A Christmas Cake Recipe from Kerala

If making a traditional Christmas cake is on your agenda this festive season, we’ve got your back. Here is a tried-and-tested recipe for a decadent fruit cake.

Across India, Christmas cakes are as varied as the Christian communities that bake them. From Mambally Bapu’s innovative take on the English fruitcake, to Suma Sivadas’s clever use of grinding stones to cream butter and sugar; from the Allahabadi cake studded with petha (ash-gourd candy) and murabba, to Nahoum’s legendary plum cake in Kolkata, the Indian Christmas cake is singular in every avatar.

Across regions, the ingredients shift: ghee, mace, ginger, tutti frutti, desiccated coconut, coconut milk, and rice flour in Goa; roasted semolina in Pondicherry; dark, rum-soaked fruit in Bengal. Each version carries the imprint of region, community, its memory and identity.

This story is part of a deeper exploration into the origins of the Indian Christmas cake. Here, we turn our focus to the Kerala Christmas cake: defined by tropical textures, a heavy hand with spice, and the deep nuttiness of roasted coconut. Ayesha Oommen’s recipe for Christmas cake is rooted in the Syrian Christian kitchens of Kerala; a boozy, moist, richly spiced plum cake that has become synonymous with the season itself.

If you’re looking to buy a Kerala plum cake, we recommend Sheela Tomy’s Kallivayalil Bakes.

RECIPE FOR AYESHA OOMMEN’S CHRISTMAS CAKE

Ingredients

200 g (about 2 cups) desiccated coconut
½ cup (120 ml) hot water

Caramel Syrup:

200 g (1 cup) sugar
½ cup (120 ml) water

Fruit & Nut Base: (Total approx. 1.3 kg / 7 cups)

400 g (about 2⅓ cups) dates, pitted and chopped
dried figs (quantity as preferred)
300 g (about 2 cups) mixed dried sultanas, raisins & cranberries
150 g (about 1 cup) cashew nuts, chopped
100 g (½ cup) dried apricots, chopped
200 g (1 cup, optional) mixed glazed cherries
200 g (1 cup, optional) candied melon
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1½ tbsp ginger marmalade
1 tbsp orange zest
½ cup orange juice
3 tbsp (Old Monk recommended) brandy/rum
2 tbsp of cinnamon powder, allspice powder, cardamom seed powder mixed spices
2–3 tbsp orange marmalade or jelly
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond essence

Final Cake Batter":

4 eggs
100 g sugar
150 g (about ⅔ cup) melted butter
200 g (about 1⅓ cups) plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda

Method

Prepare the Coconut Base:
Place the desiccated coconut in a heatproof bowl. Pour the hot boiled water over it, mix well, cover, and let it soak for 10–15 minutes until softened.
Make the Caramel Coconut:
In a heavy-bottomed pan, add the sugar for the caramel and cook on medium heat until it melts and turns a deep amber colour. Carefully add the water (it will bubble vigorously). Stir until the caramel dissolves completely. Add the soaked coconut to the caramel syrup in the pan and mix.
Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture looks about 70% dry and comes together.
Remove from heat and allow it to cool completely.
Prepare the Fruit Base:
Chop all dried fruits and nuts evenly. In a very large bowl, combine all dried fruits, nuts, grated ginger, ginger marmalade, orange zest, orange juice, brandy, spices, marmalade/jelly, vanilla extract, and almond essence. Mix thoroughly so the fruits are evenly coated.
Add the cooled caramelised coconut mixture and mix well. Cover and rest overnight at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Prepare the Cake Batter:
The next day, preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Grease and line a 9 inch round pan
In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until just combined. Add the melted butter and mix well.
Sift together the plain flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Fold the dry ingredients gently into the egg mixture.
Add the cake batter to the rested fruit mixture and fold gently until evenly combined.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and level the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1¼ to 1½ hours. After 45–50 minutes, loosely cover the top with aluminium foil to prevent over-browning.
The cake is done when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs.

Photos by Sanskriti Bist.

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