Rum and fruits Christmas Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Dry fruits nuts and (increase qty as per taste)
• 180 Millilitres Rum
• 125 Grams Sugar
• 100 Grams Maida All purpose flour /
• 1/4 Cup Maida (for tossing fruits)
• 1/2 Cup vegetable oil Neutral tasting
• 1.5 Teaspoons vanilla essence
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Baking powder
• 1/4 Cup water

Steps

1. Cut the fruits and nuts into small pieces and soak them in rum for at least 15 days. The source preparation soaked them for 2.5 months and used more than 1/2 cup of nuts; adjust the quantity to your taste.
2. Caramelise the sugar, add the water and leave it to cool.
3. Separate the egg yolks and whites. Beat the whites to soft peaks and set aside, rather than beating to stiff peaks. The reported experience with stiff peaks was a cake that rose with a hollow cavity on top because the fruit made the batter heavier.
4. Combine the egg yolks with the essence and oil.
5. Mix in half the quantity of flour.
6. Mix in the caramelised sugar thoroughly, then combine with the remaining flour.
7. Strain the fruits, keeping the rum in reserve.
8. Toss the fruits in 1/4 cup of Maida to coat them; the coating prevents them from sinking.
9. Add one or two tbsp of the reserved rum to the cake batter along with the baking powder, and mix.
10. Fold the fruits into the cake batter first, then fold in the egg whites.
11. Grease, dust and line a cake pan, then pour in the batter; this makes a 7 to 9 inch cake. Put the pan on a small stand inside a dry pressure cooker, keeping the pan's base from touching the cooker's base. Close it without the whistle.
12. Bake over a high flame for the first 2 min, medium for the next 5 min, then low for around 30-35 min. The cake is done when a skewer inserted into its centre comes out clean.
13. Let the cake cool, then drizzle the remaining rum over the top.