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Spiced with love and laughter
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Countdown to Christmas has begun with cake mixing ceremonies in city hotels. At the Taj Malabar it was a fun-food affair
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CAKED WITH LOVE Getting ready for Xmas festivities with the traditional plum cake
What a perfect way to welcome the much-awaited festive season: lots of good spirits, choicest of minced fruit and the headiest of aromatic spices. Yes, it's that time of the year again at the Taj Malabar, time for `The cake mixing ceremony'. Chef Amit Ghosh and F&B manager Melvyn Saldanha invited all the departments, guests and everybody around to play `chef ' and lend a hand in the most exciting moment of the year, in the kitchen.
More than fifty pairs of gloved hands poured in all the liquor, love and laughter, they could get. This traditional yet unusual ceremony lasts only thirty minutes but the memories last longer. "When the chef came and invited us, we thought it was a demonstration of making cake," said Mr. and Mrs McDonald of Leicester, England, guests at the hotel. "But we were surprised and amused when we saw the mounds of fruits and nuts on the huge tray," they added in excitement. More and more guests were walking in and were clueless but eager to join the party. All the staff and trainees at the Taj seemed pretty enthused about this event, too.
Cake mix
The blend consisted of dry fruits like raisins, black currants, prunes, glazed dates, cherries and candied orange and lemon rind and of course cashews, pistachios and almonds. Then came the part that everybody liked best - pouring in the liquor. Large quantities of liquor, fresh juices like orange, grape and lime and also jars of honey were generously added to soak all the mixture. Freshly ground spices like nutmeg, cinnamon cardamom, cloves and mace were added and the mixture was tossed till all the fruits and nuts were well coated. This would soon be emptied into large vat like containers and stored away till just a couple of days before Christmas, with occasional stirring, to ensure the nuts soak till they are swollen.
As the laughter faded, the room was getting headier with the spirits lingering in the air. The guests were then ushered in to the adjoining tearoom to refresh their senses with tea and savouries. "This is so much fun. I wish I could stay back for a piece of this cake! We have never experienced something like this before. Definitely one of the most memorable experiences of my life," said Mr. McDonald, sipping his tea.
Coming back to our own times. "This religiously followed ritual marks the beginning of a very busy year for the Baking and Confectionery department," says chef Amit Ghosh, who has been with the Taj hotels, for two decades. "Many traditional recipes call for beef suet to be added, which makes the cake lighter, but we don't use it here, keeping in mind the beliefs and sentiments of our consumers". He adds, "We never compromise when it comes to the quality of the ingredients. Only the best is used which results in rich, matured plum cakes. When good liquors are added, it always imparts fine aroma while baking, which is also a sign of matured flavours. Every moment of baking this cake is so much pleasure, right from the first step of pouring in the wine, to stirring it, then baking it, and to seeing our customers relishing it."
Fruitful start
Dating back to the 17th century in Europe, cake mixing ceremony marked the arrival of the harvest season.
During this time lots of fruits and nuts were harvested and prepared to go into the making of the traditional plum cake.
This was saved till the next harvest, with the hope that it would bring yet another fruitful year.
The sugar content of the liquor and the fruit juices helped preserve all the ingredients. Also, for the cold Christmassy weather the plum cake was the perfect energy food.
England loved this fruitcake so much, that no tea was complete without a slice of the rich cake.
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were laws restricting the use of plum cakes for Christmas and weddings.
DIPTI DESAI
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