Christmas is no fun without the traditional Christmas cake. And making it is no quick and easy task — preparations begin months in advance for that.Hotels have been known to organize cake-mixing ceremonies to spread the warmth of the festive season. People from different walks of life come together for such ceremonies.
The tradition
The first step towards making the cake is the mixing process, formally called the cake-mixing ceremony, a harbinger of good tidings and happiness. The ingredients of the festive fruit cake are mixed with wine and liquor in advance so that the ingredients can develop aroma and taste. The cake-mixing ceremony, it dates back to 17th century in Europe. The ceremony marked the arrival of the harvest season. During this time, lots of fruits and nuts were harvested and used in the making of the traditional plum cake.
This was saved till the next harvest, with the hope that it would bring yet another fruitful year. The sugar content of the liquor and fruit juices help preserve the ingredients. Also, for the cold “Christmassy weather”, the plum cake is a perfect energy food. England loves this cake so much that no tea is complete without a slice of the rich cake.
The process
The ingredients mostly comprise dry fruits like raisins, black currants, prunes, glazed dates, cherries, candid orange, lemon rinds and nuts like cashews, pistachios and almonds. Then comes the best part – that is pouring in the liquor. Fresh juices & honey are also generously added along with freshly ground spices are also added and tossed till the fruits and nuts are well coated. This is emptied into large containers and stored for a couple of days before Christmas, with occasional stirring to ensure that the nuts soak till they are swollen.
The cake-mixing celebration at Ramada Neemrana on October 31, 2015
The annual cake-mixing ceremony at Ramada Neemrana – Jaipur Highway, has been hugely popular since its inception, mainly due to the fact of being the first to have initiated it for the brand of hotels to open in Northern India.
The ‘Kings Court’- (banquet hall at the 2nd floor) was the venue and 6.30 pm was the time enormously decided for the mixing ceremony. The invited inhouse guests, along with the heads of the various hotel departments and the staff had a gala time at the massive trolley, mixing the huge bowls of fruit-raisins, black currants, candied pool, candied cherries, tutti frutti etc long with the all important ‘spirit of the season’ in bottles – wine, rum and other alcohol to soak the fruit with. It was strictly ‘no swings allowed’for the evening ! A load of fun and a load of work, all amidst great cheer and fervor.
The matured mixture would be just perfect in time time for Christmas and will then be used by the in-house bakery to make plum cakes, puddings etc.
A huge round of applause to our esteemed guests who joined in the celebratory evening – Mrs & Mr Rahul Soni ( # 428 ), Mrs & Mr Atul Sharma ( # 424 ), Mrs & Mr Sunil Kumar ( # 328 ), Mrs & Mr Amresh Tiwari ( # 535 ) and Mrs & Mr Himanshu Marwah ( # 533 ) !
We really loved you joining in !
Dear Biswajeet,
Awesome experience. Excellent hospitality. I really enjoyed my vacations there and look forward to promote the same to my clients.
Participation in Cake-Mixing Celebration was really very unique experience. We came to know the culture and tradition behind it as well.
Thank you very much for all your kind hospitality.
Warmly
Amaresh