Steamed Fruit Cake (Kek Kukus)

So far, I've only made Steamed Fruit Cake, or better known as Kek Kukus in Malay, for the coming Eid. I  made six of them, two for my mother in law & the rest for my mum & relatives. I used the same recipe that I've shared before, but this time, I've also included a list of tips which I hope would be useful for those who would like to try making this delicious cake.

Some tips for preparation:

1. I placed my butter in room temperature overnight so that it's softened by  the time I started mixing the next morning. It's important for the butter to be completely soft so that the ingredients will amalgamate thoroughly. I made 3 batches this week, one using cold, partially softened butter & the other two using overnight-softened butter. I noticed that the cakes from the first batch did not rise as well as the other batches.
2. I prepared all the ingredients first before I started mixing & preparing the burnt sugar.
3. I started cooking the burnt sugar & mixing the cake mixture simultaneously as the burnt sugar did take some time to caramelise.
4. I steamed 2 cakes in one go by using my 2 layer steamer pot. After steaming the cakes for 2 & 1/2 hours, I switched the position of the 2 steamers such that the top went to the bottom & vice versa. Then I continued steaming them for another 1 & 1/2 hours.
5. I usually covered the pan with grease paper & then aluminium foil before steaming, but this time I just wrapped it with aluminium foil after learning from Ayu. It worked well. In fact, it's easier.
6. This cake is best eaten after a few days to allow the flavour to fully develop.

(Update: Go to this post for the recipe of a more moist Kek Kukus. )

Steamed Fruit Cake a.k.a Kek Kukus
Recipe by Hamidah Rusdi.

Ingredients:.
250g butter (softened)
100 fine sugar
1 tsp ( I used 1/2 tsp) ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp (I used 1/2 tsp) orange essence
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 large eggs (I used three 55g-eggs.)

*250g plain flour
*1 tsp baking soda
*1 tsp cream of tartar

(* combined & sifted)

**100g mixed dried fruits (The original recipe  uses 300g mixed dried fruits only.)
**200g dried black currants  (Omit if using 300g mixed dried fruits.)    
**50g walnuts (chopped into small pieces) - I added
**20g plain flour
(** combined)

For burnt sugar:

200g castor sugar

Method:

1. Heat a steamer over medium heat.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, fine sugar, nutmeg, orange essence & vanilla essence & mix with a wooden spoon. Add eggs, one at a time & mix just until well-blended. Do not over mix.
3. Add flour into the butter mixture & mix until well-blended. Then add in fruits & mix well.
4. Prepare burnt sugar by placing castor sugar into a heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon as sugar melts. When it becomes very dark brown, remove from heat and carefully pour to the fruit cake mixture. Before pouring the burnt sugar, make a well in the mixture & pour the burnt sugar into the well. Starting from the center,  stir the burnt sugar into the mixture. Continue stirring the rest of the mixture. This is to prevent the burnt sugar from sticking to the side of the bowl as it hardens almost as soon as it sticks to the side. (NB: The hardened sugar that you manage to scrape from the side of the bowl can still be added to the batter in the baking pan.)
5. Pour mixture into a lined & greased baking pan (8x8x4"). Cover the pan with aluminium foil & tie it with a string (I used a rafia string). Tuck in the foil, making sure the pan is water-proof.
6. Place the pan on a steamer & steam  for 4 hours. 
7. Remove pan from steamer. Remove foil & leave pan aside for 10 minutes. Then remove cake from pan. Leave to cool.