to check with a skewer.
6. Bake until the skewer does not come out clean bake till then.

Want to make a dark colur fruit cake for Xmas?

➊ Use Caramel – I used my homemade caramel from white sugar and jaggery. That gives me a dark texture to my cake. It’s actually an old trick of our ancient Indian cuisine. Even for making more dark caramel, you can replace white sugar with brown sugar too.

➋ Use Coffee – Even you can use 2 tsp coffee powder in the batter or can make coffee liquor by adding the coffee to 3 tbsp of hot water. Directly use it in the batter, but after straining. Though, get a light coffee flavor in your cake.

➌ Use Tea Liquor – You can also use dark tea liquor for dark color. Put 1+ 1/2 tsp tea in 2 tbsp hot water for 1-2 mins. Strain and use in the batter.

➍ Use Dark Colour Alchol – Except for Rum, use any dark coloured alcohol like whiskey, scotch, or brandy for soaking fruits. Even you can add 4 tbsp red wine too then. Fruits will release their extracts in alcohol and that color will make your cake darker.

➎ Use Black Raisins – Soak the black raisins in hot water for 30 mins. Discard the water and blend it well and mix it into the cake batter. That also brings a dark colour.

➏ Use Dates – Same as black raisin, soak the dates in hot water too for 30 mins to 1 hr. Remove the seeds of dates then blend well and mix them into the cake batter.

You can use any one of the tricks from above to make your cake dark. However, my homemade caramel takes the same texture we find in an authentic christmas cake recipe.

Want to make this fruit cake for this christmas season? Then try this recipe at home and let me know how it worked. Just write down a comment in the comment box below.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for all of you in advance, bake lots of cakes and cookies at home and enjoy the day of Xmas with your family.

Even you can try some other recipes for Christmas day, like

• White sauce pasta
• Mini pizza recipe
• Chicken cutlet recipe

You may try some other homemade cakes for Christmas from my website.

• No-bake orange cheesecake recipe
• Chocolate Brownie Recipe

How to make Kolkata(Calcutta) Christmas Fruit Cake recipe

Instruction

Boil the dry fruits in alcohol & soak in orange juice overnight

• First, take the dry fruits (here tutti-fruity, black raisins, and Kishmish, chop the deseeded dates & cherries).

• Finely chop the fresh orange peel and grate the ginger. Here I’ve used dry ginger instead of using fresh ginger. But you can use any one of them, that doesn’t matter.
• Now take tutti-fruity, chopped deseeded dates, black raisins, Kishmish/sultanas, and chopped cherries in a saucepan

• Then adding 125 ml Rum and mix it all together with a spatula or spoon.

• Now place this bowl on the lowest heat of your oven. And stir it continuously.
• Fruits will take 4-5 mins to soak in rum. Then turn off the heat.
• Now add finely chopped orange peel to it.

• Add finely chopped or grated fresh ginger or ginger powder to it. Mix it nicely.

• Lastly, add orange juice to it and give it a good mix.

• After completely cooling it down, keep the fruit mixture in an airtight container at least for overnight or 18 hrs to 24 hrs for best result.

Make homemade caramel for dark color

• Take a pan with 30 gms sugar and 30 gms jaggery(crushed) or molasses in a pan. And place it on medium heat.

• Stir it continuously. When the sugar and jaggery(molasses) completely meltdown and it looks rich in color, as shown in the pic.

• Then slow down the heat and slowly add 3/4 cup of water to it from any side of the pan. While adding water to the caramel, it may splash and so do it carefully.
• Now mix it with the water and boil it till it gets a little thick and one string consistency. As shown in the pic. Turn off the heat and keep it aside. Caramel hardly takes 6-7 mins to be done.
• Be careful, the caramel should be dark but not burnt or bitter in taste.

• Caramel is ready to give a dark and rich color to the plum cake along with a great taste.

Preheat the oven and prepare the cake tin

• First, preheat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius temperature for 30 mins.
• In the meantime, line the cake tin (my cake tin is an 8 inch or 20 cm round cake tin) with double butter paper or parchment paper. As shown in the pic. And
• Stick the butter paper with the tin by using little butter between the tin and the butter paper.
• Though you can use the same size cake tin in oval, rectangular, square, or heart shape, or a little bigger than this cake tin for the same quantity.

Mix Flour with baking soda & baking powder

• Then sift all purpose flour (Maida), then sift baking soda and baking powder. Keep it in a mixing bowl and keep it aside for further use.

Make Sugar & Almond Powder

• Next, take the white sugar in a grinder jar and ground it for making its powdered form. Keep it aside.
• Take the same grinder jar, and ground the almond to make a fine powder out of it.

Cashew & Almond for cake decoration

• Then break the cashew nuts(weight 50g) into half and cut the almonds(weight 30g) into sleeves.
• Next, add 1 tbsp flour to it and mix it nicely. This process will help prevent from sinking the nuts into the bottom of the cake.

Prepare cake spice and mix with flour mixture

• Ground 7-8 cloves, 1/4 nutmeg, and 1-inch cinnamon stick together into a fine powder.
• Sift this spice powder and mix it with the flour-baking powder-baking soda mixture.

Batter for Christmas Fruit Cake

• Take a wide mixing bowl and first add the softened butter(salted/unsalted) at room temperature and start beating with an electric hand beater on medium speed. Beat it until gets soft and creamy, It will just take 2 mins.

• Then add powdered sugar to the butter and start beating again for 3-4 mins. The butter-sugar mix will be ready.

• Now add eggs(at room temperature) to this butter-powdered sugar mix and beat it nicely.

• Then add the almond powder to the bowl and start folding(only stir it not beating) it with the butter-powdered sugar-eggs mix.

• Then add vanilla essence to this butter-powdered sugar-egg mix.

• Next add the caramel, which we prepared earlier. Mix it nicely with the batter.

• Now start adding the flour-baking powder-baking soda-spice mix to it in 3 to 4 batches.

• Fold (means only a good stir not beating) the flour nicely with the cake batter with the help of a spatula or spoon.

• Now add the dry fruits(cooked in alcohol) to the cake batter. Mix it nicely.

• Then add the broken cashew nuts and almond sleeves (mixed with 1 tbsp flour) to it. Give it a light stir to mix it nicely.

• Now pour the cake batter into the butter paper-lined cake tin and lightly tap the tin to set the batter in it. Level the surface of the batter with a spatula.

Decorate & bake the cake

• After decorating the cake with cashew and almonds, place the cake tin in the center of the preheated microwave oven.
• Start baking, in the convection mode of your oven at 140 degree temperature.

• After baking for the first 1 & 1/2 hours, must check the cake after every 15 mins with a skewer.
• For me, it took 2hrs 20 mins to bake. As it may take less or more time than me. 
• Use a skewer to check if it’s done to the bottom or not. If the skewer comes out clean then the cake is ready if not, put it back in the oven for a few mins at 140-degree temperature.

• Once the Cake is completely done, leave it for a few hrs until completely cooled down.

How to store this fruit cake for a long time without a fridge

➡ After baking first completely cool down the cake,

➡ Then remove the butter paper or parchment pepper used for baking.

➡ Next wrap the Cake in a cling wrap and then wrap it in aluminum foil or keep it in an airtight container to restore its moisture.

➡ After wrapping, you can keep the cake at room temperature for at least for next 10-15 days. Putting it in the fridge can make it dry and hard by soaking its moisture. However, if you have any plan of putting fondant or using frosting with heavy cream, butter, or cream cheese, then immediately store it in the fridge (not in the freezer).

To feed the cake

Feed the Cake oncein two weeks with 2 tbsp of alcohol (like Rum, Brandy, Rum+ Brandy, or Whiskey).

① First, make a few tiny holes on the top of the cake by inserting a toothpick up to the bottom of the cakes.

② Then gently pour a very little amount of alcohol through the hole hardly 3-4 drops at a time. Make sure not too much. Otherwise, your Cake might get soggy instead moist.

③ Then again wrap the Cake and store it as before. Again feed it after every 15 days. However, stop feeding the cake if Xmas is in 2 weeks.

As I made this cake just 2 weeks back from Christmas so I could only feed it once.

This classic Christmas cake recipe is sure to be a hit at any holiday gathering. Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and enjoy the festive flavors of the season.