CHENNAI: What is Christmas without a cake? The season of cake mixing is here and the Raintree hotels, one of the sought-after five-star hotel groups in Chennai, organised its annual cake mixing event in Teynampet on Monday. The chief guest, actor Pooja Kumar, inaugurated the event and led the guests, senior dignitaries and chefs of Raintree, St Mary’s Road and Anna Salai, in the traditional ceremony to mix the various ingredients for creating a perfect Christmas cake. The preparations for the final cake begin two to three months before Christmas and the first process involves the traditional cake mixing.
Mark Crocker, executive chef, Raintree hotels, said, “Cake mixing is a tradition. We marinate the fruit with spices and alcohol two to three months before Christmas. This enhances the flavour and taste of the cake. It is made with a lot of fruits that is one-fifth of the ingredients, which is added to the flour.”
Spices and fruits such as mixed dates, dry apricots, black current, honey raisins, whole almonds, cashew nuts, dry cherries, tutti frutti, dry fig, candied ginger, orange peel, lemon peel, prune and dry cranberries are mixed with rum, brandy and whiskey to enhance the flavour. Sugar and alcohol are used as preservatives and as the fruits soak in the alcohol, their taste gets richly enhanced. “Being a chef, I love all types of cakes. My personal favourite is a nice lemon cake with a lemon zest, some orange peel and a little lemon juice into it,” said Mark Crocker.
Pooja Kumar, a non-believer of crash diets and a person who emphasises on leading a healthy lifestyle, was excited about the cake mixing process, saying she loved the idea and had grown up watching her mother bake cakes.
“Christmas is a festive season and it is really great that they come together during the season and do something different. I have never seen ingredients being mixed in such huge quantities,” she said.
A self-confessed sweet tooth, Poojs said she always follows her fitness regime and that she wouldn't have sweets except on Sundays. “Sunday is my cheat day and I splurge on sweets and desserts. My all-time favourite dessert is Tiramisu and I love the different layers in it,”she said.
“We are thoroughly proud to host the traditional cake mixing event year after year. It has become the most awaited custom for the hotel to welcome the festive Christmas season as we celebrate the joy and happiness together in this fun-filled event,” said Suresh Antony, GM, Raintree, Anna Salai.