Instant Xmas Fruit Cake

I love this X'mas season & the fruit cake too. Fruit cake/Plum cake is very commonly found in all Kerala Bakeries. However this is not so common in other parts of the world. This cake is mostly made during X'mas & it has Alcohol in it. In this particular recipe I haven't soaked the dry fruits in rum for too long. This is more of a instant fruit cake. However I will be making another one soon which will be more richer than this:) This recipe is a tasty & easy one. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry fruits( Cherries, cranberry, raisins, sultanas, candid orange peel)
• 1/4 cup Rum/Brandy
• 1/2 cup walnuts  or any nuts of your choice
• 2 cups of Flour
• 3 large eggs
• pinch of salt
• 1.5 cups of powdered brown sugar
• 1 Tspn Baking powder
• 150 gms of butter
• 1/2 Tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 tspn nutmeg powder
• 1/4 tspn cardamom powder
• 3 crushed cloves
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce (1/2 cup brown sugar & 1/4 cup water)

Directions

1. Soak all the dry fruits in 1/4 cup rum for 10 mins or 24 hours. Cover tightly, and store at room temperature. (Dust them with flour before you add it to the cake batter)
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter a 6x3-inch round pan or loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
3. In a heavy bottom pan add 1/2 cup brown sugar & 1/4 cup water & cook this for about 5 mins until its gets brown. Make sure you don't burn this mixture. Keep this sauce aside in a cup.
4. In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg & caramel sauce. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg & cardamom powder.  Stir in soaked fruit and chopped nuts(dusted with flour). Scrape batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 80 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, remove &  then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons rum or icing sugar.