Christmas 2024: Know About The History And Origin Of Decadent Plum Cakes; Recipe Inside

Every festival has its special dishes and the celebrations are incomplete without gorging on these specialities. Do you know what delicacies are famous for Christmas celebrations? Baked cakes, gingerbread, cookies, fruitcakes, and plum cakes are only some of the many Christmas-special-food spread and today we are sharing all about everyone’s favourite “Plum Cakes”. Do you know the history of these cakes? If not, read on….

Here’s All You Need To Know About The History Of Plum Cakes

The recipe and the process of baking delicious cakes began from porridge and pudding many centuries ago. It is said that this cake actually came from medieval England. During that time, people used to follow the tradition of fasting for a certain period of time before Christmas. They fasted and observed abstinence from indulgence for an interesting reason. People back then did not enjoy these so that they could prepare their bodies for the gala Christmas season where they could eat, rather overeat all the special dishes.

According to the traditions back in medieval England, people ate a delish porridge on Christmas Eve to get ready for the gastronomical affair on the day of celebrations. It is said that this rich porridge was actually made with oats, honey, plums, spices, and different dried fruits. The name of this porridge was “Grandfather of the Christmas”.

Also read: From Fruitcake To Yule Log, 12 Christmas Cake Recipes You Need To Try This Holiday Season

The Story Is Quite Long!!!

As time passed, people started adding many ingredients to the porridge and changed the traditional recipe a bit. Slowly, ingredients such as butter, eggs, and flour were added to the mix. Then the mixture was poured into a piece of muslin cloth and put inside boiling water for a long time. It stayed like that until the mixture formed a dense cake-like shape. And people who had ovens baked the mixture in ovens.

The stories are centuries old and the reason behind the name “plum cakes” is still very different. Some say that the name came because of the usage of loads of dried fruits. And dried fruits were known as plums back then in England. Another theory suggests that dried plums were the primary ingredient of the pudding. Hence, the name Plum Cakes.

Also read: From Plum Cakes To Rum Balls; 6 Best Places In Bangalore For Christmas Goodies

Here’s A Recipe To Bake Delish Plum Cakes At Home

One of the many memorable and special elements to amp up celebrations is yummy food and desserts. And how can we even think about setting up a table for a Christmas feast without a soft plum cake? Ditch store-bought ones this year and bake this deliciousness at home. Do not worry if you are a beginner. There is enough time to hone your baking skills before Christmas and our recipe is quite simple too. All you need to do is follow the steps and ingredients’ measurements carefully.

Ingredients: 

• Cashew nuts
• Almonds
• Apricots
• Cranberries
• Raisins
• Candied orange peels
• Walnuts
• Tutti frutti
• Dried plum
• Rum of your choice
• Orange choice (to replace alcohol)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 60 g unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup yoghurt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 tsp clove powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1/4 tsp dried ginger
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

For this recipe, we will not use eggs. Vegans and vegetarians can indulge in this eggless decadent treat without worrying.

Follow these steps:

• 3-4 days before baking the cake, soak your favourite dry fruits and plums in rum and store them in an airtight glass container.
• If you plan to replace rum with orange juice, you can simply add orange juice to a pan and pour all dry fruits and plums. Cook these for a few minutes on a low flame. Once all ingredients soak up the juice well, turn off the gas.
• Next, prepare the cake batter by making a mixture of yoghurt, oil, brown sugar, and melted butter.
• Take a large mixing bowl and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder, clove powder,
• nutmeg powder, and dried ginger.
• Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk everything gently.
• Next, add lemon juice, honey, orange zest, vanilla essence, and soaked dry fruits and plums.
• Pour the batter on a cake mould and bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for at least an hour.

Once baked well, cool down the plum cake, cut it into pieces and enjoy!

Cover Image Courtesy: Pixabay