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Kerala Christmas Cake, Xmas Plum Cake

December 15, 2018 by Suguna Vinodh 35 Comments

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kerala-plum-cake-christmas-xmas-fruit-cake-recipe-20
Recipe for Kerala Christmas Fruit Cake, Xmas Plum cake made with dry fruits soaked in brandy, caramel syrup and spices. Recipe with step by step pictures.

Here are the other Christmas fruit cake / Plum cake on the site.
Rich Plum Cake – Christmas fruit cake with brown sugar and spices
Whole Wheat Christmas Plum Cake

kerala-plum-cake-christmas-xmas-fruit-cake-recipe-19

I have got a lot of requests for Kerala style Christmas cake. Kerala style plum cake is a simple pound cake (equal weight of flour, sugar and butter) with the addition of caramel syrup, dry fruits and spices. The caramel syrup is called as black jack and is also referred to as black jack Christmas cake. The spices that are traditionally used are nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Some use dry ginger and some don’t. It is totally up to you. Here is how to do Kerala style plum cake.

Here is the video of how to make Kerala Christmas Cake, Xmas Plum Cake

Here are the things you can buy for making this recipe
Real Vanilla Extract https://amzn.to/34Vuu1a
Glass Jar https://amzn.to/3sDdIw9
Silicone Spatula Set https://amzn.to/34V5g3g
Pyrex Glass Bowl Set https://amzn.to/363cu5C
Ceylon Cinnamon https://amzn.to/34YYtpf

For detailed recipe and measurements, scroll to the bottom of the page.
Soaking the fruits in rum / brandy
This fruit cake has currants, golden raisins (called as Kishmish locally), cranberries, candied pineapple and candied papaya. The fruits you use are more of a personal choice. Use whatever you like. Candied fruits can be bought from dry fruit store or online. Candied papaya is nothing but tutti frutti without the color. Clean the dry fruits and get rid of any stems. The trick with fruit cakes is to chop the dried fruits. I cut the raisins in half and the candied fruits into small bits. Yes its time consuming work but its rewarding. I find that the fruits absorb more flavor if chopped and the end cake is even more tastier. Chop the dry fruits and mix them with brandy or rum. I have used brandy for this recipe. Use whatever alcohol you can get hold of. Soak the fruits in brandy for at-least a week. I soaked the fruits in brandy for a month. Shake the jar once in a couple of days. Also store them in a glass or ceramic container. The brandy would have been completely absorbed by the fruits after a week and there would be no need to strain the brandy.
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Prep Work
Making the caramel
Caramel syrup is an important ingredient in Kerala style fruit cakes. Add sugar to a small sauce pan. Add two tablespoon of water from the sides. Combine the water and sugar. Gently stir to moisten the sugar thoroughly. Bring the mixture to a boil until the sugar is completely dissolved and the liquid is clear. ( Do not stir at this stage. Stirring will cause the sugar to crystallize)
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Cook until the color of the caramel becomes dark amber. Switch off the flame and add in half a cup of water to the caramel. Be very careful as it may splutter. Watch the pan and gently stir to dissolve. If the caramel has become solid, gently heat the pan for a minute to dissolve. Remove the syrup from heat and set aside to cool.
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Spiced Sugar
Take a mixie and add in the spices and the sugar. Grind till the sugar is well powdered and the spices are also powdered. Set aside.
kerala-plum-cake-christmas-xmas-fruit-cake-recipe-7

Separating the egg whites and yolks and beating the egg whites
Separate the egg whites and egg yolks. Do one egg at a time into a small bowl and add the bowl to a bigger bowl with the egg whites. If the yolks get mixed with the egg whites by mistake, discard and start with another egg. If yolks or any fat gets mixed, the egg whites wont fluff up when beaten. Make sure the whisk is clean and the bowl is clean too. Fat will hinder when beating egg whites.
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Beat the egg whites until fluffy and soft peaks form. Add couple of tablespoons of the powdered sugar we made before while beating egg whites, so the egg whites whip well. Set aside.
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Make the cake batter

Preheat the oven to 180C before starting to bake.
Cream the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes until lite and fluffy.
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Add in the egg yolks and the vanilla extract. Beat for a minute.
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Measure the flour and to the flour, add in the baking powder, baking soda and the salt. Whisk well and set aside.
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Add in the caramel syrup and the flour mixture and beat well until combined.
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Add two tablespoon of flour to the dry fruits and mix well. Add in the dry fruit mixture to the cake batter. Mix well to combine.
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Add in the egg whites and fold everything well.
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Grease and flour the cake pans with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. This recipe makes two 6 inch by 3 inch cakes.  Irrespective of the size of the pans, just make sure to fill no more than 3/4th of the pan with batter. Transfer the batter to the cake tins. Make sure the top is smooth and even. Level the batter with the back of a spatula. Make sure that the batter is not more than 3/4th of the height of the pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour on a 180 degree Celcius oven. If using a small pan, check after 30 minutes. The baking time depends on the size of the pan.
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After 45 minutes, insert a tooth pick in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If the tooth pick has a little batter sticking, bake for 10-15 minutes more and check again. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan until room temperature.
kerala-plum-cake-christmas-xmas-fruit-cake-recipe-15

Run a knife on the sides of the pan to release the cake sticking to the sides of the pan. Gently invert the pan and remove the cake from the pan and store it in an air tight container. The flavor of the cake improves the next day. The cake can be stored for up-to two weeks at room temperature and upto a month in the fridge.
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Have the cake with your friends and count your little blessings.
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Print
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kerala-plum-cake-christmas-xmas-fruit-cake-recipe-20

Kerala Christmas Cake, Xmas Plum Cake


★★★★★

4.8 from 8 reviews

  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
  • Yield: 2 - six inch cakes 1x
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Description

Recipe for Kerala Christmas Fruit Cake, Xmas Plum cake made with dry fruits soaked in brandy, caramel syrup and spices. Recipe with step by step pictures.


Ingredients

Scale

Soaking the fruits in rum / brandy

  • 250 grams dry fruits
  • 90 grams brandy ( I used Mansion house brandy)

Making the caramel

  • 50 grams sugar
  • 2 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 cup water

Spiced Sugar

  • 200 grams sugar
  • 1/2 inch piece cinnamon
  • a small piece of nutmeg
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 cardamom

Other ingredients

  • 4 Eggs at room temperature, (whites and yolks, separated)
  • 200 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
  • 200 grams maida / all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon maida / all purpose flour for mixing the dry fruits

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C before starting to bake.
  2. Chop and soak the fruits in brandy for a month.
  3. Combine the 2 tablespoon water and 50 grams of sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil until the sugar is completely dissolved and the liquid is clear. Cook until the color of the caramel becomes dark amber. Switch off the flame and add in half a cup of water to the caramel. Set aside to cool.
  4. Take a mixie and add in the spices and the sugar. Grind till the sugar is well powdered and the spices are also powdered. Set aside.
  5. Separate the egg whites and egg yolks. Beat the egg whites until fluffy and soft peaks form. Add couple of tablespoons of the powdered sugar we made before while beating egg whites, so the egg whites whip well.Set aside.
  6. Cream the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes until lite and fluffy.
  7. Add in the egg yolks and the vanilla extract. Beat for a minute.
  8. Measure the flour and to the flour, add in the baking powder, baking soda and the salt. Whisk well and set aside.
  9. Add in the caramel syrup and the flour mixture and beat well until combined.
  10. Add two tablespoon of flour to the dry fruits and mix well. Add in the dry fruit mixture to the cake batter. Mix well to combine.
  11. Add in the egg whites and fold everything well.
  12. Grease and flour the cake pans with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. This recipe makes two 6 inch cakes. Transfer the batter to the cake tins. Make sure the top is smooth and even. Level the batter with the back of a spatula. Make sure that the batter is not more than 3/4th of the height of the pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour on a 180 degree Celcius oven. If using a small pan, check after 30 minutes. The baking time depends on the size of the pan.
  13. After 45 minutes, insert a tooth pick in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If the tooth pick has a little batter sticking, bake for 10-15 minutes more and check again. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan until room temperature.
  14. Run a knife on the sides of the pan to release the cake sticking to the sides of the pan. Gently invert the pan and remove the cake from the pan and store it in an air tight container. The flavor of the cake improves the next day.
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Category: baking
  • Cuisine: Kerala

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Suguna Vinodh

I'm Suguna Vinodh aka Kannamma. I love south Indian food and I am passionate about baking. My Favorite things include my Wusthof knife, Coffee, Ilayaraja, Tamil and beaches. I love Jacques Pepin and Julia Child.

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Comments

  1. Karthikha says

    December 24, 2021 at 8:34 pm

    Mam I did it
    Tasted awesome
    Substituted Orange juice for alcohol
    I really wonder how a recipe could be posted with the correct proportion of ingredients.
    Wonderful mam
    Loved it

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 29, 2021 at 6:50 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Poornima says

    November 23, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    Have made it twice since spotting the recipe. I have had to adjust some water, other than that it is so perfect.
    And Sugana that’s the best part about your recipes. In the past many years i have tried many of yours as well as others i find on the web. I always check to see if you have a recipe i am looking for & only if you dont have it, i check elsewhere. Reason being you are so meticulous in detailing it & its hard to go wrong with them.

    Thank you for the fab recipes you keep posting.
    Its been a while since i left a comment on your recipes… Ideally would love to do so for each one that i use like the vendakkai kuzhambu, egg panizharam kuzhambu, etc.,

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      November 24, 2021 at 8:35 pm

      Thank you so much. Glad you liked the recipe.

      Reply
  3. Debrupa says

    February 5, 2021 at 2:21 am

    hi I tried this recipe. the cake came out good. however the top was very dark brown unlike yours (golden brown) in the picture. after 30 mins I had to cover the top with a foil to a kid more browning and bake for 10 more mins. how come it didn’t happen for you? after you baking at 180 deg C?

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      February 7, 2021 at 11:17 pm

      Try calibrating your oven for correct temp.

      Reply
  4. Raji says

    January 17, 2021 at 12:00 am

    Love the flavor of this cake. Tried with a hesitation as I have tried a couple of times from other blogs for this plum cake and was not satisfied. But this one is a perfect recipe. I just skipped the caramel sauce as I was too lazy. A million thanks for this awesome recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      January 17, 2021 at 12:17 am

      Thank you very much.

      Reply
  5. Subasri says

    December 25, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    Other than alcohol can be replace it with grape juice

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 26, 2020 at 4:25 pm

      Never tried with fruit juices. So do not know how it will turn out in this recipe.

      Reply
  6. Binu says

    December 25, 2020 at 4:47 am

    Thank you for the recipe. It turned out so good. Just like the ones I had as a kid back in Kerala. I have never baked a cake before, but my mom used to bake christmas cakes every year. This year due to Covid, my daughter and I decided to bake a cake and we found your recipe and it was awesome.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 26, 2020 at 4:25 pm

      Thank you so much for trying. Really glad you liked the recipe.

      Reply
  7. Ubarita says

    December 1, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    That’s a great and easy to follow recipe!

    Can we soak the finished product in alcohol?

    Thank you!
    Keep writing!

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 1, 2020 at 3:48 pm

      Hi Uba, Yes you can brush alcohol on the cake.

      Reply
  8. Jyothsna says

    September 22, 2020 at 7:28 am

    Explained really well. I have a question though, can I bake this in an 8 inch cake pan ?

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      September 23, 2020 at 2:48 am

      Yes you can. Bake in two 8 inch pans (2 inch height)

      Reply
  9. Mrs. K. Sirisha says

    September 18, 2020 at 11:23 pm

    The recipe turned out perfectly well. Soaked the dry fruits in apple juice a day in advance.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      September 19, 2020 at 6:02 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  10. Kavitha Karunakaran says

    December 11, 2019 at 9:07 pm

    Hello mam,Can i add dark caramel syrup instead of making caramel? If yes how much quantity?

    Reply
  11. Aish says

    November 29, 2019 at 2:29 pm

    Any other alternative to soaking the dry fruits? Planning to give to children as well.

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 3, 2019 at 2:10 pm

      You can omit the alcohol.

      Reply
  12. Kirthi says

    August 10, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    Hi what is the temperature for Ifb microwave oven it’s not perfect for me in that microwave

    ★★★

    Reply
  13. Santosh says

    December 29, 2018 at 1:19 pm

    Beautiful cake.recipe..came out so perfect..thank you.. had marinated for 3 weeks. Just rite..didn’t need 45 min..I thought more like 30 35mins.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  14. Ava says

    December 28, 2018 at 7:34 am

    Hi Suguna,

    I am going to try this cake over the weekend. I don’t have a powerful mixie/blender. Can I use ready made spice powders and sieve them with powdered sugar instead of powdering the coarse ingredients in a mixie?

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      January 2, 2019 at 11:26 am

      Sure Ava. You can use readymade powders.

      Reply
  15. Pallavi says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:31 am

    I tried this out and it came out amazing!! I really like all your recipes – they’re so concise. Please continue publishing such recipes!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  16. Biny Abraham says

    December 22, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    Hi. Just baked the cake and loved it. Had couple of queries.
    1. Can we use brown sugar instead of white sugar or a mix of both?
    2. After baking, can we add a spoon of rum or brandy into the cake for flavor?

    Thanks
    Biny

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 22, 2018 at 9:24 pm

      1.I have never tried this cake with brown sugar. I have another plum cake recipe that uses brown sugar.
      Here it is. https://www.kannammacooks.com/indian-fruit-cake-recipe-christmas-fruit-cake/
      2. Yes you can brush the cake with rum or brandy.
      Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and a fantastic new year ahead!

      Reply
  17. Ria says

    December 21, 2018 at 12:18 am

    Hi Suguna,

    Hope all is well.

    I’m a regular follower of your recipes.

    So, in this version of your recipe you mentioned you use both baking powder and baking soda,in your other version you’ve only mentioned that you use just the baking soda. Why is it and what would you prefer? Also, you don’t use coffee powder and zest in this one?

    PS: Was trying to find the best recipe between the 2, which one tasted good according to you? Link attached below

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 21, 2018 at 6:16 pm

      Both are very different style recipes. Kerala style cake, the spices used are less. I Personally like Kerala style cake as its a little lite. Please do not mix both recipes. Follow either one of these. In Kerala cake, we add baking powder as its a lighter cake and caramel syrup is also acidic.

      Reply
  18. chhavi says

    December 19, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    hey Suguna…Will this recipe work even with just overnight soaked dry fruits?

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 19, 2018 at 8:10 pm

      I suggest you soak it atleast for three days.

      Reply
  19. Deepa says

    December 16, 2018 at 12:18 am

    Awesome. Would really love to do this.. can u give me the baking timing in air fryer pleaSe???

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  20. maria.K says

    December 15, 2018 at 10:54 pm

    your instructtions and methods are so easy to follow and your explanations are so inspiring.
    wish you all the success you desire and for taking the time out and putting up a good blog!!

    btw, can we use just one cake pan or does it have to be two?
    no plans right now but i will eventually – i love fruit cake.

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 16, 2018 at 4:26 pm

      You can use a bigger pan.

      Reply

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I’m Suguna, a former financial analyst, now a full-time food blogger. Welcome to my space. I share recipes gathered from my friends and family here. I am passionate about South Indian food. I crazy love knives. A sharp knife is a girls best friend. Hope you like the recipes here. Happy Cooking. Read more.....

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