ORANGE & RUM GLAZED FRUIT CAKE ( with video!)

Iam a lover of a well-made Rich Fruit Cake. By that I mean, it should be moist,slice well without any crumbles, should be dark in colour and of course, taste good. For me, those criteria can be met only by a homemade Rich Fruit Cake. Bakeries have always disappointed me.Maybe I haven't tried a good bakery yet! :)

Every Christmas, I make the traditional Rich Fruit Cake for us. I thoroughly enjoy soaking the fruits,stirring it every now and then to make sure the liquor is evenly distributed. On the day of making the cake, I feel so happy. No other cake can make me that happy. That's the magic of Christmas and Christmas Cake!

This recipe is a fun twist to the traditional Rich Fruit Cake. It's light in colour but filled to the brim with flavour! I found this recipe from Mrs.Anita Issac when I was home after Zara was born. I trust her recipes because they never fail. They are always easy to make and are always crowd pleasing! I had to make some adjustments to the original recipe. I added an extra egg and 3/4 cup milk to make the batter lighter.

This cake is incredibly moist and slices like a dream! They stay fresh for over a week,at room temperature. I am sure it will stay fresh longer if stored in the refrigerator,which I haven't gotten a chance to try. One batch yields two nine inch round cakes. I kept one plain and frosted the other one. Both are equally good. The frosting gives it a bit more festive look.

The shiny glaze you see in the video will turn firm and translucent once cooled. That's how a glaze should be. You can eat the cake as soon as it is frosted or you can wait for the glaze to firm up a bit.Once it's firm, you can slice them up and even stack them in a container. They will not stick to each other.

ORANGE & RUM SOAKED FRUIT CAKE
Yields two 9 inch round cakes

Ingredients:
Cake:
500 grams salted butter
600 grams sugar (you can use powdered)*
6 eggs
500 grams flour
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1 batch soaked fruits (recipe given below)
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoon orange juice
2 tablespoon rum
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup milk

Orange glaze:
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon rum

Fruit soak:
550 grams mixed dry fruits,nuts & candied peels
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup dark rum

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the cake tins with parchment paper.
For the fruit soak, mix all the ingredients together and let it soak in the fridge in a covered container for a minumum of 3 days. Stir it once a day. I kept it for one week.

Detailed method for making the cake & glaze can be found in the video.

*Recipe updated on 13 December '17. I had initally mentioned the sugar to be 300 grams. It was a typo and is corrected now. Sorry!

We loved this cake! I think I will be making this cake along with my Rich Fruit cake for every Christmas from now on. It is incredibly tasty and colourful.I have a glass cake stand with a dome and these cake slices look so beautiful in it! Like little jewel studded cake slices.

I hope you are enjoying the videos and don't forget to share them if you do!