The origins of cakes can be traced back to over 2,000 years ago when some of the earliest cakes were made combining flour, eggs, honey, nuts and milk. By 1733, the Christmas cake or rich fruitcake was actually called plum cake and this cake quickly became a standard item. From those early years to the modern times, when we can learn all about cake baking through cake classes and innovate with the recipes, we find it surprising that fruitcake recipes have not changed drastically.
The fruit cake is a much-loved recipe, practised by many with the help of cake classes and enjoyed worldwide by millions today. Some recipes incorporate beaten egg whites and omit the yeast. Some other recipes incorporate raisins, additional nuts and a few other dry fruits. The richness of fruits makes it the perfect addition to cake recipes, to be eaten as a celebratory treat at birthday parties and Christmas or simply enjoyed just because of its sweetness. With Hunar Online, you can learn baking from home and watch our cake classes. You can also download our app and start learning with online cake classes
The focus here is on the use of homely cooking utensils and ingredients. Hence, we have desisted from using fancy moulds and microwave ovens. In its place, we have used an aluminium bowl and the general use pressure cooker, for baking.
Ingredients:
- Sugar – 1 cup
- All-purpose flour/Maida – 1 and a 1/2 cup
- Melted Butter – 1/2 cup
- Vegetable Oil – 1/2 cup
- A pinch of salt
- Vanilla Essence – 1 tablespoon (tbsp)
- Baking Powder – 1/2 tbsp
- Chopped Almonds – 1/4th cup
- Chopped Raisins – 1/4th cup
- Chopped Petha – 1/4th cup
- Chopped Cashew Nuts – 1/4th cup
- Chopped Cherry – 1/4th cup
- Egg – 3
- Milk – 1/4th cup
Image Source- The Spruce Eats
The measurements of the ingredients are as per the measurement cup. You can bake 2 cakes with the number of ingredients mentioned.
Directions And Tips:
• To make powdered sugar or sugar icing, take 1 cup of sugar in a grinder. Now grind it thoroughly to make powdered sugar.
• Once the powdered sugar is ready, transfer it to a bowl and set it aside.
• You can use a regular aluminium bowl to make the cake.
• Crease the aluminium container with oil evenly. This is done to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan and it will also help to get the cake out of the pan more efficiently after baking.
• Now spread 1 tbsp of maida or all-purpose flour evenly all over the bowl and remove the excess.
• Now the container is ready to be used for baking.
• Before baking the cake, it is important to preheat the cooker. Place the cooker stand between the pressure cooker and the aluminium bowl. Then remove the gasket (rubber ring) and the whistle from the lid before closing the cooker with the lid.
• Next, preheat the cooker on a medium flame for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, take another mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of melted butter.
• Now add 1 cup of powdered sugar to it and beat well for 1-2 minutes.
• Add 3 eggs, one at a time and beat well until the egg yolk disappears.
• At last, whisk properly for around 10-15 minutes or till everything blends in well.
• After doing this, you will need to add 1 tbsp of vanilla essence and carry on with the whisking, though more vigorously now than earlier. Vanilla essence enhances the other flavours when you are baking a cake. In cake making recipes that consist of eggs, vanilla essence may remove the unpleasant egg smell from it.
• After beating well for around 10-12 minutes, it is time to add 1 and a 1/2 cup of maida or all-purpose flour gradually to the product.
• Add a pinch of salt and 1/2 tbsp of baking powder.
• Now, with the help of a spatula, gradually create folds in the mixture so that all the ingredients get evenly distributed.
• While mixing, you will come to understand the consistency of the batter. If the batter is too thick, add 1/4th cup of milk to it and mix well.
• Keep in mind not to overdo the mixing process after adding flour/maida, as it may lead to the sinking of the fruit cake. Adding acid into the batter in the form of curd, lemon juice or vinegar is a good way of getting a soft final product.
• Now, it is time to add the dry fruits. Add 1/4th cup of chopped raisins, the same quantity of chopped cashew nuts and equal in amount-chopped almonds. You can also add the same quantity of chopped cherries and 1/4th cup of petha to it.
• After adding all the dry fruits, you need to batter them gently.
• Pour this batter into a container until it is 1/3 full.
• Gently tap the container to ensure that no air bubbles form.
• Decorate the cake with some chopped nuts, raisins and cherries.
• It is now ready to be baked inside the pressure cooker. The cooker being preheated for 10 minutes is also ready for use.
• Carefully place the container inside the cooker, close the lid and cook for around 45 minutes on low flame.
• To check if the cake is ready after 45 minutes of baking, you can insert a knife or a toothpick through the cake and it should come out clean without any sticky batter on it.
• To achieve the desired firmness, bake for another 5 minutes. After 5 minutes of baking, the upper crust of the cake becomes golden and the consistency of the cake is soft and firm.
• Let the cake cool down and yet it should be warm before removing it from inside of the cooker.
• Demould the cake from the aluminium container with the help of a knife and gently remove it.
• The delicious fruit cake, baked inside the pressure cooker, is ready to be served.
The cake that has been flavoured with dry fruits comes out soft, fluffy and firm. The balanced sweetness of the dough compliments the flavours of the dry fruits, which in turn creates the perfect fruit cake. Sometimes you might not find the right end product despite following the directions correctly and this is where cake classes come in handy.
Image Source- Mr. Brown Bakery
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