Recipe for Christmas fruit cake made with 100% whole wheat Atta and sweetened with Jaggery. Moist and rich Christmas Plum Cake. Recipe with step by step pictures.
If you are looking for traditional christmas cake, click here.
I made this version of guilt free Christmas plum cake this year. It is made with 100% whole wheat and I used jaggery for sweetening the cake. I have not used alcohol for soaking the fruits. Its an easy recipe and can be put together in no time. Here is how to do it.
This fruit cake has black grapes (dark raisins), golden raisins (called as Kishmish locally), currants and dried apricots. The fruits you use are more of a personal choice. Use whatever you like. Clean the dry fruits and get rid of any stems. The trick with fruit cakes is to chop the dried fruits. Take time to chop the apricots and rough chop the raisins and black grapes. I cut the grapes in half. Yes its time consuming work but its rewarding. I find that the fruits absorb more flavor of the spices if chopped and the end cake is even more tastier.
Take a pan and add in the water and the jaggery. Simmer and let all the jaggery melt.
Once its melted, strain the jaggery water. Jaggery usually contains fine sand and straining will get rid of them. Heat the strained jaggery back on the pan and add in the dry fruits.
Add in the spice powders. I have used simple spices like cinnamon, cardamom and dry ginger. I love the flavour of dry ginger in a fruit cake. It smells so much like Christmas. Also add in the salt.
Add in the oil. I have used extra virgin olive oil for the cake. Vegetable / Sunflower oil also works perfectly fine. Let the mixture simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Its important that the mixture is completely cool before proceeding. If you mix flour in hot liquid, you will end up with gum. Nah! So be patient and wait for the mixture to cool. It might take one hour to cool.
Preheat the oven to 325 F / 160 C.
Whisk the eggs in a cup. Add it to the cooled fruit mixture.
Mix well.
Measure and add the whole wheat flour ( I have used Indian whole wheat atta flour). Add in the baking soda. Whisk well to combine.
Add in the fruit mixture to the flour and mix well with a wooden spatula.
Mix well until combined.
Grease and flour a 6 x 3 inch round cake pan. Line the pan with parchment paper. Transfer the cake batter to the pan. Make sure that the batter is not more than 3/4th of the height of the pan. I had a little batter left and I poured it in a 3 inch cake pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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. Run a knife on the sides of the cake pan to release the cake sticking to the sides. 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.
Its not Christmas without Plum Cake.
- 250 grams dry fruits of your choice
- 200 grams jaggery
- 1¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 teaspoon dry ginger powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 30 grams extra virgin olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 225 grams whole wheat atta
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Chop the dry fruits and set aside.
- Take a pan and add in the water and the jaggery. Simmer and let all the jaggery melt. Once its melted, strain the jaggery water. Heat the strained jaggery back on the pan and add in the dry fruits. Add in the spice powders, salt and oil. Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow the mixture to completely cool.
- Once cool, whisk the eggs and add it to the fruit mixture. Mix well to combine.
- Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl. Add in the fruit mixture to the flour and mix well with a wooden spatula.
- Grease and flour a 6 x 3 inch round cake pan. Line the pan with parchment paper. Transfer the cake batter to the pan. Make sure that the batter is not more than ¾th of the height of the pan. I had a little batter left and I poured it in a 3 inch cake pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour in a preheated oven set to 325 F / 160 C.
- 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. Run a knife on the sides of the cake pan to release the cake sticking to the sides. 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..
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