Ingredients:

• Rum – 1/4 bottle
• Cherries – 250 g
• Raisins- 250 g
• Ginger – 250 g
• Tutti-Frutti – 250 g
• Dates – 250 g
• Apple, Orange peels – 250 g
• Butter – 1.5 kgs
• Sugar – 1.5 kgs
• Flour – 1.75 kgs
• Egg – 2 dozen
• Baking powder – 3 tsps
• Vanilla essence – 2 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• For cake masala: Shahi Jeera 10 g,
• Nutmeg – 1/2, Cinnamon – 10 g, Cardamom – 10g
• For caramel: 100 g – Sugar
• Some water

Method:

1. Prep work begins one (even six) month in advance:
2. Stone the raisins and dates. Cut them along with the other fruits and peels into small pieces.
3. Soak everything in rum, along with the cake masala. Let it marinate until it is time for baking, which may be a couple of days before Christmas.
4. To prepare the caramel:
5. Take sugar, add 1/2 cup water and place it on the flame. When the sugar turns brown, keep adding a little water a few times until it gets a rich dark brown colour.
6. Take off the flame and mix in the cake mixture.
7. To prepare the cake tray:
8. Grease the base and sides of the tray with butter.
9. Sprinkle and dust with flour to cover the greased sides and base, by holding the tray and turning it around.
10. To prepare the cake mix:
11. Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
12. Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs.
13. Add one yolk at a time to the butter-cream and whip till well blended.
14. Beat the egg whites stiff and keep aside.
15. Sieve the baking powder, salt and flour together.
16. Flour the fruit mixture slightly (to avoid sinking). Add this to the cake mixture.
17. Gently fold in the flour, vanilla essence and egg whites. Mix in the caramel.
18. Add two tbsps of warm milk, if necessary, to get a dropping consistency.
19. To bake:
20. Pour the mixture into the greased cake baking trays.
21. Bake at 350 degrees F in a moderate oven for about 1 hour, till the cake is done.

Recipe courtesy of Narcise Fernandes