Christmas Apricot Coconut Cake

Unusual Apricot Coconut 

I am always on the prowl for any recipe that includes Apricots.  This year I came across an unusual combination of Apricot and Coconut.  Since I've never tried this before, I decided to experiment and the result was a melt in the mouth Unusual Christmas Apricot Coconut Cake.  Just the thing for party time and with a glass of Apricot Liqueur.

The Recipe:

250 gms butter; 2 cups brown sugar; 3 cups self raising flour; 5 large eggs; 2 cups chopped, dried apricots; 1 cup desiccated coconut; 1/2 cup Apricot liqueur; 2 tsp vanilla essence; 1 dsp desiccated coconut for sprinkling on top.

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Cream with wooden spoon till glossy.  Pour into two  greased  and lined 9 inch square pans or into cup cake cases (I made a large cake and some cup cakes too) and bake at 175 degrees Centigrade for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted in centre comes out clean.  Cool and sprinkle desiccated coconut on top just before serving.  Spend the evening nibbling this Unusual Apricot Coconut Cake and sipping home made Apricot Liqueur.  

Christmas Wholemeal Rich Plum Cake

Rich Plum Cake

Plum Cake at Christmas brings back fond memories of carol singing, a house full of guests and us children meticulously picking the plums out, one by one from the Nilgiris  Rich Plum Cake gifted to my Dad every Christmas by friends and colleagues.  That Plum Cake was oh so delicious and I can still smell it mixed with the aroma of tangerines, spices, kal kals, rose cookies and other treats my Mum would conjure up for us every Christmas.  This year, I made it for an elderly friend and saved a few pieces for the two of us. This takes me back in time and to the fun we had decades ago.

The Recipe:

2 cups wholemeal flour; 3 cups mixed (black and golden raisins) plums; 1 cup almond meal; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/4 cup ginger juice- smash a one inch piece of ginger, add 1/2 cup water and boil till reduced to 1/4 cup; 4 large eggs; 1 cup brown sugar; 250 gms salted butter; 2 tsp vanilla essence; 1 tsp mixed spice powder (I used cloves, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon in equal quantities).

Sieve the flour, spice powder, baking powder and baking soda together three times.  Keep aside in a large bowl.  Add the almond meal and the plums and mix well till all the plums are coated evenly.  This will help to distribute the plums throughout the cake and prevent them from sinking to the bottom.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.  Add the eggs, one by one and mix well.  Then add the vanilla essence and give the mixture a whirl.  Gently fold in the flour, almond meal  and plum mixture spoon by spoon until everything is used up.  Pour in the cooled ginger juice and mix really well.  The batter should be of a dropping consistency.  Pour into 2 x 9 inch greased and lined  square cake pans and bake in a preheated oven at 175 Centigrade for 40 minutes or until skewer inserted in pan comes out clean.  Cool, slice and serve with red wine.

Wholemeal Christmas Cake

Sugarless Wholemeal Christmas Cake 

This is a Christmas Cake with a difference.  Many older people prefer not to eat sugary treats, so I experimented a few times before coming up with this recipe.  I tested it with various people and got a very good feedback.  So here is my recipe for a Sugarless Wholemeal Christmas Cake for those who wish to make it for loved ones this year.

The Recipe:

2 cups wholemeal flour; 3 2/3 cups mixed, dried, sugarless fruits like papaya, pineapple, grated ginger, raisins,orange/lemon zest and so on (use your imagination and mix and match the quantities); 150 gms almond meal; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp mixed spice; 1 tsp cinnamon; 2 tbsp dark cocoa for the colour; 4 large eggs; 250 gms butter; 2 tsp vanilla essence and 6 tbsp fresh grapefruit juice.

9 inch circular baking pan x 2; stencil of Christmas  figures like stars, angels, doves etc; pink sugar or icing sugar

Preheat oven at 180 Centigrade and keep hot.  Place all the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until glazed.  Pour into well greased circular 9 inch pans and bake 40 minutes or until  skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Cool thoroughly.  Next day un mould cake onto a board, right side up.  Place stencil in the centre of the cake and press firmly down.  Sprinkle the pink sugar all over.  Gently lift up the stencil and admire your exquisite design.  Photograph for posterity before you gift it to an appreciative friend.  Your house will smell like a spice garden and each time you open the container, you will be tempted to take a bite.