Ingredients:
For Caramel:
White Granulated Sugar – 1 cup
Water – 1 1/2 tablespoons
Hot Water – 1/3 cup
For Spice Mix:
Cardamom Powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Clove Powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Cinnamon Powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Dry Ginger Powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Nutmeg Powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Fruits and Nuts Mixture:
Dry Fruits – 1 3/4 cups (I used apricot, plum, raisins, cranberries, dates and tutti frutti)
Dry Nuts – 1 1/4 cups (I used cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts)
All Purpose Flour – 2 teaspoons
Butter – 1 cup (2 sticks) + 1 teaspoon
All Purpose Flour (maida) – 4 cups + for dusting
Baking Powder – 2 teaspoons
Baking Soda – 1 teaspoon
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Hot Water – 3/4 cup
Dark Brown Sugar – 3/4 cup
White Sugar – 1 cup
Vanilla Extract – 2 teaspoons
Yogurt/Curd – 1 cup
Orange Zest – 2 teaspoons
Plum Jam – 3 tablespoons
Orange Juice – 1 tablespoon
Bundt cake pan or two 9″ round cake pans
Method:
Prepare Caramel:
- Take sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan. Heat it on low flame until it browns and starts melting.
- When the mixture turns dark brown, turn off the heat.
- Carefully pour hot water, little by little. Take care as the syrup might splatter around when you pour hot water.
- Keep the syrup aside and let it cool down to room temperature.
- In a small bowl, take all the ingredients listed for Spice Mix and mix well. Keep aside.
- Chop all the dry fruits.
- Chop all the dry nuts.
- Take the chopped fruits and nuts in a bowl and dust them well with all purpose flour such that all the fruit and nut pieces are well coated with flour.
- Melt all (1 cup + 1 teaspoon) the butter. Do not heat it until it becomes ghee; just melt it down.
- Take a teaspoon of melted butter, grease the cake pans and dust with some flour. Keep aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
- In a bowl take all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and prepared salt mix. Sift the dry ingredients twice together or whisk well. Keep aside.
- In a large bowl, take hot water, dark brown sugar and white sugar. Whisk well until the sugar melts.
- Pour the prepared caramel syrup, whisk well.
- Pour melted butter, whisk well.
- Now add yogurt, vanilla extract, plum jam and orange zest. Whisk thoroughly until well combined.
- Fold in the sifted dry ingredients and mix gently until well combined.
- Pour orange juice, mix gently until combined.
- Add the fruits and nuts mixture. Mix gently.
- Pour the cake batter into the greased and dusted cake pan. Bake for about 45 minutes.
- Reduce the temperature to 300F and bake for another 15 minutes or until the skewer inserted to center of the cake comes out clean. I used a single bundt cake pan. If you are using two round cake pans instead, the cake might take lesser time to bake to perfection.
- Remove the cake pan from the oven and let it cool down on a wire rack.
- Once the cake cool down to room temperature, cut into pieces and serve.
