Eggless plum cake, a rich and moist, boiled fruit cake. A dry fruit loaded Christmas fruit made with caramel syrup and No Alcohol. A perfect fruit cake to celebrate the Holiday season.

Boiled fruit cake, on a white plate with flowers around

Jump to:

What I plan to make for the Holidays
What is Plum Cake?
Christmas Fruit Cake
Ingredients for the Boiled Fruit Cake
Stepwise Instructions to make Eggless Plum Cake
Plum Cake | Boiled Fruit Cake | Eggless & No Alcohol Plum Cake

What I plan to make for the Holidays

Christmas and New year around the corner, there is always some magic in the air. The climate, cold and breezy. Every corner you turn around you get the waft of something sweet being made. Cinnamon, cardamom and sugar cooked, gives out an amazing festive aroma.

At home, kids are home for winter holidays, husband too takes off from work. When the whole family is at home, naturally food, lots of food is made. We love warm cinnamon bakes, these cinnamon bear claws, Swedish caradamom rolls and monkey bread are my kids absolute favorite.

We love a good crumbly, nutty, moist scone, these Christmas scones with oats and dried fruits are great with your afternoon tea/coffee.

If you are looking for a simple dessert with fruits, you must check this poached pears in saffron syrup, even a pear hater would gobble 2. At home puff pastry desserts are most wanted, like this puff pastry baklava or strawberry mini braids.

Let's not forget beverages, with the climate you will definitely love this hot chocolate float or if you prefer something cold for your party check this Grape mocktail, a definite winner.

What is Plum Cake?

Plum cake is a fruit cake that typically includes a mix of dried fruits, spices, and often alcohol, like brandy. Despite its name, it usually doesn't contain plums; instead, it features raisins, currants, and other dried fruits, resulting in a rich, moist texture.

Commonly plum cakes are associated with holiday celebrations and are enjoyed under various names in different cultures. The terms "plum cake" and "fruitcake" have become interchangeable, as dried fruits were historically referred to as "plums." Consequently, many plum cakes and puddings may not contain the fruit we now recognize as plums.

Christmas Fruit Cake

For the last 2-3 years, I've started a tradition of making gift baskets filled with Christmas fruit cakes and other baked goodies for my friends. The fruit cakes are always a hit, and I usually bake about 10-15 of them for my friends and my husband's coworkers.

Christmas fruit cake, the mere thought of it you get a picture of rich, dark color cake studded with colorful fruits. My husband and I love fruit cakes, even though our kids typically dislike fruity or raisin-y desserts. To my surprise, my little one enjoyed this boiled fruit cake.

If you're looking for a straightforward dry fruit cake that's easy to make, try this delightful Christmas cake. You might also enjoy the apricot and raisin cake or the yummy almond and cherry cake!

This weekend, I baked four small plum cake for my friends. While I was packing them, the little fella came over to see if I was saving a piece for him. I did a happy dance—he loves fruit cakes!

A beautiful slice of fruit cake with dried fruits and nuts studded.

Ingredients for the Boiled Fruit Cake

Flour : I have used whole wheat flour to bake this rich and moist plum cake.
Sweetener : I have used organic powdered jaggery as sweetener, you can also use brown sugar or white sugar.
Leaveners : This moist, rich Christmas cake uses both baking powder and baking soda.
Fat : I have baked this cake with both butter and oil, for this recipe, i have used butter. You can also use any neutral oil.
Dried fruits and nuts : I have raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots, dried ginger, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, tutti frutti etc.

Ingredients for making eggless plum cake without alcohol

Spices : I have used cinnamon powder, cardamom powder, ginger powder, all spice powder and a pinch of nutmeg.
Liquid : The fruits are boiled in apple juice and sugar is caramelized and water is added to it. So just fruit juice and water.
Garnish : I have used none, you can go ahead and add some blanched and peeled almonds or walnuts.

Stepwise Instructions to make Eggless Plum Cake

Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions

How to make Caramel Syrup

Let's make the caramel syrup first. Take jaggery in a sauce pan with handle, add juice of a lemon.
Put it on the stove in medium heat. Do not disturb the pan Once it starts to bubble . Swirl the pan to mix the sugar evenly with lemon juice.

When the sugar melts and caramelizes, turn of the heat. Add a cup of warm water to it.
Turn the heat again, scrap the bottom of pan well, so there is no crystalized sugar settled at the bottom. Take it off heat. Let this cool down completely.
While the caramel is in the making, take the dry fruits and nuts in a large sauce pan, add 1 cup of apple juice to it. Let it come to a rolling boil. Take it off the stove. Let tis cool down completely.
I made the caramel and the fruits the previous day night and made the cake next day morning.

Let us make Boiled Fruit Cake with Caramel Syrup

To the caramel liquid, add the melted butter and the apple juice cooked fruits and nuts.
In a large bowl, take all flour, baking soda and baking powder along with the spices. Whisk it well to form a uniform mixture.

How to make Christmas plum cake without alcohol

Add ½ cup of flour mix to the dry fruit caramel mix and whisk it well to combine.
Make sure there is no dry flour mix. Use a spatula and whisk to get a smooth batter.
Grease baking pans with oil. I have used two 6 inch cake tins and one 5 inch cake tin.
Preheat the oven to 170C. Pour the prepared batter into the tins. Gently tap the tins
Bake them in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Take the tins out, let it sit in the tin for a minute or two. Then slowly remove them on to a wire rack. If you have greased the tin well, it would just slid off smoothly.
Let the cake cool completely. You can leave the cake in an air-tight container on the kitchen counter for a day or two. I usually leave them for 2 days, if it lasts more, then i refrigerate.
While serving the cake from fridge, reheat the slice for 20 seconds and serve warm.