Some call them Christmas cakes, some prefer calling them fruit cakes – but honestly, a plum cake by any other name tastes the same. With Christmas around the corner, preparations for the ubiquitous plum cake keep everyone excited. From the ceremonial dry ingredient mixing ritual and soaking the nuts in alcohol to the actual baking, it’s a long and arduous journey for the plum cake. But do you know about the origins of plum cake? Read on to learn more about the Christmas cake and the one ingredient that makes it special. And if you’re looking for plum cake online delivery, visit us:
A Fruit Cake is a normal vanilla cake with fruits in it. Whereas a Plum Cake is made with dry fruits soaked in alcohol/orange juice for more than a day. A Fruit Cake’s colour is white to yellowish inside, whereas a Plum Cake’s colour is brown to dark brown inside.
The Origin of Plum Cakes in India
It is believed that the first plum cake was made in 1883 when an English planter brought back a rich plum cake from England and asked a local baker, Mambally Bapu, to prepare something similar. Bapu replaced yeast with a local toddy made using cashew apple and kadalipazham. The colonial officers had a tough time replicating these cakes as procuring quality flour, and yeast (baking powder wasn’t invented then) was challenging. Also, since we did not have a tradition of baking, cooks had to make their ovens by placing baking tins over sand heated at high temperatures and placing glowing charcoal on the baking tins.
The Indian version of the traditional English Christmas cake includes tutti frutti, with some even adding ghee to the cake. There’s another version called the Allahabadi cake, where petha (candied ash gourd) and a local marmalade called murabba are added.
The Origins of the Plum Cake
A bread-like version of the Christmas cake was made as early as the Roman times, where they mixed barley, honey, wine, and dried fruits and nuts to concoct an energy bar-like bread to fuel their soldiers. Legend has it that the Egyptians left fruitcakes in the tombs of their dead for sustenance during their afterlife journey.
The tradition of Christmas puddings dates back to medieval England when people abstained from meat, dairy, and sweets during Advent, i.e., the weeks leading to Christmas. On Christmas Eve, a thick porridge called plum pottage or porridge was cooked using oats, beef, spices, and dried fruits. A pudding version of this later appeared during the Tudor era using suet, breadcrumbs, flour, dried fruits, honey, milk, and eggs and was called plum pudding.
Somewhere around the 16th century, oatmeal came to be replaced with flour, and people began to bake cakes, adding sugar (thanks to colonisation), milk, candied fruits, spices, and dried fruits and nuts. Of course, plum puddings are still baked and are a little different from fruitcakes/Christmas cakes.
Until the late 19th century, Christmas cakes were baked for the 12th night celebrations on the 5th of January. When Queen Victoria banned 12th night celebrations, confectioners began selling their cakes on Christmas cake after decorating them with icing. It was also around this time that Victorian cooks decorated their cakes with marzipans and royal icing to display wealth and opulence.
The modern version of these cakes is decadent, rich in dried fruits and spices, and sometimes coated in marzipan and icing.
Christmas plum cake recipe with rum | Easy rich fruit cake recipe | SONALI’S KITCHEN
FAQ
Is plum cake a Christmas cake?
What is another name for plum cake?
What is Christmas cake also known as?
What’s the difference between plum pudding and Christmas cake?
What is the difference between fruit cake and plum cake?
Fruit Cake can be made with or without soaking dry fruits, it is basically a vanilla flavored fruit cake. A fruit cake is light brown in color. Plum Cake is made by soaking or boiling dry fruits and is deep brown in color.Caramel syrup is added to plum cake for a great flavor and color. 4.How will I know if my plum cake is done?
Is prune a type of dried plum?
There are some types of plums in the world and it was from a French variety that the dried plum emerged. The plum has a firm pulp and a high sugar and acidity content, which allows the fruits to be dried with their cores intact, without fermentation. To produce prunes, they are left on the tree until they are fully ripe. Only then are they harvested and placed to dry between 15 and 24 hours under strictly controlled conditions. Prunes lose so much water in this process that to produce half a kilo of prunes, 1. 5 to 2 kilos of fresh prunes are needed. In the last stage, the plums are bathed in hot water to increase their moisture content and only then are they packaged for consumption.
What is a plum cake?
A common misunderstanding of the cake going by its name is it being made of the fruit Plum, but actually it refers to its plumped ingredients; the dry fruits which swell up over its soaking period. Funny, isn’t it? The highlight of this cake is the aroma of the spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg), and the alcohol soaked fruits.
Is plum cake a good gift for Christmas?
Plum Cake is a soft moist delicious irresistible treat for Christmas that you can try! Christmas is round the corner and this year again I wanted to bake this Easy Plum Cake. Plum Cake is one of the best edible gifts that you can send across your loved ones.