It was after an evening of baking one of my Japanese cheesecake that I realize my hubby and daughter are really not keen cheesecake fan. Just when I have just mastered the art of baking Japanese Cheesecake, my fourth tries with different recipes.
My loving hubby mentioned that he is really more of a fruit cake guy. Hmmm...so I thought why not give that a try.
The first time I tasted and heard of steam fruit cake was from my aunt Irene. She baked and sold them during festive season and made a bustling income out of her cakes every Christmas.
I enjoy eating fruit cake but never really made them because it requires a long bake time. In this recipe it asked for fours hours long but I shortened it to two. This short steaming time could be the cause for my first fruit cake to sink in the middle. Despite the look, it smelled delicious...like deep caramel fudge.
The Sinking Fruits
To avoid all the fruits sank to the bottom of the cake, you must dust the fruits with flour. I did that but it still all sank. Someone advice make the batter less runny and sugar is the cause of this. So I am adding an extra egg to my ingredient from two to three.
Sprinkling some baking powder on the baking tray just before you pour the batter in could help solve the fruits from sinking.
I do not think sprinkling helps much for me tho. The fruits seemed to sink anyhow.
The Steamer
You can use a wok to steam your cake in but you must remember to keep filling up the water from time to time. Invest in a good steamer so you can have less work.
The recipe I tried request that you pour hot caramel into the cake batter. This sounded odd to me because I thought doesn't this cook the batter. Surprisingly it does not but it sure burnt my finger. The caramel is super hot. Mixing it can be tricky. The batter will get sticky and hard to mix. You need three hands to do it correctly. One mixing, two pouring and the third holding down the bowl. You also got to make sure that the caramel do not get to the sides of the bowl because it hardened fast and will stick to the side like glue then you will need a scouring pad to get it off.
Since the above method is so messy with the potential of burnt finger. I decided there must be a second method to do this. Thus the introduction of Method Two. Between the two method, although method two is easier I kind of prefer method one. I have manage to reduce the risk of burned finger by letting the caramel cool down first before adding into the beaten batter.
Since the above method is so messy with the potential of burnt finger. I decided there must be a second method to do this. Thus the introduction of Method Two. Between the two method, although method two is easier I kind of prefer method one. I have manage to reduce the risk of burned finger by letting the caramel cool down first before adding into the beaten batter.
Ingredient
250g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 large eggs
200g mixed fruits
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla essence
To make caramel
1 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup hot water
Method One
Put sugar into small pan. Heat it up until it turns amber brown. Add 50g butter, water and stir.
Shift flour, baking powder and baking soda. Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
Sprinkler a little flour into the mixed fruits then mixed them into the batter.
Make a well in the batter, pour caramel and give a quick stir to mix.
Pour into pan. Cover tight with aluminium. Steam for two hours.
Method Two
Method Two
Put sugar into small pan. Heat it up until it turns amber brown. Add 1/4 water, 250g butter, mixed fruits and stir. Let cooled.
Shift flour, baking powder and baking soda into batter.
Beat eggs until fluffy and creamy. Mixed into batter.Pour into pan. Cover tight with aluminium. Steam for four hours.
