Christmas is here and if you still haven't stocked up on plum cakes for your family and friends then here's our guide that will help you choose the best picks in Bengaluru. From Happy Belly Bakes, Excelsior Bakery to T'art Alert, these bakeries and bakers are offering their unique versions of plum cakes...
Smoor
Smoor's plum cakes boast ingredients such as black raisins, sultanas, cherries, orange peel, black currant dates, prunes and tutti-fruity. But it's the roasted and ground mix of spices such as cinnamon, cloves, star anise, bay leaf and fennel that adds warmth and aroma to the cake. The ingredients are soaked for 45 days and are then mixed with the batter to get a plum cake that is rich in flavour. Rs 675 upwards. Available at all outlets
Happy Belly Bakes
If you have been looking for some fudgy and yummy plum cake with delicious rum icing, head to Happy Belly Bakes in the city. The 13-year-old bakery soaks ingredients like almonds, berries, raisins, candied peels and many more for over a month in exotic rum before baking the cake. The cake is topped with special rum icing and caramelized sugar. Rs 700 upwards. Available at all outlets.
Glen's Bakehouse
Glen’s Bakehouse plum cakes are known for their special comfort pastries and desserts. Made with premium dried fruits like raisins, almonds and berries that are hand-picked and soaked for about 15 days, the cake is baked at a low temperature that ensures its moist and fluffy texture. Rs 750 upwards. Available at all outlets
Excelsior Bakery
This outlet located in Central Bengaluru is one of the oldest bakeries. Excelsior has been offering plum cakes for over 85 years. They follow their traditional recipe that involves soaking fine raisins and dry fruit pieces in rum for about a month. Around 14 different spices are hand-ground and used in their plum cakes. Rs 600 upwards. At Shivajinagar
Ma Bakers
Ma Bakers soak fruits in brandy and wine for four months before baking the plum cake. The cake is then brushed with alcohol for longer shelf life. To ensure quality, only two tonnes of plum cakes are produced every season. They also offer other Christmas treats like rocky roads, peanut butter crinkles, marzipan and more. Rs. 350-400 per kg. Order online
T'art
This new baker in town uses a Jamaican recipe which is a blend of fruits, spices mixed with Indian spirits, homemade smoked apricot compote and a treacle made of palm jaggery along with locally sourced port wine. This mix is soaked for four months. This is the right plum cake to get into a boozy mood and keep your festive spirits high. Rs 675 upwards. Order online
Chiffon Tree
This bakery starts the process of making plum cake several months in advance. Fruits and berries are soaked in a pot of rum earlier in the year, in the month of January itself, after which the plum cake is baked from the last week of November. Baker Rashmi Michael also offers her version of the gluten-free plum cake that is a perfect balance of flavours. Rs 2,400. Order online
Cakes by M
Baker Maria J starts preparing for Christmas during July - August when 14 different dry fruits are chopped and soaked in homemade wine. This wine is made with grapes from Cumbum Valley, Tamil Nadu which gives a unique flavour to the plum cake. Fruits and berries are added to this mix and then the plum cake is baked from the month of November. The spices used for the cakes are sourced from the hills of Kumily in Kerala. It's these indigenous ingredients that make Maria's plum cake so special and definitely worth a try. Rs 150 upwards. Order online.