CHENNAI: In sharp contrast to the gloomy weather outside, spirits were high at Le Royal Meridien as they kicked off their Christmas celebrations with a cake mixing ceremony on Saturday. About 135kg of dry fruits, nuts, spices, and other ingredients were mixed with what was jovially referred to as the ‘spirit’ of the season.
“Christmas is a season of love, happiness, togetherness and sharing. To symbolise this, we have dry fruits, spirits and all these ingredients that we mix to make a cake that everyone enjoys together and we spread joy and happiness to everyone around,” said playback singer Grace, who along with her husband, director/actor Karunas, were the chief guests at the event.
About 450kg of plum cakes and puddings will be made from the ingredients mixed. Talking to City Express, Chef Veera said, “We have fruits here like black currant, tutti-frutti, raisins, dates, figs, orange peels and lemon peels. All these go into the cake mixer and we will leave it to soak for two to three weeks. About a week before Christmas, we will take it out, mix it, prepare the batter, bake it and get a nice Christmas cake.” He said it was necessary to mix the ingredients weeks in advance so that the fruits have enough time to absorb the alcohol, ensuring that the “aroma and flavour comes out”.
When asked whether the recipe would contain any special ingredients, he replied, “We are adding a lot of alcohol and cinnamon powder. And for extra taste, we’ll add a little bit of garam masala – just a pinch.”
Describing her experience in cake mixing, Grace said, “This was indeed a very pleasant moment for me because we haven’t attended any cake mixing ceremonies so far. And this time, especially in Le Royal Meridien, which is one of our favourite hotels, and attending it with my husband for the first time gives me pleasure. I really enjoyed it. “ Actor Aishwarya Rajesh was also present and took part in the celebrations.
