Steamed Caramel Fruit Cake

How time flies?!  Christmas is now just around the corner. The shopping centres and supermarkets are stocked with lots of festive goodies; bakeries and confectioneries are advertising their Christmas cakes and other delicacies.  This year, instead of buying a generic store-bought cake, why don’t you steam a simple but moist and yummy fruit cake for yourself and friends?  The best thing about this cake is that while it tastes delicious when eaten immediately after steaming, it tastes best when eaten the following day.

120 g caster sugar

80 ml water

250 g butter

125 g caster sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

320 g self-raising flour, sifted

200 g mixed dried fruits

METHOD

1       Line a 22 cm–23 cm round cake tin with non-stick baking paper.

2       Put 120 g of sugar into a pan and melt it over low heat, stirring until the sugar caramelizes into a medium-brown coloured syrup.

3       Remove the pan from the stove and slowly add in the water.  Stir to dissolve any remaining sugar crystals and set aside to cool completely.

4       In a mixing bowl, beat  butter and 125 g of sugar until cream-coloured and light.

5       Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and add in the vanilla essence.

6       Fold in the sifted flour and stir in the mixed fruits. Add the cooled caramel syrup and combine well.

7       Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cover with a piece of aluminium foil. Place it on a rack and steam over rapid boiling water for about 1.5 hours.

8       Leave to cool completely before slicing it.