Pound Cake is one of the easiest recipes when it comes to baking. And if you are baking a Classic Christmas Fruit Cake with Pound Cake Recipe, the job gets easier. When Baking is called as meticulous and precious science of measurement, Pound Cakes goes easily with the formula.  Pound Cake is the oldest way of Baking a Cake that it date backs to 1700s. Pound Cake the name itself holds the recipe within. Ok, why is it called a Pound Cake?  Let's get into the fact - a Pound of Flour, a Pound of Butter, a Pound of Sugar and a Pound of Egg(Ya, you heard it right, a pound of Egg).
     So much of measurement for a cake!  That's literally too much!  No, the fact is that the measurement for every ingredient remains the same in a Pound Cake.  So the ratio lies in your hand. Take it as a Cup or a Kilo keep the ratio same for all the ingredients.  It sounds pretty simple.  A simple Pound Cake Recipe can be taken as a baseline and converted into quite a lot of variations.  Convert it into Chocolatey Chocolate Cakes, Rich Fruit Cakes, Flavoured cakes like Vanilla/Strawberry/Pandan/Banana, Citrusy Cakes with Orange/Lemon... the sky is limit when it comes to the twist of flavours while baking a Pound Cake.  It is a foolproof recipe.



For more CAKE Recipes, Click here...

Recipe Type - Cake, Dessert
Difficulty - Medium
Yields - 2 Medium Sized Cakes
Author - SM

Preparation Time - 30 -45 Minutes
Soaking Time for Fruits - 24 Hours to 1 Month.
Cooking Time - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour(for 1 Cake)

HOW TO MAKE CLASSIC CHRISTMAS POUND CAKE - RICH FRUIT CAKE

INGREDIENTS :

Golden Raisins - 1/4 Cup
Dark Raisins - 1/2 Cup
Dates - 1/4 Cup
Currants/Prunes - 1/4 Cup
Candied Peels - 1/4 Cup
Glazed Cherries - 1/4 Cup
Tutti Frutti - 1/2 Cup
Dried Cranberries - 1/4 Cup
Wine/Rum/Brandy/Orange Juice - 1 - 1.5 Cups

For HOMEMADE TUTTI FRUTTI & CANDIED ORANGE PEELS, Click here...
Sugar - ½ Cup
Water - 1 Tbsp
Warm water - ¼ Cup

All-Purpose Flour - 2 Cups
Baking Powder - 1¼ Tsp
Baking Soda - ½ Tsp
Sugar - 2 Cups
Butter - 2 Cup
Eggs - 4 Nos.
Vanilla Extract - 2 Tspn
Strawberry Jam/Marmalade - 1 Tbspn
Orange/Lemon Zest - 1/4 Cup

• Spices like Cinnamon, Nutmeg, All Spice, Cloves etc., suits well for the purpose.
• I usually use Nutmeg and Cinnamon in my Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe
• Use any Nuts of your choice. ( I used Nuts like Cashewnuts, Walnuts & Blanched Almonds).
• Can soak finely chopped Nuts along with the dry fruits, but it tends to lose the crunchiness.
• It would be a good idea not to soak the Nuts.  
• Roast the Nuts and dust it up with the Flour used for baking the cake, just before adding it into the Cake Batter.

• Preheat the oven at 180 Degree Celsius for about 10 - 15 Minutes.
• Drain the soaked fruits & keep it aside. Retain the drained wine.
• Add 1-2 Tablespoons of All Purpose Flour over the soaked fruits and toss them up.
• Finely chop the Nuts, if using Almonds Blach the almonds, peel and then chop it.
• Toast the Nuts and keep it aside.
• Toss the Toasted Nuts with few teaspoons of flour and keep it aside.
• This avoids the Dry Fruits & Nuts sinking to the bottom of the cake while baking.
• Powder the Sugar and keep it aside.
• Powder the Spices along with few teaspoons of Sugar into a fine powder and keep it aside.
• Sift the Flour along with Baking Soda, Baking Powder and a pinch of Salt thrice.
• In a large bowl beat Butter until soft, add powdered sugar and beat until it's well combined and soft.
• Add Eggs one at a time into the butter mixture and beat well until soft and fluffy.
• Add Vanilla Essence, Jam, Caramel, Spice Powder and beat it well.
• Add the sifted flour in batches alternating it with the retained Wine/Liquor.
• Beat after each batch until the flour is well combined into the mix.
• Add soaked dry Fruits, Roasted Nuts along with some freshly grated Orange/Lemon zest to the cake batter.
• Grease the Cake Tins and dust them up with Flour.  Line the tins with Baking Paper.
• Pour the Cake Batter into the prepared tins and smoothen the tops.
• Bake the cakes in the preheated at the centre rack of the oven at 180 Degree Celsius for about 45 mins to 1 hour or until the skewers come out clean.
• Let cool in the Cake Tin on a rack.
• Remove the Christmas Pound Cake from the pan carefully and peel off the baking paper.
• Cut into the desired shape and store the Christmas Fruit Cake in airtight containers.
• Classic Christmas Pound Cake/Rich Fruit Cake stays good for a week or two at room temperature.

For Longer Shelf Life :

• Soak a clean cheese cloth in the wine/brandy/rum and wrap it around the Christmas Fruit Cake.
• Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate the Cake.  Can be refrigerated for up to 3 Months.
• Before serving remove them from the plastic wrap and drizzle some liqueur over it.

NOTES:

• Eggs and Butter should be at room temperature.
• Weigh the Eggs with the shell(before breaking it open).
• For 2 Cups of Flour, It equalled to 4 Eggs.
  
• I used Strawberry Jam for the purpose, can also use Orange Marmalade.
• Use a hearty amount of Lemon/Orange Zest for a refreshing Citrusy Note in the Christmas Fruit Cake.
• Can substitute White Sugar with Brown Sugar.
• If you feel 2 Cups of Sugar may yield a sweeter Fruit Cake. Adjust the amount of Sugar accordingly. 
• I have used 4 Cups of Fruits and Nuts in this Christmas Cake Recipe.
• A rich and good Fruit Cake would have ample of  Dry Fruits & Nuts( at least half the weight of the cake should be Dry Fruits & Nuts).
• Adjust the amount of Dry Fruit and Nuts according to the number of cakes you need to Bake.
• Use only 4-5 Tbspns of retained wine/liquor in the cake batter.  
• Use the remaining wine/liquor to brush over the top of the cake, if you are storing it for a long period of time.
• Adjust the baking time according to your oven settings.
• If you are baking a Light Fruit Cake with the same recipe, avoid adding caramel to the batter.