Close to 100 kg of assorted dry fruits, mixed with spices, and liberally splashed with liquor… the air is naturally heady at the annual mixing ceremony at the open air Tipsy Terrace, the Radisson Mumbai Goregaon.
At the event, attended by a sprinkling of celebrities as well, Executive Chef Kamlesh Rawat shares, “Christmas is no fun without the traditional Christmas cake, and making this cake is not a quick, easy step. The cake mixing involves preparing and mixing dry fruits with wine, rum, brandy and whiskey. The fruits are laid out and then spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg are sprinkled into the mix. Next comes alcohol, which is poured on the mixing table. The soaked mix is put into jars and left for a few weeks for the fruits to soak up the alcohol to create moist juicy cakes.” Adds Ajoy Balakrishna, General Manager, “It will be incorporated when baking plum cakes and puddings. The longer the mix is kept, the tastier will be the cake.”
The tradition, Balakrishna explains, is a typical British one, which is continued all over the world. “The history of the cake-mixing ceremony dates back to the 17th century, and it also marks the arrival of the harvest season. During this time lots of fruits and nuts were harvested and prepared to go into the making of the traditional plum cake. The mix was saved up for the next season with the hope that the coming year would bring with it another abundant season.”
Here’s Chef Kamlesh’s recipe for a dry fruit mixture with rum for a plumcake serving 8…
Ingredients: 10 gm fig, 10 gm cashew nuts, 10 gm almond, 10 gm dates, 10 gm apricot, 10 gm raisins, 10 gm mix tutti-frutti, 10 gm pistachio, 10 gm walnut, 15 gm candied ginger, 90 ml Old Monk rum, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder.
Method: Chop all the fruits and nuts into small pieces. Soak them in rum and mix in a large bowl. Add nutmeg powder. Mix well and store in an air-tight jar. Make sure there is enough space in the jar for the fruits will almost double in size. Every few days shake up the jar. Let the fruits macerate for at least a week. Soaking for a couple of months is even better.
As Christmas nears, it will be time to bake off! Stay tuned for our special recipes.
Nachos & noise
When you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! The Noisy Cafe cleverly doesn’t even try to keep out the noise – that would be a futile endeavour given its location plumb on on a busy Malad intersection. What it does is actually capitalise on it! For starters, the roomy outdoor space sports a Mediterranean feel with plenty of greenery further enlivening its white and blue colour scheme. The cosy tables here tempt you to give the air-conditioned section a miss and instead revel in – you guessed it – the happy noise!
The wait-staff have ‘Don’t keep it down’ printed on the backs of their tees, while an open mic section alongside promises to give any budding singer/ comedian/ ranter their 30 seconds of undisturbed fame. And here’s the really good part… LOL (Laugh Out Loud) discounts which are calculated according to how loudly you can laugh! The sound meter that is brought to your table calculates your guffaw in decibels and that’s further incentive to put your shouts of laughter to some good use!
Sipping on our Lemonade and Oreo Cookie Crumble Frappe, we chat with Pankhuri, one of the partners, about their further plans for Noisy Cafe. “From Bollywood trivia nights, to poetry nights and music gigs, it’s all part of the entertainment here. But our focus, first and foremost, is the food – there is no compromising on that,” she declares. Both the portion size and the taste bear out her statement as our Mighty Nachos, loaded with cheese and other toppings, and the Spicy Schezwan Melange Panini happily tick both boxes.
Our mains – a Creamy Alfredo for the one with the larger appetite, and a sampling of Classic Veggie Momos for the one who is a tad too stuffed – see us lounging lazily in the beautiful interiors of the air-conditioned section, selecting music videos to play on the large screen and making some noise!
Don’t miss: the drool-worthy cake selection.
The Noisy Cafe, Shop no.1, Mona Cottage, Liberty Garden, Ramchandra Lane, Opp. SNDT College, Malad (W).