Maple Rum Fruitcake
Yes, I am actually posting a fruitcake recipe after Christmas, that too a fruitcake recipe adapted from the Bengali Five Spice Chronicles, explicitly billed as a Christmas cake. It is what I call a maple rum fruitcake. In addition to being a signature recipe that greets every shopper in Kolkata during Christmas, it travels well. I usually make this with molasses but this version uses maple syrup.
The Story Behind the Maple Rum Fruitcake.
A well-made fruitcake also travels well. So this particular one is being made as a gift for my mother. Another travel friendly cake, if you are looking for one is this chocolate almond cake.
Molases is usually readily around my pantry along with other non-white sweeteners. Today it turns out the last batch was used for a winter recipe by my daughter. This use of molasses is a part of a writing and measurement contest. This in turn won her a 10-dollar gift certificate from Barnes and Nobles that she gifted to me. So she is forgiven!
The idea of the writing exercise was pretty interesting, since they had to come up with a recipe, write it, try to cook from it, re-write it with changes and re-test. This is done as an exercise in both writing and testing out steps for precision.
About the Kolkata Style Fruitcake
The lighter version that has evolved from the accidental lack of molasses is even more likely to feature on table for days in and around Christmas.
This cake is of Anglo India origin, a culinary heritage with British India roots. This interesting tradition of cooking can be explored further in this blog.
The essence of the cake does rest in soaking the fruit for a while in the rum, which in turn cures the cake. I will assure this, if you are averse to fruitcakes because you feel that they are dry and flavorless, this will change your mind.
My recipe for an Anglo-Indian Maple Rum Fruitcake
Ingredients
- 1 cup raisins or a mixture of raisins and currants
- 1 cup chopped candied citrus peel
- 1/2 cup chopped cherries
- 1 cup dark spiced rum (I use Captain Morgan's)
- 2 cups all-purpose white flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1/2 cup dark maple syrup
- 3 eggs, well-beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Place all the fruits in a non-reactive bowl. Add the rum.
- Cover and set aside for at least 2 days,or for best flavor, for a month.
- Grease an 8-inch to 10-inch loaf pan and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Drain the fruit when you are ready to use and reserve the soaking liquor.
- Sift together the flour and the baking powder.
- Sprinkle about a ¼ cup of the flour mixture over the drained fruit and toss to coat.
- Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
- Stir in the molasses and maple sugar.
- Add the beaten eggs to the mixture and beat to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in batches,alternating with the orange juice, and beat until well combined.
- Beat in the vanilla almond extracts.
- Stir in the shredded coconut.
- Stir in the floured fruit.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool for about 30 minutes
- Invert the cake onto a plate and pour the reserved soaking liquor over it. Allow to sit to absorb the liquor.
- This cake can be served warm or alternately wrapped and stored and served when needed.
Notes
Recipe from The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles, Hippocrene (2012)
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