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#UnwrapChristmas with Christmas Cake

It only takes a spark to get the fire going.
And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.
That’s how it is with God’s love,
Once you have experienced it
You want to sing
You feel like spring
You want to pass it on…

A few of us gathered together for Secret Santa tidings, divided by names and united through a common Christmas spirit of sharing. And it is in this spirit that we bring this blog chain to you. I am celebrating the spirit of Christmas with the #UnwrapChristmas blogpost chain.

The arrival of Christmas is heralded by the smells of exotic spices, nuts and goodies in the oven. Yes, the most joyous and magical time of the year is synonymous with the festive cakes and bakes. I was introduced to Christmas baking as a kid by our Christian friends who used to bake Spiced Gingerbread Loaf and Rum Cake during this time. I remember how their home used to smell of candied peel, dried fruit and whiskey/rum.

Since, the last couple of years, I have been baking different loafs and cakes for Christmas, so I thought of sharing the recipe of my favourite Christmas Cake with you here. Christmas cakes are usually rum-oozing bakes with fruits and nuts soaked in the liquor for at least a month, but here is a Christmas Cake with rum/whiskey soaking indulgence in a jiffy.

Christmas Cake

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup chopped dates
  • 2 tbsp brandy
  • 11/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 11/2 baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 150g butter, chopped
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped candied fruits
  • 1/2 cup blanched almonds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease 2 (25cm x 8cm) bar pans, line bases with baking paper.

2. Combine raisins, dates and brandy, let them stand for 30 minutes.

3. Place sifted dry ingredients, butter and sugar in food processor, process until combined. Add eggs and condensed milk, process to combine.

4. Fold dry-fruit mixture and dark chocolate chips into cake mixture, spoon mixture into prepared bar pans. Top with combined candied fruits and almonds. Bake for 60 minutes or till the skewer comes out clean. Cool in pan before turning out.

5. Drizzle some glaze over it, I prefer without it though.

Go on and enjoy this  Christmas cake which is rich and spicy and bursting with boozy fruit.

May your heart and home be filled with all of the joys the festive season brings. Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

This is my third consecutive year of writing for #UnwrapChristmas blog chain. My  earlier posts are

#UnwrapChristmas with Secret Santee!

#UnwrapChristmas Doing a Little Something Extra

I now invite Esha Mookerjee-Dutta to carry forth the Christmas cheer.

Secret Santa 2017


25 Responses

  1. What a lovely recipe Shilpa! The photo is just amazingly mouth-watering too! I made my cake with wine this year but traditional recipe demands rum or brandy. Love and hugs to you this festive season!

  2. Merry Christmas, dear Shilpa! I loved the delicious recipe you shared today. Will surely try it out someday, for sure. Much love, and best wishes for this festive season!May the glad tidings be with you and your loved ones today and always.

  3. Christmas without Christmas Cake is like… NO CHRISTMAS ! Thank you for starting the blog chain with such yum-ness !

    Also merry christmas and a very happy new year Shilpa 🙂

  4. Yumm! Loved the recipe, Shilpa! And, will definitely try it out some day. Thank you so much for sharing! <3
    Wishing you loads of happiness and peace this festive season!

  5. I had thought of reading your post right in the morning Shilpa. Some Santas however decided to pay us surprise visit and I got busy unwrapping the gifts they brought for us! Now that unwrapping is over, I was at the door step of your blog post. The sweet aroma of the cake that you have baked welcomed me.
    Though I am a very average cook, I am sure going to try this one!

  6. Happy Christmas shilpa, glad for this day and its one of my favorite festival and season too… very interesting to read this post, thanks for sharing, have been tasting different flavors of cake the whole day:) thank you for sharing.

  7. I have my own version of this which I developed after I ended up at a cake mixing bash for a five star hotel in Delhi where they soak it all for 2 months! Mine turns out pretty amazing too and I make it almost all year around; my friends have dubbed it my boozy cake 😉

    Wish you a very fulfilling and happy 2018 ahead Shilpa; I have loved connecting with you this year and hope to carry it forward!! Cheers

  8. I developed after I ended up at a cake mixing bash for a five-star hotel in Delhi where they soak it all for 3 months. I must confess I’m not a fan of the traditional Christmas cake because I don’t like raisins. I have loved connecting with you this year and hope to carry it forward. Merry Christmas and a very happy new year to you,

  9. I developed after I ended up at a cake mixing bash for a five-star hotel in Delhi where they soak it all for 3 months. I must confess I’m not a fan of the traditional Christmas cake because I don’t like raisins. I have loved connecting with you this year and hope to carry it forward. Merry Christmas and a very happy new year to you,

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