Tradition and treats: Mumbai kickstarts Christmas festivities with cake-mixing

Mogan Rodrigues is busy feeding his cake with liquor when we call him on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It is a process he will undertake till Christmas day to bring out the rich flavours of the cake he is making for the festival. A few years ago, Rodrigues, an Uttan local, got the opportunity to taste the most delicious fruit cake during Christmas he had had till then. The flavour of which he had never experienced before. Till then, he was tasting every other kind of cake that was made closer to the big day, but the flavour of this rich fruit cake lingered on his palate long after the Catholic festival was over. That is when he took it upon himself to make the cake with his family every Christmas season. He explains, "My family doesn't have a tradition of making cakes, so I started it. They are heavy and dense cakes, unlike plain cakes which we make for rosary or for home."

The festive season brings with it a lot of food that brings with it a tradition. One of the many activities is cake-mixing which many Mumbaikars from the Catholic community in Mumbai take up at least two-three months before Christmas. Over the years, the tradition has even caught on with many five-star properties and restaurants in the city to bring in the Christmas spirit, some of which have already happened this year. While not many people do it that much in advance anymore, there are others like Rodrigues who have taken it up over the years in Mumbai. For some, it is a family tradition, for others, it is a hobby they like to nurture just to make the Christmas cake.

Cooking it up
While most people soak all the dry fruits in liquor like rum or brandy much in advance so that it can age and mature, the East Indian has found his way around the time-consuming process. "I take a shortcut," he laughs, continuing, "By cooking it a month before instead of keeping it for months in the liquor. The cake mixing and making has to happen at least three weeks before Christmas for the ageing process to happen properly to get a rich flavour."

Having done it for the last five years consistently, Rodrigues started his cake-mixing in the first week of December. One week on, this is only the start because he has to dedicatedly go back to the cake every four-five days to feed it with liquor. He shares, "It brings out all the flavours of dry fruits, apricots, cranberries and raisins. The cake also includes mixed peels - whole skin of the mosambi (sweet lime) and oranges. Some people even add candied ginger." The rum, he adds, helps the cake with shelf life, and it doesn't even have to be refrigerated and can simply be kept outside for months.

Such is Rodrigues's love for the five-year-old tradition that he even kept at it during the pandemic. During a difficult time, it certainly gave his family a sense of hope and togetherness. "I found suppliers online on Facebook, who gave me the ingredients like cranberries at a good price." As we know, sourcing ingredients was a difficult task during the pandemic and going to Crawford Market or other areas like Bandra, Orlem and IC Colony wasn't possible. However, the city-based tour guide's earnest effort made sure he could continue the tradition even in tough times and this year is going to be no different.

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Keep the tradition alive
In Malad, Deenize Kunder is yet to start her cake mixing, which she usually does a few days before Christmas. While it is not a family tradition, 38-year-old Kunder has been pursuing this hobby of baking for the last 20 years. "I always prepare the Rich Plum Cake but some years it varies. Along with this cake, I also make an Apple Walnut Cake, Light Fruit Cake and a Rawa Cake too.

Like Rodrigues, the Malad resident decided to start her own tradition. However, her love for making cakes started when she was a child, and she even has a lot of memories associated with the festival. "As kids, we used to stay in a joint family. So, there I used to see my granny (grandmother) mixing cake and she was the one who taught me a lot of things about cake-making and sweets," she adds.

It is no different for Thane-based Valerie Gomes, who is in the middle of renovating her home for Christmas. She will start her preparation a few days before Christmas but that is because she is well-prepared. "My fruit is already soaked. I generally soak the dry fruits in rum six months in advance so that gives a really strong flavour,' shares the experienced Thanekar. It comes as no surprise to us when she reveals she has been doing it for the last 19 years. "I did my cake-mixing course the year my son was born, so I had time on hand and thought to myself that I would just do a baking class," adds the Mumbaikar. Since she is a perfectionist, she usually does it all by herself, with some help from her husband and son. For her rich plum cake, she adds cashews, almonds, kismis (dried grapes), black raisins, walnuts and tutti fruity too.

For Gomes, this isn't a chore but an activity she loves doing, especially this time of the year because it gives a feeling of festivities. "It is very easy to buy cakes and sweets from outside but even if it is a small quantity, I like to do it." Now that the soaked fruits are ready to be added to the cake, all Gomes has to do is mix it with the batter a few days before Christmas. Interestingly, she doesn't make one but as many as four for the season because not only does she get a lot of guests during this period, but also because it happens to be her husband's birthday on the first day of the year. So, it ends up being an extension of the festive celebration. The Thane resident echoes the sentiment of many Mumbaikars whose celebrations continue right into the first week of January as they gorge on the rich plum cake and ample amount of sweets."

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