Christmas 2022: Easy Rum Cake recipe, with and without eggs - check steps

The traditional British-style Christmas fruit cake is loaded with alcohol-soaked dry fruits and is hugely popular in India too. So follow these steps and whip up a delicious rum cake this festive season.

Enjoy delicious rum cake this Christmas (Pic: Pixabay; representational purposes)

Christmas 2022: It's the season to be merry and jolly and eat plenty of cakes! Christmas is around the corner, as is new year's eve and the air is cold and crisp. The Christmas fruit cake, loaded with dry fruits soaked in rum adds warmth to chilly days of winter and is an immense favourite at this time of the year. So if you are planning to bake yourself some special cake for this festive season, Sanchit Rasalkar, head chef and food stylist, brings to you amazing recipes for your Christmas fruit cake, which we often refer to as rum cake. He shares with Zee News Digital both a with-egg and eggless version of the Christmas rum cake. And Chef Sanchit Rasalkar has a tip, for both eggless and with-egg ones: The longer it sits, the better the flavour of the cake will be. So here's how to make the cakes.

Christmas fruit cake recipe (or rum cake) - with egg

Ingredients:

For soaking

• 700 grams mixed dried fruits (sultanas, raisins, blackcurrants)
• 50 grams of glazed red cherries, sliced
• 50 grams of glazed green cherries, sliced
• 15 grams of orange zest
• 200 ml rum
• 50 ml orange juice

For baking

• 110 grams pecans or walnuts, chopped
• 110 grams cashews, chopped
• 285 grams refined flour
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice powder (cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, cloves powder, ginger powder, all spice powder)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 230 grams unsalted butter, softened
• 230 grams of light brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons orange juice (add as required when you feel the batter is too dry)

Method:

1. In a big bowl or a container (preferably with a lid), add the mixed dried fruits, glazed cherries, orange zest, orange juice, and rum. Soak overnight or even up to 1 week, at a room temperature.
2. For baking: Preheat the oven at 140°C.
3. Chop roughly the pecans or walnuts and cashews, and set aside.
4. Strain the soaked mixed dried fruits and cherries. Reserve the liquid, i.e the rum
5. Sift all the dry ingredients.
6. In a big mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. With a hand blender, whip the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes or until it becomes creamy, fluffy, and pale.
7. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until well incorporated. 
8. Add molasses, vanilla extract, and half the orange juice. (the remaining orange juice, add only if necessary like if the batter is too dry after adding the dry ingredients)
9. Add the sifted dry ingredients, in 2-3 batches. Use low speed to avoid over-mixing. Stop mixing as soon as the flour disappears. Do not over-mix. (Add another tablespoon of orange juice if needed.)
10. Add in the strained mixed dried fruits and chopped nuts, and mix well.
11. Pour the prepared batter into an 8-inch pan, greased and lined with parchment paper.
12. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper with a hole in the middle for peeping purposes. This is to prevent the cake top from burning and overcooked. Place these papers right on top of the cake.
13. Bake in preheated oven for about 2 to 3 hours. Make sure you put the cake on the lower rack.
14. Remove and let the cake cool for 20-30 minutes. Randomly poke holes in the cake using a skewer.
15. Remove the cake from the cake tin, when the cake is still a little warm, brush the cake with the reserved rum. 
16. Wrap the cake with cling film, make sure you wrap it tight to keep moisture in the cake. Let it sit at room temperature overnight. (use more rum if needed)
17. Cut and serve the cake as and when required.

Christmas fruit cake (or rum cake) recipe - without egg

Ingredients:

For soaking:

• 700 grams mixed dried fruits (sultanas, raisins, blackcurrants)
• 50 grams of glazed red cherries, sliced
• 50 grams of glazed green cherries, sliced
• 15 grams of orange zest
• 200 ml rum
• 50 ml orange juice

For baking:

• 110 grams pecans or walnuts, chopped
• 110 grams cashews, chopped
• 285 grams of refined flour
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice powder (cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, cloves powder, ginger powder, all spice powder)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 230 grams of unsalted butter, softened
• 230 grams of light brown sugar
• 185 grams yogurt
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons orange juice (add as required when you feel the batter is too dry)

Method:

1. In a big bowl or a container (preferably with a lid), add the mixed dried fruits, glazed cherries, orange zest, orange juice, and rum. Soak overnight or even up to 1 week, at room temperature.
2. For baking: Preheat the oven to 140°C.
3. Chop roughly the pecans or walnuts and cashews, and set aside.
4. Strain the soaked mixed dry fruits and cherries. Reserve the liquid, i.e the rum
5. Sift all the dry ingredients.
6. In a big mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. With a hand blender, whip the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes or until it becomes creamy, fluffy and pale.
7. Add the yogurt - you may add all at one go. Mix until well incorporated.
8. Add molasses, vanilla extract and half the orange juice. (the remaining orange juice, add only if necessary like if the batter is too dry after adding dry ingredients)
9. Add the sifted dry ingredients, in 2-3 batches. Use low speed to avoid over-mixing. Stop mixing as soon as the flour disappears. Do not over-mix. (Add another tablespoon of orange juice if needed)
10. Add in the strained mixed dried fruits and the chopped nuts.
11. Pour the prepared batter into an 8-inch pan, greased and lined with parchment paper.
12. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper with a hole in the middle for peeping purposes. This is to prevent the cake top from burning and overcooked. Place these papers right on top of the cake.
13. Bake in preheated oven for about 2 to 3 hours. Make sure you put the cake on the lower rack.
14. Remove and let the cake cool for 20-30 minutes. Randomly poke holes in the cake using a skewer.
15. Remove the cake from the cake tin, when the cake is still a little warm, brush the cake with the reserved rum.
16. Wrap the cake with cling film, make sure you wrap it tight to keep moisture in the cake. Let it sit at room temperature overnight. (use more rum if needed)
17. Cut and serve the cake as and when required.