Time to prep your Christmas cake

• Soaking Fruits
• Grinding the spices
• Line the baking tins

• In a bowl add the black raisins, sultanas and dates and squeeze the orange juice (2 nos) and mix with a spoon and cover it and allow to soak it minimum 2 hours (or) give one day in fridge. Refrigerate the mixture until you use. If you donot get time to soak the fruits just boil the mixture for 3-5 minutes to soften the fruits. Cool the mixture and follow the recipe. 
• Take 1/4 cup of flour on a flat plat and drain the soaked fruits from juice and reserve the juice if left; add the cashew nuts, almonds and cherries and roll well to coat well; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. (Dense cakes should be baked for lower temperature for longer period)
• In a deep mixing bowl add the butter and cream to make a paste. Now add the powdered sugar and mix well till you get a creamy mixture.
• Now add two eggs at a time and beat well till you get a curdled like mixture.
• Add the vanilla essence and the soaked juices remaining if left and mix well.
• Add the prepared caramel syrup and beat well to combine.
• Grate the zest of two oranges using grater and add into the batter.
• Powder cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and dry ginger using a mortar and pestle or a blender and pass through a sieve and add with the all-purpose flour. Add baking powder, baking soda and salt too with the flour and sieve to combine the mixture or mix well with a whisk.
• Add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time and beat in low speed until the whole lot get incorporated without any lumps.
• If the batter goes thick add little orange juice to loosen the batter.
• Add the dusted fruits and nuts and gently mix with a spatula to evenly mix into the batt
• Mean time prepare the cake tin by lining bottom and the sides of the cake. I have used two sheets at the bottom to prevent the cake from burning at the bottom. 
• To protect the top of the cake from burning i have kept the side little larger the tin.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (I used 18-20 cm pans-2 nos take 1 hour to bake) or (> 24 cm-1 number takes around 2 hrs to bake)
• Tap each once again on the counter to remove air bubbles, and smoothen the top layer.
• Transfer the cake pan to oven and cover the top with another butter paper, to protect the top.
• Bake for about to 45 minutes-1 hour or more. Loaf tins take more time than round cake tins. (Depends on the size of your pan)
• Check the cakes are done by inserting a skewer. 
• Cool the cake for 10 minutes and remove from the pan.

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and place the rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans. Keep aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one mixing well after each addition. Add the grated pumpkin and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the pumpkin batter and combine well. Divide the batter in half and pour the batter into the pans. Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes come out clean. 
• Cool on a wire rack before removing the cakes from their pans.

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Mix together the wheat flour, cinnamon powder, brown sugar, soda bicarbonate and baking powder in a bowl. 
• Blend curd, water & oil in another large bowl. Mix the contents of both bowls together and blend well. 
• Grease an 8-inch cake tin with oil and pour the batter into this tin. Bake for 30 minutes and remove from the oven. 

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