plum cake recipe with step by step photos. one easy and tasty recipe for making a kerala christmas fruit cake without eggs and alcohol.
we love fruit cakes. so no wonder, i already have two eggless fruit cakes posted on the blog – wine fruit cake and fruit cake. this year i wanted to share an eggless version of a kerala style plum cake. one major difference in this and the other fruit cake recipes, is the addition of caramel. this does give a nice brown color to the cake.
this plum cake recipe is made without alcohol. i have made this cake both with fresh orange juice and apple juice on various occasions. soak the dry fruits in either of the juice overnight in the fridge. with orange juice, you need not worry as the cake does not become bitter.
i have used organic apple juice and 100% whole wheat flour (atta) in the recipe. so this is a healthy bake. the amount of sugar and oil added is also not too much. the sweetness of the dates, golden raisins and black currants used in the recipe, compensates for less sugar being added. to make the caramel syrup for this kerala plum cake, i did check the method on nag’s blog. preparing the caramel is not difficult. so don’t worry on that. just cook the sugar+water on a low flame and keep on stirring often.
this fruit cake is soft, moist and crumbly. the recipe yields about 1 kg of fruit cake. i have used a 8 inch round pan. though you can even use a loaf pan with 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 dimensions.
do use dry fruits of your choice, but do not skip on the candied orange peels. these give lovely bitter notes in some bites while savoring the fruit cake.
if you are looking for cakes recipes then do check:
plum cake
INGREDIENTS FOR plum cake
to be mixed and soaked overnight
- 25 grams walnuts or ¼ cup walnuts
- 15 to 20 grams golden raisins (raisins) or 2 tablespoon golden raisins
- 20 grams black currants or 2 tablespoon black currants
- 30 grams cashews or ¼ cup cashews (kaju)
- 100 grams dates or ½ cup dates ( i used 7 kimia dates)
- 25 grams almonds (badam) or 2 tablespoon almonds
- 20 grams pistachios (pista) or 2 tablespoon pistachios
- 25 grams glazed cherries 8 to 10 glazed cherries
- 40 to 45 grams candied orange peels
- 1 cup apple juice
dry ingredients for plum cake
- 2 cup whole wheat flour levelled (atta) or 240 grams whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder (dalchini powder)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder or grated nutmeg (jaiphal powder)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (choti elaichi powder)
- 1/8 teaspoon clove powder (lavang powder)
for caramel
- ½ cup sugar or 100 grams sugar
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 cup water
wet ingredients for plum cake
- 1/3 cup olive oil, can also use sunflower oil
- 1.5 tablespoon lime or lemon juice or vinegar (apple cider or regular vinegar)
HOW TO MAKE plum cake
soaking dry fruits for plum cake
- take all the dry fruits and nuts in a bowl. i just rinse them once or twice and then drain them very well. if you want you can rinse them.
- now finely chop all of them and collect in a mixing bowl.
- add the apple juice and mix very well.
- allow the fruits to soak in the apple juice for a day. keep covered in the fridge.
- bring the dry fruits + apple juice mixture to room temperature before you proceed with the recipe.
preparing caramel for plum cake
- in a sauce pan, take 1/2 cup sugar (100 grams) and 2 tbsp water.
- mix and stir very well. keep this pan on the stove top on a low flame. i used organic unrefined cane sugar.
- bring this sugar solution to a boil on a low flame. you will see the mixture bubbling initially.
- continue to cook and do keep on stirring often.
- at one point it might look that the sugar is getting crystallized.
- continue to cook and stir frequently till you see the color changing to a dark brown. switch off at this point.
- remove the pan from the stove top and place it down. immediately add 1 cup water to the caramel. be careful while doing so, as the mixture splutters.
- the caramel will harden as soon as you pour the water. keep the saucepan back on the stove top on a low flame. stir often and bring to a gentle simmer till all the hardened caramel is dissolved. do stir often so as to aid in dissolving the caramel.
- let this caramel solution cool completely.
- once the caramel has cooled down, add 1/3 cup oil. i used olive oil. you can also use sunflower oil or melted butter. if using melted butter than add it when the caramel solution turns warm.
- mix the oil with the caramel solution very well.
- next add 1.5 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. i used lemon juice. you can also use regular white vinegar. mix again very well.
preparing plum cake batter
- grease a 8 inch round pan very well with oil or butter. also preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius before 15 mins you bake.
- in a seive, take 2 cups whole wheat flour/atta (240 grams), 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder, 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder, ⅛ tsp clove powder and 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (optional).
- sift all the dry ingredients.
- next add the soaked dry fruits + apple juice mixture to the sifted dry ingredients.
- with a spatula just mix lightly.
- add the caramel solution.
- now fold the flour ingredients with the caramel solution to a smooth batter.
baking plum cake
- pour the batter in a prepared pan.
- gently shake and tap the pan so as to even out the batter.
- place the pan in a preheated oven and bake the cake at 180 degrees celsius for 1 hour or 1 hour:15 minutes. the tooth pick should come out clean and dry when inserted in the cake. this cake has to be baked very well. if the top gets browned too much, then cover with an aluminium foil and bake. baking time varies with various brands and models of oven.
- you can sift some powdered sugar on top of the cake to hide the cracks on the top. slice and serve the cake. the cake can also be refrigerated. it keeps good for 10 to 12 days in the fridge. sliced the cake in slices and stored the slices in an airtight box.
how to make plum cake
soaking dry fruits:
1. take all the dry fruits and nuts in a bowl. i just rinse them once or twice and then drain them very well. if you want you can rinse them.
2. now finely chop all of them and collect in a mixing bowl.
3. add the apple juice.
4. mix very well. allow the fruits to soak in the apple juice for a day. keep covered in the fridge.
5. this is the dry fruits + apple juice mixture the next day. bring this to room temperature before you proceed with the recipe.
preparing caramel solution for plum cake
6. in a sauce pan, take ½ cup sugar (100 grams) and 2 tbsp water.
7. mix and stir very well. keep this pan on the stove top on a low flame. i used organic unrefined cane sugar.
8. bring this sugar solution to a boil on a low flame. you will see the mixture bubbling initially.
9. continue to cook and do keep on stirring often.
10. at one point it might look that the sugar is getting crystallized.
11. continue to cook and stir frequently.
12. the pale brown color is still there.
13. continue to cook and stir and you will see the color changing to a dark brown.
14. here the caramelization process has started. since i was also handling the camera, i stopped here fearing that the caramel should not get burnt. the color should become a little more brown and you will also get the caramel aroma.
15. remove the pan from the stove top and place it down. immediately add 1 cup water to the caramel. be careful while doing so as the mixture splutters.
16. the caramel will harden as soon as you pour the water. keep the saucepan back on the stove top on a low flame. stir often and bring to a gentle simmer till all the hardened caramel is dissolved. do stir often so as to aid in dissolving the caramel.
17. below is the caramel liquid. let this caramel solution cool completely. filter this solution and keep aside. you can see the impurities from the unrefined sugar in the picture below. you can also use brown sugar instead of preparing the caramel solution. then just dissolve the brown sugar in 1 cup water and proceed to the next step – 18.
18. once the caramel solution has cooled down, add ⅓ cup oil. i used olive oil. you can also use sunflower oil or melted butter. if using melted butter than add it when the caramel solution turns warm.
19. mix the oil with the caramel solution very well.
20. next add 1.5 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. i used lemon juice. you can also use regular white vinegar. mix again very well.
making plum cake batter
21. grease an 8 inch round pan very well with oil or butter. also preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius/356 degrees fahrenheit, 15 mins before you bake.
22. in a seive, take 2 cups whole wheat flour/atta (240 grams), 1 tsp baking soda, ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp cinnamon powder, ¼ tsp nutmeg powder, ⅛ tsp clove powder and ½ tsp cardamom powder (optional).
23. sift all the dry ingredients. keep aside.
24. next add the soaked dry fruits + apple juice mixture to the sifted dry ingredients.
25. with a spatula just mix lightly.
26. add the caramel solution.
27. finish off the entire caramel solution in one go.
28. now fold the flour ingredients with the caramel solution. don’t mix. to see how folding is done, you can check this youtube video.
29. fold to a smooth batter. if the batter looks thick, then you can add some more water.
baking plum cake
30. pour the batter in a prepared pan. gently shake and tap the pan so as to even out the batter.
31. place the pan in a preheated oven and bake the cake at 180 degrees celsius//356 degrees fahrenheit for 1 hour or 1 hour:15 minutes. the tooth pick should come out clean and dry when inserted in the cake. this cake has to be baked very well. if the top gets browned too much, then cover with an aluminium foil and bake. baking time varies with various brands and models of oven. so do keep a check. in case you remove the cake and find that it has not baked and has a sticky or too moist a texture, then keep the cake back in the pan and continue to bake.
32. here’s the base of the cake. i was in a hurry and while the cake was still hot, i removed it from the pan. result is a crack on the base. do remove the cake gently from the pan once it becomes warm or cools down. all the time, keep the pan while cooling on a baking rack.
33. you can sift some powdered sugar on top of the cake to hide the cracks on the top. slice and serve the eggless fruit cake. the cake can also be refrigerated. it keeps good for 10 to 12 days in the fridge. i sliced the cake in slices and stored the slices in an airtight box.
The cake came out perfectly . I baked this for 1hr. I should have covered the cake after 45-50mins because it cracked quite a bit on top but the taste was great and the sweetness was just perfect. I tried to do caramel (with white sugar) as given in the recipe but it didn’t workout for me and I didn’t want to waste the sugar syrup so I took 1 cup of that sugar syrup added 60gms brown sugar to it. Let it cool and followed the remaining steps.
So so thank you for this recipe.
thank you for the detailed comment and positive feedback on plum cake recipe. yes, making caramel can be tricky. what you did to replace the caramel was a really good idea. thanks again and happy baking.
Can we use fresh orange peels instead of candied orange peels
do not use fresh orange peels as cake will become bitter. instead you can use orange zest. orange zest is the orange part of the orange peel. using a grater or a zester, grate the orange part of the skin (peel) and not the white part. it gives a good aromatic orange flavor in the cake. you can use two to three oranges to get the zest.
HI,if I have to halve the quantity,what is the pan size I need to take for baking the cake?
ashwini, you can use a 6 to 6.5 inches diameter round pan.
Hi , This turned out very well .Thanks for sharing such nice recipes and now able to make stuff which were thought to be impossible to make at home.
welcome sumu. glad to know that recipes are helpful to learn such recipes.
HI! THE RECIPE’S AMAZING. CAN U PLEASE TELL THAT IF WE CAN ALSO BAKE THIS CAKE IN THE MICROWAVE INSTEAD OF OVEN?
thanks. i am not sure if this fruit cake recipe can be made in the microwave oven. so i cannot say.
Hi I prepared when I tasted the dough it was tasting bitter ,I used grape juice made at home pls tell me why
Divya, was the grape juice bitter?. other than that i don’t see any other ingredient which will make the cake on bitter side. however i have not added grape juice in the recipe. I have made this fruit cake with orange juice and apple juice.