Egg-free Fruit And Nut Cake
There used to be a very small canteen in my school which sold snacks and tiffin items. As kids, it would make our entire day if we had the opportunity to go to the canteen. But those days (I’m talking in the 80s!) there was no concept of pocket money, especially in middle class families like mine. So once in 2 or 3 months my mom would give just Rs.2 to buy something from the canteen. The first time I ate a slice of fruit and nut cake from this canteen, I thought I died and went to food heaven.
After I started baking at home, I tried to recreate the same magical fruit and nut cake for my kids. Within a few attempts I succeeded in getting the same taste and flavour. The combination of dry fruits and nuts, the citrus punch, the aroma of freshly pounded spices and the mild caramel is unmatched. This recipe is also egg-free! I’m very happy to share my treasured recipe for this Christmas season. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Plain flour/Maida/All purpose flour – 2 cups
Brown Sugar – 1 cup + 3 tbsp
Unsalted butter (melted) – 3 tbsp
Any neutral oil – 1/2 cup
Bicarbonate of soda – 1/2 tsp
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Water – 1 1/4 cups
Mixed spice powder – 1 tsp (Note 1)
Salt – a pinch
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Orange zest – 1 tbsp
Ripe banana – 1/2
Mixed nuts – 1 cup (Note 2)
Fresh orange juice – 1 cup
Mixed dry fruits – 1 cup (Note 3)
Yield
~20 slices
Prep time
Overnight soaking of dry fruits and nuts
30 mins on baking day
Special Requirements
30-35 cm loaf tin
Cook time
~50 mins
Method
1) Chop all the dry fruits and nuts into small pieces.
2) Add 3 tbsp sugar to freshly squeezed orange juice and soak all the chopped dry fruits and nuts in it overnight (in the refrigerator).
3) The next day, mash the banana with a fork and add vanilla essence and orange zest. Mix well and set aside.
4) Preheat the oven to 180°C for 10 mins.
5) In a thick-bottomed pan take the sugar and start heating it up (low heat), stirring constantly. When the sugar starts to caramelise, (see my walnut cashew chikki recipe for tips to caramelise sugar!) add 1 1/4 cups of water to this caramelised sugar. Keep stirring until the caramel dissolves completely. You will get a nice honey coloured caramel liquid. Set this aside to cool a bit.
6) Sieve flour, salt, soda bicarbonate, baking powder and mixed spice powder into a mixing bowl. It’s important to sieve the dry ingredients at least twice before adding it to the wet ingredients. This will make sure the dry ingredients are mixed evenly and will also make the cake airy and fluffy.
7) Take the warm caramel liquid in another wide mixing bowl. To this, add oil and melted butter. Blend thoroughly.
8) Now add the mashed banana mixture to this caramel-oil mixture and mix well.
9) Add the dry ingredients to this caramel mixture in batches and gently fold it in (Note 8). Once mixed, add the soaked dry fruits and nuts to this and mix gently.
10) Transfer the fruit and nut cake batter to your greased and lined loaf tin. Bake at 180°C for about 50 mins or until completely baked through.
11) Allow the cake to cool for at least 10 mins within the loaf tin before you transfer it to a wire rack. After the cake cools completely, slice the fruit and nut cake into thick slices. Store in an airtight box. Can be stored in room temperature for 3 to 4 days. To store for longer, refrigerate it. Warm before serving.
12) Serve your egg-free fruit and nut cake with a cup of coffee or tea.
Notes
- It is best to make the mixed spice at home just before you bake the cake because store bought mixed spice loses its aroma very soon after the seal is broken. Here, I pounded a 2 cm piece of cinnamon, pea sized nutmeg, 2 whole green cardamom and 2 cm piece dry ginger in a small stone mortar. I used 1 tsp of this mixed spice powder.
- I’ve used a combination of almonds, walnuts and pecans (each 1/3 cup chopped) in this cake, but feel free to experiment with whatever nuts are available in your kitchen or according to your preference.
- I’ve taken 1/4 cup (chopped) each of the following dry fruits to make this fruit and nut cake: Golden raisins, seedless dates, pitted prunes and glazed cherries. Some of the other dry fruits you can use are apricots, figs dried cranberries and black raisins. You can also add candied orange peel.
- Adding ripe or overripe banana to egg-free cake batter helps make the cake super soft and moist. So make sure the banana you use is nice and ripe.
- Along with orange zest (refer beginners’ tips at the bottom of the recipe) you can also add lemon zest, if you want a more citrus punch to the cake.
- You can choose to use only melted butter or only oil in this recipe. But I prefer to use a combination of both, because butter gives a nice flavour to the cake and oil does a better job of keeping the cake moist for an extended period of time.
- As an alternate to orange juice, you can use freshly squeezed grape or apple juice to soak the dry fruit and nuts.
- While mixing the dry and wet ingredients, always use cut and fold method and mix gently. The air that is incorporated while sieving the dry ingredients and the air incorporated in the wet ingredients while blending them together, helps to make the cake nice and fluffy. Also, mix the batter in one single direction. Mixing back and forth will make your cake dense and hard.
- Allow the cake to cool down completely before slicing it up with a sharp knife. The dry fruits we have added might come in the way while slicing the cake and make it crumble unevenly. So letting the cake cool completely and using a sharp knife helps in evenly slicing the fruit and nut cake.
Beginners’ tips
- Tip to make orange/lemon zest: Pick firm, ripe, fresh orange/lemon. Wash it thoroughly and pat dry. Grate the outer skin of the orange/lemon gently. Don’t grate too deep until the white inner layer of the orange/lemon skin. This white part just under the skin of the orange/lemon is called ‘pith’ and has a bitter taste. Collect the grated outer layer of the orange/lemon which is called the rind. Use this rind to enhance flavour in various dishes. To store this orange/lemon rind for a couple of days, mix a little sugar or salt with it and store it in the refrigerator. (If you want to use it for sweet dishes then mix with sugar, or if you want to use it for savoury dishes then mix with salt and store).
How to check if your cake is done – Insert a knife/toothpick in the center of the cake and then remove it. If it comes out clean it means your cake is baked completely.
2 Comments
MotherOfNOMS
Hi Dhilip,
Very happy that you all liked this fruit and nut cake.
Yes, it would be great to have a slice of this cake with some icecream! Enjoy:)
Dhilip
Tried this recipe yesterday. Cake came out perfect. Not too sweet, had enough sweetness. Lots of crunch with the nuts and dried fruits. Great hot at home. I bet this cake warmed up with a scoop of your favorite fruit based ice cream would be delicious!!!.