Kolkata Style Christmas Fruitcake

I know it’s not a good time to post the recipe of a Christmas Cake in the month of January. I didn’t have a plan either, but last month when I posted some snaps of this cake on my Facebook profile, some of my friends requested to post the recipe. Couldn’t ignore them and so started writing even though it’s bit late. Hope you will enjoy.

Calcutta may now be known as Kolkata, but the heart of this city still celebrates the cosmopolitan culture and festivals of all religions. Because of the colonial influence and presence of significant Anglo-Indian population, Christmas has become one of major festivals in the city of joy. People from different faiths and ethnicities join together to celebrate Christmas in Kolkata. The places like Park Street, Bow Barrack and New Market are adorned with lights, trees and Sliver bells. In every house, ladies will try to prepare traditional Christmas cakes in varied flavors of plum, walnut, madeira and fruit. In our childhood days we used to buy these special fruitcakes from our favorite shops. This year I wanted to recreate the same taste, rich, moist, bursting with flavors at each bite. Since the rich fruit cake, in particular, remains synonymous with Kolkata’s Christmas celebrations, I named this recipe Kolkata style Fruit Cake.

Every year, I try one after another recipe to recreate Christmas Cakes and posted several of them in last two years. Though we get hundreds different types of Cakes in USA, we still miss the Kolkata Style Fruit Cake here. So this year I have been in search of a perfect Fruit Cake, that has to be just like the same one we used to have back home during this Christmas time. Let’s come to the recipe.

Kolkata Style Christmas Fruit Cake 

Ingredients :

Unsalted butter : 1 stick and 1/2 stick, at room temperature 

Brown Sugar : 1 cup and 1/2 cup 

Eggs : 3

Milk: 1/4 cup

vanilla extract : 1 teaspoon 

All purpose flour : 2 cups

Salt : a pinch

Baking Powder : 1 teaspoon

Dried Cranberries : 1 cup

Black Raisins : 1 cup 

Tutti Fruity : 1 cup 

Rum : 1/4 cup ( optional )

Method :

1. Take cranberries, tutti fruity and raisins in a bowl and add Rum to it. Cover and let it soak for overnight. Give stirs a few time. 

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C. Grease a round pan. 

3. Take the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and mix it. 

4. Take a mixing bowl, add butter and the sugar and beat it until it becomes fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat again. Add milk and mix it. Add vanilla extract to the mixture and stir to mix. 

5. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. 

6. Add the fruits and gently fold in. 

7. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for around 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. 

8. Remove the cake from oven and let it cool down on a wire rack. once it at room temperature remove it from the pan and dust with powdered sugar.

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