Plum Cake - Christmas Fruit Cake - (Alcohol Free)

Ingredients

• All purpose flour - 1 cup and 2 tablespoons
• Powdered Sugar - 1 cup
• Butter - 1 cup
• Eggs - 2
• Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Spice Powder -(
• Powdered Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
• Powdered Nutmeg - 1/4 teaspoon
• Powdered Cloves - 1/4 teaspoon
• Dry ginger powder - 1/4 teaspoon)
• Nuts - (cashew nuts, almonds,walnuts) - 1/2 cup
• Dried Fruits(Dates,golden raisins,black raisins, candied orange peels)- 1 cup
• Grape Juice - 1/4 cup
• Orange Juice - 1/4 cup 

For Caramel:

• Granulated sugar  - 1/2 cup
• water - 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon

Preparation

Step 1:

• Chop the dried fruits and soak them in the orange juice and grape juice mixture for 2  days.
• Use an airtight container and shake the container few times a day.

Step 2:

• Chop the nuts and keep them ready. This step can be done few days before.

Step 3:

• Heat a heavy bottomed vessel and take the 1/2 cup of sugar with one tablespoon of water.
• Make sure all the sugar is moist with water. 
• Keep the heat in medium high. 
• Do not stir the sugar.If required, just swirl the pan once or twice.
• Leave it on till it becomes cherry wood colour. 
• Once it turns to the cherry wood color, take it out of the stove and add 1/2 cup water to it slowly. You might have to do it over the kitchen sink, and very carefully, as it will splash.
• Mix it and keep it aside for cooling.

Step 4:

• Pre heat the oven to 350 degree F / 180 degree C.
• This recipe makes one 9 inch round cake or a 9 x 11 inch loaf.
• Butter the cake pan and line it with a wax paper or a parchment paper in the bottom and on the sides.
• Sift together the flour,baking powder and spice powders and mix them well.Keep it aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl with a hand blender till it is creamy.It will take around 3 minutes.
• Add eggs one by one and beat it for a minute after each egg.
• Pour in the caramel and beat it again for a minute.
• Add the flour and fold it gently till combined.
• Drain the soaked dry fruits and mix them with 2 tablespoons of flour.Add the chopped nuts to it.
• Reserve quarter of this mixture and fold in the remaining gently into the batter.
• Transfer the batter to the cake pan.
• Take the reserved dry fruits and sprinkle them on top and slightly level it with a flattened knife or a spatula.
• Bake it for around 50 minutes and check for doneness. A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean. If not, bake it again for 10 more minutes.If you see that the cake is browning too much on the top, close it with a foil and return it to the oven.
• Let it cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes.
• Then, remove from the cake pan and let it cool completely.
• Once cooled completely, wrap up in a wax paper and then in an aluminum foil tightly for storing it. 
• Keep the cake at least for one day before cutting it.

Note:
I used 1/4 cup each of tropicana 100% orange juice and grape juice as this is alcohol free version. Normally good quality red wine or rum is used.