Ingredients

• 1 stick - unsalted butter (roughly 1/2 cup) at room temperature
• 1.5 cups - sugar
• 2 tsp - sugar for caramelizing
• 3 - eggs
• 3 cups - All-Purpose Flour (Maida)
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup - milk at room temperature
• 1/4 tsp - vanilla essence
• 1/4 tsp - almond essence
• 2 tbsp - ground all spice powder
• 2 level tsp - baking powder
• 1/2 cup - dark raisins
• 1/2 cup - dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 cup - Tutti Fruity
• A small piece of fresh orange and lemon rind chopped finely
• 1/4 cup - blanched almonds, chopped
• 1/4 cup - chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup - chopped cashew nuts
• 2 tsp - caramelized sugar
• 2 tsp - instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp of hot water
• Preparation of All Spice Powder:
• A small piece of dried ginger (chukku)
• 2 - cardamoms
• 2 - cloves
• 2 tbsp - fennel (saunf) (also called sombu or perunjeeragam)
• 2 pieces - cinnamon (lavanga pattai)
• 1/4th of a nutmeg

How to Make Christmas Cake

• Put all the ingredients in the small container of a mixie and dry grind it to a fine powder.
• Caramelization of sugar:
• Place 2 tsp of crystal sugar in a heavy pan and place on a low heat. Sugar starts melting and stir continuously. The colour changes to amber and then to dark brown.
• Now add small amount of water keeping your face away from the stove. Lots of fumes will be coming.
• After a few seconds you will get a dark colored caramelized sugar liquid.
• Switch off the stove and cool this liquid.
• Preheat the oven to 280 degrees F.
• Grease the bottom and sides of a big cake pan with a thin layer of butter and make a thin coating of maida and remove if there is any excess of maida in the pan.
• Sieve the flour with all the dry ingredients at least 3 times.
• In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until thick and creamy.
• Beat the eggs in a mixer and add the egg mixture to the above creamed butter and sugar.
• Add the caramelized sugar, instant coffee liquid, essence and mix. Add the nuts, fruits, tutti fruity, chopped lemon and orange rinds and mix. Now alternate with the milk and the sieved flour.
• If you start with milk then you should end with milk. (Just fold in the flour. This is very important for the nice texture of the cake. No vigorous motion should be given).
• The final batter should neither be too thick nor too thin.
• Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan and level the surface just by gentle tapping of the pan. Do not level with a spoon. Place the pan in the centre of the preheated oven and bake until a tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from the oven and cool at least an hour before slicing.