Plum Cake Recipe (No Eggs, No Alcohol)
A tender and airy plum cake, free from eggs and alcohol, boasts a delicate texture. My version of the Kerala-style cake incorporates apple juice, caramel, and whole wheat flour in its creation.
Ingredients
To Be Soaked Overnight
- ¼ cup walnuts – 25 grams
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins – 15 to 20 grams
- 2 tablespoons black currants (seedless) – 20 grams
- ¼ cup cashews – 30 grams
- ½ cup dates – 100 grams ( I used 7 kimia dates)
- 2 tablespoons almonds – 25 grams
- 2 tablespoons pistachios – 20 grams
- 8 to 10 grams glazed cherries – 25 grams or 8 to 10 canned cherries without the syrup
- 40 to 45 grams candied orange peels or about ¼ cup finely chopped candied orange peels
- 1 cup Apple Juice clear and transparent juice, canned or packaged
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour leveled – 240 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder (ground cinnamon)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder or grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon green cardamom powder
- ⅛ teaspoon clove powder
For Caramel
- ½ cup raw sugar – 100 grams, can add white sugar instead
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup water
Wet Ingredients
- ⅓ cup olive oil – can add sunflower oil or any neutral flavored oil
- 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice or lime juice or apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
Instructions
Soaking Dry Fruits And Nuts
- Take all the dry fruits and nuts in a bowl. I just rinse them once or twice and then drain them very well.
- Now finely chop all of them and collect in a mixing bowl.
- Add the apple juice and mix very well.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate letting the dry fruits soak in the apple juice for a day.
- Bring the dry fruits and apple juice mixture to room temperature before you proceed with making the cake.
Preparing Caramel
- In a sauce pan, take the sugar and water.
- Mix and stir very well. Keep this pan on the stove top on a low heat. I have used organic unrefined cane sugar but you can use white sugar.
- Bring this sugar solution to a boil on a low heat. 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, add the oil. I used olive oil. You can also use sunflower oil or melted butter. If using melted butter then add it when the caramel solution turns warm.
- Mix the oil with the caramel solution very well.
- Next add lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. I have used lemon juice. You can also use white vinegar. Mix again very well.
Making Cake Batter
- Grease a 8-inch round pan very well with oil or butter. Also preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15 mins before you bake.
- In a sieve, take whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, clove powder and cardamom powder (optional).
- Sift all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- 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
- Pour the batter in the 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 (356 degrees Fahrenheit) for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. A wooden skewer 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 or parchment paper 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.
Storing And Serving Suggestions
- The cake can also be refrigerated. It keeps good for 10 to 12 days in the fridge. Cut the kerala plum cake in slices and stored the slices in an airtight box.
- Enjoy the cake as a snack or dessert with your Christmas meals. You can choose to serve the cake with any beverage of your choice – hot cocoa, drinking chocolate, milk, tea, coffee, espresso or wine.
Nutrition
Calories: 258kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 5gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 98mgPotassium: 237mgFiber: 4gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 4IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!