Eggless Christmas Plum Cake

Ingredients

• 8-9 cashews chopped
• 8-9 almonds chopped
• 8-9 walnuts chopped
• 2 tbsp tutti frutti
• 1 tbsp chopped candied orange peel
• 2 tbsp dried cranberries
• 1 tbsp raisins
• 2 tbsp chopped dried candied cherries
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup coke or pepsi
• 1 cup plain flour/ maida
• 1/4 cup cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 tsp clove/ laung powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg/jaiphal powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 200 gm condensed milk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup coke or pepsi
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Steps

1. This special plum cake requires soaking of dry fruits at-least 2-3 days in advance. Though 8 hours of minimum soaking is also enough. But soaking the fruits longer enhance the flavour.
2. Collect all the dry fruits and nuts in a bowl. Add the orange juice and mix well. I have soaked the nuts and dried fruits for 5-6 cakes that's why they look too much. the target is to get 1 cup of soaked nuts for one cake. The soaked fruits should be kept in the fridge.
3. Grease the sides and line the base of a loaf tin, keep aside. Preheat an oven to 150 degree celcius.
4. To make the caramel sauce. In a pan add the sugar and melt it till it caramalizes. It should melt completely and the colour should change to golden. Make sure not to burn it.
5. Very very slowly add the coke. Please make sure you add one tbsp coke at a time. if you add too much at a time the sugar will crystalize and it will take too long to melt it again. Add all the coke and mix for 10 seconds. In case the sugar has crystalized, add one tbsp more coke and keep mixing on very low heat till it melts. keep the caramel syrup aside.
6. Collect all the dry ingredients maida, cornflour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder, clove powder, nutmeg powder and salt. Sieve the dry ingredients and keep aside.
7. To make the batter, add the condensed milk to a big mixing bowl. beat the condensed milk using an electric beater for 4-5 minutes. Now add 1/2 cup oil and beat again to mix.
8. To the dry flour mix, add the soaked nuts and mix well. Incase there is too much liquid in the nuts leave it behind and just add the nuts. you can add the liquid to the coke to make 1/4 cup of coke. (do not increase the liquid quantity in the cake by adding is directly to the batter. measure everything before adding.)
9. Now add half of the flour and dry fruit mix to the batter. Also Add the vanilla essence and caramel syrup. Mix well using the electric beater, use the beater at the low speed now.
10. Add the remaining flour and dryfruit mix and 1/4 cup of coke. Mix well.
11. Add the batter to the prepared tin. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The cake is done when it leaves the sides and a skewer if inserted in the center comes out clean.