kerala 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 – eggless wine fruit cake and eggless christmas 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 fruit 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 eggless cakes recipes then do check sponge cake, black forest cake, pound cake, mawa cake, banana cake and basic eggless chocolate cake recipe.
kerala plum cake recipe below:
one easy and tasty recipe for making a kerala christmas fruit cake without eggs and alcohol. in the recipe apple juice is used instead of alcohol.
- 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
- 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)
- ½ cup sugar or 100 grams sugar
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup olive oil, can also use sunflower oil
- 1.5 tablespoon lime or lemon juice or vinegar (apple cider or regular vinegar)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
making kerala christmas fruit cake recipe without eggs & alcohol:
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:
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.
preparing 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.
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.
Sharmistha says
Can we use fresh orange peels instead of candied orange peels
dassana amit says
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.
Ashwini says
HI,if I have to halve the quantity,what is the pan size I need to take for baking the cake?
dassana amit says
ashwini, you can use a 6 to 6.5 inches diameter round pan.
sumu says
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.
dassana amit says
welcome sumu. glad to know that recipes are helpful to learn such recipes.
saransh jain says
HI! THE RECIPE’S AMAZING. CAN U PLEASE TELL THAT IF WE CAN ALSO BAKE THIS CAKE IN THE MICROWAVE INSTEAD OF OVEN?
dassana amit says
thanks. i am not sure if this fruit cake recipe can be made in the microwave oven. so i cannot say.
Divya says
Hi I prepared when I tasted the dough it was tasting bitter ,I used grape juice made at home pls tell me why
dassana amit says
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.
shilpa says
is it necessarily to soak dry fruits over night?.. will couple of hrs do?
dassana amit says
shilpa, dry fruits really soak up well if soaked overnight. but you can even soak them for a few hours.
shubha says
Dear dassana….here instead of apple juice orange juice can b added na…means the juice which v get from fresh oranges?….should it b boiled???also can the apple juice be replacedd by wine?
dassana amit says
shubha, orange juice from fresh oranges. you can boil it also with the dry fruits. yes you can replace apple juice with wine.
shubha says
Thank u dassana…will try your recipe….
dassana amit says
Welcome Shubha
Shubha says
Dear dassana the cake is very tasty…thank you for the recipe…even though kept in fridge..it is soft unlike other wheat cakes which will b harder wen kept in fridge
dassana amit says
thanks a lot shubha. the cakes which become dense in fridge are the ones where butter is used. if oil is used, the cake does not become dense. it also depends on other ingredients used in the recipe.
Purnima says
Thank you soooooooo much for this recipe. Tried it today and the result was a fabulously tasty cake!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you!
dassana amit says
thanks purnima for this positive feedback. wish you too a happy christmas and a happy new year.
Archana Samrat says
Thank you so much for your valuable tips?
dassana amit says
welcome archana.
Archana Samrat says
Hi Dassana…. I question plz…. can I make cupcakes with this same mixture for the kids… if yes then at what temperature and for how long… thanks
dassana amit says
archana, you can make cupcakes. temperature will be same that is 180 degrees celsius but time will reduce. so it can take 30 to 45 minutes. do note that a toothpick or a skewer should come out clean. you may see some stickiness on the toothpick due to the dry fruits like dates inside. but batter stickiness should not be there.
prasy says
Hi dasanna, I m a fan of your recipes . I m going to try this cake . I have store bought 100% apple juice and I m going to bake thr cake on 24th December. Can I leave the dry fruits and nuts in apple juice for 10 days in fridge?
dassana amit says
prasy, do not keep for 10 days. the apple juice might get spoiled. just keep for a max of 2 days in the fridge. so you can keep the dry fruits soaking in the juice on 22nd dec or 23rd dec and then bake on 24th dec.
Prasy says
Great . Thank you Dasanna. !
dassana amit says
welcome prasy.
Archana Samrat says
hi Dassana
love the recipe.Will it stay fine if I courier it as well.It will take 4 to 5 days for delivery
thanks
dassana amit says
in courier, my only concern would be that the cake should not crumble. firstly as this is an eggless cake and will be more prone to crumbling if its too much shaken and badly handled. its not a delicate cake, but compared with the egg based ones, it more on the softer side and not very firm. so i would not suggest to courier it.
Joyce says
Hi, your cake looks so yummy! May I know if I can prepare the caramel a few days in advance? If pre-prepared, do I keep the caramel in fridge or just room temperature in airtight container? Thanks!
dassana amit says
thanks. you can prepare the caramel before. keep the caramel in the fridge in an air-tight jar.
Joyce says
I did it yesterday. so yummy! and its really not too sweet. wholesome, light, and soft, but a bit on crumbly side… probably is my skill problem.. thanks for the great recipe!
dassana amit says
thanks for letting me know joyce. as you bake more, you will also learn more. its more about practicing and learning. then you can easily make good bakes at home.
komal says
hi ,
can I bake without oven ?
dassana amit says
komal, you can bake in a pressure cooker. check this method on how to prepare cake in pressure cooker – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/pressure-cooker-cake-recipe/
Ruby says
Thanks Amit for sharing this recipe. It is really useful. I find it healthy as it doesn’t use all purpose flour. Also I tried it yesterday and it turned awesome. I just added 3 ripped bananas and 2 tbsp pineapple juice too to make it more flavourful.
dassana amit says
wow ruby, addition of bananas and pineapple juice is so yum. thanks for sharing and also thanks for the feedback.
shipu says
any one cal tell me are baking soda and mitha soda is different
dassana amit says
both are same.
shreya says
Have u made apple juice at home or brought it from a store…….how can we make apple juice at home
dassana amit says
welcome shreya. its a lengthy process. i used organic apple juice.
akanksha bansal says
Hi..I am new to baking. I tried this recipe. Everything was great..the taste, the aroma but inside of the cake remained soft even after baking for almost 1:30 hours.. Any insight on what could be the reason?
dassana amit says
at what temperature did you bake. did you preheat the oven and which oven you used?
akanksha bansal says
yes i did preheat the oven and i used Samsung microwave on convection mode.
akanksha bansal says
and I Preheated the oven at 180 C and baked on the same temperature
dassana amit says
okay. looks like the temperature is on the lower side in your oven. some more time like more 15 to 30 minutes, would have improved the texture of the cake. oven temperatures vary with make, model and size. so when baking, firstly do not open the oven door many times. open to check when at least 3/4th of the baking is done. also the timing will vary from oven to oven. i hope this helps.
akanksha bansal says
Thanks !!
suja muthuvelu says
looking delicious and easy too,……………
dassana amit says
thankyou suja 🙂
Lakshmi says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. We all loved the taste and the texture. I made a couple of changes, added orange juice as I did not have apple juice and secondly boiled the dry fruits in the juice as I did not soak them overnight. I used white sugar and the caramel was not the same color as yours, could it be because of white sugar? The cake was soft and delicious.
dassana amit says
thanks for this positive feedback lakshmi. i have also made a fruit cake with the dry fruits boiled in orange juice. the results were too good. whether you use white sugar or not, the color of caramel is same. its just that sometimes we stop some few seconds before getting the dark brown color. i do that at times, just to make sure that the caramel does not burn. so this could be the reason for the cake not having a dark color.
chhavi says
hello dear, yesterday tried this cake and results were awesome….thanks for a lovely recipe…..
dassana amit says
pleased to know this thankyou chhavi 🙂 and you are always welcome.
Inchara says
Hi, would like to know if I can use water to soak the dry fruits in instead of apple juice.also, what is the purpose of soaking, is it for added flavour? Would like to also know what serves as the binding agent in this recipe? Thank you!
dassana amit says
soaking does add a lot of flavor. traditionally the dry fruits are soaked for months or a year in rum. but in this recipe, apple juice is used as substitute for rum and the soaking is just for some hours or a day. the binding agents are oil and caramel. with water you will have to experiment. i am not sure how the final result will be when water is used.
Inchara says
Thank you for your reply. How does it work when brown sugar is used?? Is it supposed to be heated on the stove just till the sugar dissolves in the water?
dassana amit says
no. just dissolve the brown sugar in 1 cup water and then add the oil, vinegar in it. mix very well and then add to the flour + dry fruits mixture.
sri says
Hi, I’ve always loved your recipe as it really helps us vegetarians to bake easily. I would love to see you posting a recipe on eggless butter cake soon! Thanks in advance.
dassana amit says
thankyou so much sri 🙂 glad you liked our recipes. have taken your request for eggless butter cake on our file.
priya says
Big fan of ur recepies.I hv tried Christmas cake it was awesome. I hv almost tried ur all cake recipes they always cm out v well.Thanks for all ur efforts to make every thing easy for us.☺
dassana amit says
pleased to know this priya thankyou so much god bless you 🙂
Lalitha says
Hi.. i have been looking for eggless fruit cake since long and finally found it in your blog. I plan to make it for my kid’s bday next week, just have one question, can we replace the wheat flour with maida fully? If yes what are the changes that I need to make in the proportion.
dassana amit says
lalitha you could use maida with same proportion as wheat flour. hope this help’s you thankyou 🙂 let us know how it was?
Lalitha says
I tried it today for my kids birthday n it was awesome.. my husband n kid loved it. Thanks for the quick response..
dassana amit says
welcome lalitha and nice to know.
Fairy says
How do I bake it without oven? Any other method?
dassana amit says
baking can be done in a pressure cooker. you can check the method on this post – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/pav-recipe-in-pressure-cooker/
Usha Mohan says
Excellent recipe Dassana! Thank you
dassana amit says
thanks usha and welcome 🙂
Priti says
I dont have Microwave so I always bake cake with egg in pressure cooker. Never tried egg less in cooker. Do you think it will work as I am very eager to try this wonderful recipe.
Thanks
dassana amit says
i think the recipe will work, but just that it will take more time to bake in the pressure cooker.
Priti says
Thank You dear
dassana amit says
welcome priti.
Charulatha says
Hi dassana.
I am a silent reader of u r blog.i am eager to make this cake. But i have microwave oven only. That too a basic model without convection.plse tell me hw to bake in a microwave? I will be thankful to u.plse.my son loves eggless cake very much.i want to do for him.
dassana amit says
in the microwave oven this cake cannot be baked. if you have a pressure cooker, then you can bake in it. it will take a lot of time. so i suggest you to halve the recipe and make the cake. you can follow the method posted on the link given below. just replace the bread pan with the cake pan.
recipe link – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/pav-recipe-in-pressure-cooker/
r.radhashree says
Does the baking time gets reduced if we halve the ingredients should we decrease the amt of baking powder and soda Thanks
dassana amit says
yes we should also reduce the quantity of baking powder and soda yes even the baking time would reduce. hope this help’s you.
sandhya says
Hi
Thanks for this recipe. Will surely give it a try. By any chance, do you have an eggless ghee cake recipe which also seems to be a kerala speciality?
dassana amit says
welcome sandhya have taken you request for ghee cake thankyou 🙂
swasti says
hi, I am a silent reader of your blog from a long time. This cake look so yummy .. but I don’t have microwave. can you share a cake recipe without microwave.
dassana amit says
pleased to know this swasti have taken your request on our file thankyou 🙂
Raman says
thanks Dassna!
will all the ingredients be halved as in apple juice baking powder or just the flour
dassana amit says
all the ingredients raman 🙂
eddie v says
Hi,
I like it very much the eggless fruit cake, as I am a vegetarian, I am very much eager to do it and prepare. I will surely save this as one of my most very important recipe for my family.
Till your next post then.
eddie v
dassana amit says
thankyou eddie 🙂 do try and let us know how it was?
Raman says
perfect recepie for the holiday season 🙂
I have 2 questions :
1 Can we replace atta with Maida?
2 Can this recepies be halved and how? 1 kg cake is too big for our small family 🙂
dassana amit says
yes raman you could use whole wheat flour and maida in 1:1 proportion. secondly just reduce the quantity to half for smaller sized cake. Hope this help’s you 🙂
Saloni says
Hello mam! I am a big fan of your food recipes. I have tried few of them at home which turned out great, thanks to you.
Regarding the above cake recipe, l have a query.Can this cake be baked in a pre-heated cooker? Thank you!
dassana amit says
thanks saloni. you can bake in a cooker. but it may take a lot of time.
Saloni says
Thank you for your reply. Will surely try and revert.
dassana amit says
fine saloni 🙂
Saradha says
Hi Mam
I Am reader and follower of your blog.I love your recipes that too particularly your baking ,since you are using a healthy version.mam for this cake can I use corn oil.
dassana amit says
hi saradha, i have never used corn oil in any of the baking that i do. so i have no idea how the cake will turn out. i do not know the consistency of corn oil, so not sure.
Deepthi says
Hi amit,
I love all your recipes, my sister-in-law suggested me the website. I made few recipes from your cook book. And i tried the cake but i didnt get it so well. i have done it in a cooker. And once i done a chocolate cake with weikfield cocoa powder it ruined my cake. Can you suggest me the cocoa powder and can you post few cake recipes done in cooker.
dassana amit says
this cake will take a longer time to be done in the cooker. so you can bake it for some more time. i use hintz cocoa powder and no issue with it till now. i have also used cadbury’s cocoa powder before. i plan to add some cake recipes that can be done in the cooker.