Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Soak it up!
|
If you haven’t yet macerated soaked your fruit for those Christmas cakes and plum puddings it’s still not late
|
It’s less than month before Christmas, but the countdown and festivities have begun. Once the Thanksgiving festivities have died down and all the turkey and pumpkin pie leftovers eaten, preparations for Christmas baking begin.
An important feature, almost considered sacrosanct in some homes, is the fruitcake or the plum cake or the rich Christmas cake. But many people shun away from baking their own because of the tedious process involved, not withstanding the time involves in macerating the fruit and nuts in advance and sourcing the long list of ingredients.
Hotels and bakeries begin their cake making process with a cake mixing ceremony that involves weighing the fruit and soaking it in alcohol for a duration long enough to give the cake a rich taste and flavour.
Pastry Chef Muthu of Novotel who has soaked 200 kilos of fruit for this year, which includes raisins, blackcurrants, cashew nuts, apricots and figs, explains why and how the fruit mixing is done, “Fruit-mixing is done two months prior to the actual festival and the preparation of cakes. Soaking of selected fruits in liquor helps the fruits to macerate and develop flavours in next two months like how wine is aged.” The chef used 40 litres of liquor for 200 kilos of fruit.
Pastry Chef Amit of the ITC Kakatiya believes that Christmas isn’t complete without the fruit cake. “Soaking the fruit in alcohol that will eventually be used in mince pies and fruit cake helps add flavour to the baking.
Some people even like to soak the fruit six months in advance and bake their cakes a month before the festival, keeping it wrapped up. This helps the cake mature and develop its flavour,” he explains.
Why the plum cake is called so?
Few hundred years ago present day raisins were called plums and the cakes made with them were called as plum cakes.
Also in earlier days transport was by horse drawn carriage, so if cakes were to be transported from one city to another and if they needed to stay moist and juicy and needed a cover.
That was the reason why plum cake with marzipan and royal icing came into practice which fulfilled this need.
RENUKA VIJAY KUMAR
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
