When talking about traditional dishes prepared on Christmas, the only thing that comes to anyone’s mind is rum cake or fruit cake. When looked at its history, then you’ll see that the Christmas Cake originated in British cuisine and was earlier called Christmas Porridge and then Pudding. Later on, oatmeal was taken out of the porridge and wheat flour along with butter & eggs were added to it, which resulted in a plum cake. Afterwards, some spices were added to this plum cake that resulted in a Christmas Cake. After this cake originated, several versions of this cake were made in different countries and each of them was quite unique in its taste and flavour.
Now, when it comes to Christmas celebrations, there are just 3 two states that top the chart in making traditional Christmas food in India i.e., Goa, Pondicherry, and Kerala. The first two states are quite obvious as there has been a lot of influence by the west, while Kerala is one state where most of the Indian Christians have lived ever since.
The very own Prayagraj or commonly called Allahabad has witnessed the rise of Allahabadi Cake, which is a version of Christmas Cake that has never been seen or tasted anywhere. If you are thinking about what’s so unique about it, then you are in for a surprise here! This Christmas Cake is made using ‘petha’ or candied ash gourd. With the influence of the Anglo-Indian community of the city, this traditional Indian Christmas Cake has been made for ages and it is unapologetically desi! What makes it taste great is the fact that this Allahabadi Christmas Cake is made with lots of ghee or clarified butter, marmalade and of course petha.
So, this Christmas, let’s try making our own desi cake and celebrate this amazing festival with our loved ones. The best thing about this dish is the fact that you can decorate it as you like. Do try this recipe of Allahabadi Christmas Cake.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups petha
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp ground spices
1 cup butter
1/4 sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 jar marmalade
1 pinch, shahi jeera
1 1/2 cup mixed candied fruits
2 cup rum
2/3 cup burnt sugar
1/2 cup warm water
Method
To prepare this cake, soak all the candied fruits like orange peel, raisins and currants in rum for a month at least. The more these fruits are stored, the more flavour you will have in your cake.Next, on the day you have to make the actual cake, melt the sugar in a kadhai over medium flame and let it caramelize. Then, let the sugar burn till it attains a dark colour. Once done, turn off the flame and add warm water to it. Stir to mix well and heat once again until the sugar is blended well with water. Turn off the flame again and keep aside.Now, take a bowl and beat together sugar & butter until soft peaks form. Then, add eggs one by one and beat continuously. You can use an electric beater to beat all the ingredients. Finally, add all the ingredients in this bowl and mix very well. Make sure there are no lumps remaining and the cake batter is smooth.Take a cake tin and grease it well. Transfer the cake batter in it and bake the Allahbadi Cake in an oven at 180 degrees for 60 minutes. Take the toothpick test to check if the cake is baked or not.Once done, let it cool on the cooling rack and when warm enough to handle, take it out of the tin and decorate with cashew and walnuts. Cut into pieces and enjoy your cake with a glass of wine.
