Orange and raisin plum cake

There are a thousand ways to make plumcake, but in this recipe I give you one of the best I have tried, because of its combination of ease, fluffiness, flavor and the fact that you can make it with ingredients that you usually have at home.

It is a very soft plumcake with a pleasant orange aroma. When cooking it you can also enjoy the smell of oranges and when you see the spongy result you will only want one thing: to have more.

What is a plum cake?

If we look for a textbook definition, a plumcake is basically a fruit cake, either candied or chopped fresh fruit that has usually been soaked, macerated or hydrated in alcohol . Plumcake also adds dried fruit and spices .

With all these ingredients in its mix (fruity, spice and liquor aromas), plumcake is usually a very tasty morsel with many and varied nuances.

About the orange plumcake recipe

Today's recipe includes all the ingredients required for a plumcake, but the only fruit we add is orange, which you can easily find at home and makes its usual and easy preparation much easier.

The citrus flavor makes this cake light on the palate, and it combines fabulously with the nuances of rum and spices .

The recipe is as delicious and soft as it looks, and it's also easy to make. It's a unique cake that doesn't need many ingredients and can become a real treat for adults and children alike.

I hope that with the arrival of autumn and the return to baking, you will be encouraged to try it. Let me know if it has been as successful in your homes as it was in mine!

Emile Henry rectangular ceramic mould

Ingredients

• 35 ml of rum
• 100 g candied orange (cut into small cubes)
• 100 g raisins
• 150 g butter (at room temperature)
• 50 g white sugar
• 50 g brown sugar
• 50 g panela
• 3 L eggs (or 4 M), at room temp.
• 1 full tsp ginger
• 1 full teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 level tsp turmeric
• 1 pinch of salt
• Juice and zest of half an orange (40 - 50 ml)
• 160 g pastry flour
• 1 envelope baking powder

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C, without air.
2. In a bowl, put the rum together with the raisins and candied orange to hydrate.
3. In the KitchenAid bowl, add the softened butter and the sugars (white, brown and panela). Beat with the whisk attachment (the whisk attachment) at speed 2 until everything is combined.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time (wait until one is incorporated before adding the next).
5. Add the orange juice and zest, stirring constantly.
6. Strain the rum from the raisins and orange, draining the fruit well. Add the resulting rum to the mixture as well.
7. Put the drained raisins and orange in another bowl with a couple of tablespoons of flour and mix them together. The flour will help the fruit to be distributed throughout the dough and not settle to the bottom of the cake during baking.
8. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spices (ginger, cinnamon and turmeric).
9. Add the dry ingredient mixture (the mixture with the flour) into the KitchenAid bowl with the wet ingredients, in batches, allowing it to gradually integrate.
10. Let everything come together and change the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment. Add the floured raisins and orange and mix as little as possible, but until you see that they have been evenly distributed throughout the dough.
11. Prepare the Emile Henry mould with release spray. If you prefer, you can also place two pieces of baking paper lengthwise and crosswise in it and spray it with release spray to ensure that the dough doesn't stick to the paper and you can remove everything in a second.
12. Pour the dough into the mould and bake in the lower part of the oven at 170°C for 60 min. Check with a toothpick that the dough is cooked and remove it, or leave it for a few more minutes if necessary.

KitchenAid Model 175 Food Processor and Emile Henry Rectangular Ceramic Mold

Grades

• If you want a denser plum cake, you can increase the amount of flour by one more tablespoon, of pastry flour, spelt flour, or wholemeal flour.
• If you are looking for more nuances in the flavor of the dough, you can add half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and half a teaspoon of white pepper.
• You can add other candied fruit if you have it or prefer.
• The resulting dough is very moist. To ensure that it rises properly, you can loosely place a piece of aluminium foil over the top of the mould to ensure that the dough does not rise on top and can expand properly and rise without hindrance (but do not set the oven function to only the bottom of the oven or you will burn the base of the cake).

Emile Henry rectangular ceramic mould

I hope it turns out to be a delicious plum cake. Everyone at home has enjoyed it a lot, and my father has made it twice (he is a great lover of plum cakes).

Do you dare to try it? I'd love it if you leave a comment explaining the result. Thank you and have a nice week!