Christmas Fruit Cake / Old fashioned Rum Cake

Last year this time I had posted the Christmas fruit cake (no alcohol no soak) recipe. And I made a mental note to try the real version soon, the all out caramel-alcohol fruit soaked plum cake. And I did. Well, it wasn't easy. I scoured my cookbook collection, referred a few trusted sites and arrived at my recipe. I made a small test batch (1/4th of the below recipe) before a few months for recipe testing and was happy with it.
Here I am sharing the all famous Old fashioned Christmas Rum cake sold in bakeries across Indian during this season.
The color of the cake depends on the sugar used and the dry fruits you use. The more darker dry fruits you use, like raisins, dates the darker the cake will be. I used a good mix of dark and light colored dry fruits and hence the honey golden cake.

Ingredients:
For the Fruit Soak:
Dry Fruits - 4 cups
(I used a mix of the following
Candied fruit and peels - 1 cup
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Golden raisins - 1/2 cup
Dried Cranberries - 1/2 cup
Dates - 1/2 cup
Dried Figs - 1/4 cup
Dried Apricots - 1/2 cup
Candied ginger - 1/4 cup)
You could use the dry fruits based on your liking to a total of 4 cups.
Dark Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Orange juice - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Rum - 1/2 cup (Can substitute whisky)

For the cake:
All purpose Flour (Maida) - 2 cups + 1/2 cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1-1/4 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 2 tsp
Ginger - 1 tsp
Cloves - 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp
Butter - 1 cup (softened)
Dark brown sugar - 1 cup (see notes)
Eggs - 4 (room temperature)
Vanilla - 2 tsp
Nuts - 2 cups, roughly chopped (Use a mix of almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts and sunflower seeds)

Method:
Before a day of making the cake, make the caramel fruit soak. Heat the dark brown sugar in a saucepan stirring occasionally to let the sugar caramelize and become darker. Remove from heat and add water, orange juice. Add the 4 cups of dry fruits and allow it to come to a boil. Remove from heat and mix the rum. Allow it to cool completely and transfer to a non-reactive storage container (no plastic or aluminium or non-stick), glass or steel is a better option. It can be stored for 2 weeks to 2 months. Don't forget to give a nice mix with a clean, dry spoon every 2-3 days. This can be stored in room temperature and need not be refrigerated. The alcohol in the fruit mix acts as a preservative.
On the day of making the cake, preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease several ramekins with butter, this recipe makes 8, 2 cup size cakes. 
Drain the soaking liquid from the fruits and reserve separately. 
Sieve the dry ingredients, starting from flour (2 C) to nutmeg several times until well mixed. 
Add 1/2 cup of flour to the fruits to coat well. This makes sure the fruits are evenly suspended in the cake and does not sink to the bottom.
Beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla.
Add the flour mixture and the reserved liquid from the fruits alternatively to the butter mixture and mix lightly after each addition. You should mix just until no streaks of flour remain. Add the fruits and the chopped nuts and mix with a spoon. Divide equally into greased ramekins and bake for 40-45 minutes.
When the cakes come out of the oven brush a little rum over the top when it is still hot. This brushing with rum step is optional though.
Allow to cool the cakes in the pan. When cooled completely, remove from the pans. If you are gifting to friends and family, bake in a aluminium foil pan and pack it in for gift giving.
This cake can be made ahead and stored. It is like banana bread, the taste gets better the next day.
Notes:
This cake recipe is not glaringly sweet. It is mildly sweet with the sweetness coming from the soaked fruits.

Red Velvet Cake in a Mug | Microwave Dessert Recipes

Valentine's day is sure around the corner. The supermarkets are filled with red roses and everywhere I see are heart-shaped something, balloons, cookies, cakes and even sandwiches. I was really not planning to make anything red and had different plans altogether. But since it didn't pan out as expected (which I hope to try again soon), I got into the ubiquitous dessert of the season - Red Velvet Cake. 
When it comes to baking cake or cookies, I normally don't make a big batch unless I am having guests. It is just the three of us, so I keep it simple and small. I decided to make the cake in a mug. This recipe here makes one mug, so repeat for any number of servings you are making. 
So what are your plans for the special day? 

Ingredients:
Serves - 1
All purpose flour - 3 tbsp
Cocoa powder, unsweetened - 2 tbsp
Powdered sugar - 2 tbsp
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp
Buttermilk - 1 tbsp
Beet juice - 1 tbsp (see notes below)
White chocolate chips - 1 tbsp

Method:
Sieve the dry ingredients into a bowl. In a microwave proof cup, mix the buttermilk, beet juice and oil. Add the sieved dry ingredients and mix well to a thick paste. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and mix a little. Microwave for 1 minute. If the batter still sticky microwave for an additional 10 seconds. Allow a minute or two of standing time. Serve warm.
Notes:
The cake should be cooked in microwave mode, not convection mode.
This recipe can be easily doubled. Mix in individual microwave oven proof mugs.
Beet juice renders just the deep red color and you wouldn't be able to taste it at all. Although if you are skeptical about beet juice, add a few drops of red coloring and add 1 more tbsp of buttermilk/water. 
How to Make it Vegan: 
Substitute buttermilk for any non-dairy milk for a vegan version.

Christmas Fruit Cake - No Alcohol No Soak Cake | Christmas Recipes

Christmas Fruit Cake! Well, I love to eat it. But to bake one.. Hmm.. I thought it was not for me. Honestly, I didn't think I would bake one when I woke up this morning. But then this recipe which I came across in a magazine haunted me. It is a pretty simple recipe with no alcohol and no pre-soaking of fruits is needed. The preparation takes less than 30 minutes but it still has all the richness and elegant taste of the traditional fruit cake. Now that I fell in love with this recipe something tells me I may try my hand in the traditional recipe soon. May be next Christmas?!

Ingredients:
Preparation time - 30 mins; Baking time - 60 mins
Candied fruits/Tutti Frutti - 2/3 cup
Chopped Dates - 1/3 cup
Chopped Figs - 1/2 cup
Raisins (black and golden mix) - 3/4 cup
Pecans - 1/4 cup, chopped
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup + more for dusting the pans
Ground Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
Cloves - 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg - less than 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Butter, room temperature - 1/4 cup
Dark Brown sugar - 1/4 cup
Egg, room temperature - 1
Molasses - 2 tbsp (see recipe below if not available in stores)
Orange juice, fresh - 3 tbsp

Method:
Preheat the oven to 275 F/ 135 C. Grease 4 - 7 oz ramekins (I used 2 small and 1 big) with butter and dust with flour. Shake off excess flour. Mix the fruits and nuts with 1/2 cup of flour in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. 
In a small mixing bowl, whisk the remaining 1/4 cup flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and baking powder well. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the egg and molasses. Mix until blended. Now add the flour mixture alternating with the orange juice until just mixed, scraping sides often. Now pour the butter-egg mixture over the flour-coated fruits and use a spatula to mix until no streaks of flour remain. Fill the ramekins and smooth the top. Place in a baking sheet and position in the center rack of the oven. In the bottom rack place a 9" or 8" baking pan filled with hot water. Bake for 45 minutes for small ramekins and about 60-65 minutes for large ramekins. When done, the toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. When cooled completely, remove from pan and place in the rack. Pack in a plastic wrap and store in fridge for a couple of days.
Notes:
The types of dried fruits and nuts used is purely your personal choice. Mix and match for texture variations. Other than what I have used, dried apricots, dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried pineapples, cashew nuts, walnuts are good options. 2-1/2 cups of dried fruits and nuts for this recipe is what we are looking for.
This recipe can easily be doubled.
Molasses Recipe:
Heat 3 tbsp, tightly packed brown sugar with about a tsp of water in a small saucepan in medium heat. When the syrup becomes a little thick, remove from heat and allow it to cool. Use in place of molasses as needed.