This easy steamed fruit cake is a dense but moist cake.




 

The best fruit cake you will ever make!

Fruit cake is synonym with festive season, be it Eid, Christmas, Chinese New Year or Deepavali, fruit cake will be one of the highlights!

This steamed fruit cake recipe taste better as it age.
See my note below on how to store fruit cake.


 

Ingredients for Fruit Cake

The ingredients for making steamed fruit cake is listed in the recipe card below.

However, these are the ingredients needed to make this delicious fruit cake at a glance!

 
With basic cake ingredients, to make this fruit cake is a breeze.

Dry ingredients are flour, soda bicarbonate, cream of tartar and ground nutmeg.
Sieve them and set aside.

Ingredients to boil fruits for fruit cake are sugar, mixed fruit, butter and water.

Last but not least, we need 2 large eggs for this fruit cake recipe.

No creaming sugar and butter, or beat the egg till fluffy etc!

How to make Fruit cake?

These are few easy steps to make steamed fruit cake.

 

1. I am using 6inch by 6 inch (15cm by 15cm) baking pan for this recipe.
Brush the pan with melted butter.
Place a baking paper to fit the bottom of this square pan.

 
2. Start caramelising sugar.

DO NOT stir the sugar!  Stirring will 'disturb' the molecules with the sugar, and they tend to crystalise rather than caramelised!

 
3. Add hot water to the already caramelised sugar.
Be careful as the hot liquid will spit as you add on water to the pot.

 
4. Add butter and stir until butter melts.

 
5. Add mixed fruit, to make this boiled fruit cake!
Bring to a boil and leave it for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and let it cool down before adding flour mixture.

 

6. Add kumquat marmalade.
This is optional, you can substitute with lemon peel or candied citrus peel.

 
7. Add flour mixture to the fruit cake mix, one cup at a time.
Mix thoroughly after every flour addition.

 
8. Add eggs to the fruit cake mixture.
You can either beat the egg with egg beater, with fork like I did or use blender to blend the eggs.

I am lazy to wash extra utensil hence I use a fork and beat the eggs with all my might :)

 
9. Pour into pre prepared baking pan.

  
10. Cover the pan with baking paper and foil.
Using foil is suffice to stop water dripping on to the fruit cake batter.

 
11. Bring water to boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Steam for 4 hours.

Note : I do not own a big steamer! I use my big pasta pot, adding height by placing my mortar then place a steam rack on top of the mortar (stability and to distribute weight).

Add plenty of water, hopefully to last for 4 hours. 
Add boiling hot water to the pot (carefully on the side of the pot).

 
12. Remove the paper and foil after the cake has completely cool down.

 
 

How to Store Fruit Cake?

This steamed fruit cake taste better as it age.

I would recommend to wait for at least 1 week before slicing.
The flavours will be more intense, as it matures.

If you are not eating the fruit cake right away, wrap them in cling film.
I wrapped mine twice, just to be sure!

And I also divide the cake into 3. 
1 to eat right away, 1 to eat after a week and the last is still in my freezer.
Will try after a month or two.

Be sure to come back and check my findings here :D.

Place the fruit cake in an air tight container, and place them in the refrigerator.

Take the fruit cake out from the fridge (or freezer) and let it come to to room temperature. 
Slice and enjoy the steamed fruit cake.

 

My Other Festive Bakes 

Mini Fruit Mince Pies
Rosemary Seasalt Sables
Crushed Candy Cane Cookies
Cranberry and walnut cookies
White Chocolate Peppermint bark

Video on How to Make Steam Fruit Cake