Grandma's Christmas Cake Recipe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljqHP3GyxUw

Baking has always been a stress buster for me. And during Christmas, the reason to let a scrumptious cake concoct in your oven doubles.

On that note, here’s the recipe for a fruit and nut cake my grandmother used to bake for us every winter in her kitchen.

Ingredients

Wet ingredients

• ½ cup of butter

• ¾ cup of powdered sugar

• 3 room temperature eggs

• ½ cup of sour cream

• 1 tbsp of vanilla extract

• ¾ cup of milk

Dry ingredients

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour/maida

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 tbsp baking spoon

Flourishes

• ½ cup of dried fruits and/or tutti-fruity (steeped in hot water)

• ½ cup of cashews, walnuts and almonds (I like grinding them in a mortar and pestle instead of chopping; it gives them more texture)

Before you begin, line your cake tin with butter paper and keep it ready.

Recipe

Whisk the butter and sugar in a deep bowl till the sugar has melted. You could alternatively use an electric blender.

Add the eggs one by one into the mixture and whisk.

Add the sour cream and whisk.

Add the vanilla extract and milk and whisk.

Whisk all the wet ingredients together and whisk vigorously till the mixture is smooth.

Time for the dry ingredients!

At this point, set your oven to pre-heat at 170˚C.

Now, in a separate deep bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda through a sieve (this ensures there are no lumps) and combine together well.

Fold in the dry mixture to the wet ingredients (through the sieve again if you’re extra me meticulous) in parts.

Whisk until just combined (over whisking will make your cake harder).

Add the dry fruits and tutti-fruity. Steeping these in hot water will make the plump. Also, you can toss them lightly in a bit of flour; this will make it less likely for them to clump at the bottom of your pan.

Next, add the cashews, walnuts and almost – also tossed in flour.

Fold everything in! We’re almost done.

Pour your batter into the readied cake tin, smoothen the top and tap it a few times to get rid of any bubbles.

You can sprinkle a handful of nuts and fruits on the top if you want.

Now, pop it in the pre-heated over at 170˚C for 25 to 30 minutes.

When done, let it rest in the turned-off oven for about 20 minutes before taking it out – not letting it rest in the oven after cook-time can leave your cake undercooked.

Let it completely cool off in room temperature before cutting it – so that it doesn’t deflate.

Your soft, moist and spongy Christmas cake should be ready in about an hour.