Monday, November 10, 2014

Vivikam Cake/Vivikum Cake - Pondicherry Christmas Cake

Been born and brought up in Pondicherry, i finished my schooling in Catholic schools, obviously Christmas is one among my favourite festivals. Pondicherry is a city of Multiculture and you can see varieties of cuisines there,needless to say Pondicherry cuisine is quite a medley of different cuisines. Coming to today's post, Vivikam cake is one among the famous christmas cake prepared every year by the Pondicherry christians.Vivikam cake can be also called as Puducherry cake, puducherry means Pondicherry in Tamil. Every year, on 25th december, this cake will be distributed to neighbours and relatives.The speciality of this cake is, most of the ingredients are prepared bit earlier than usual christmas cake. Some bake this cake very much earlier as this cake can be preserved very well for many days.

Vivikam cake, Puducherry cake


My Paternal grandma makes excellent Vivikam/vivikum cake, but unfortunately i never had a chance to learn this cake from her, but i have heard a lot about my grandma's beautiful Puducherry cake through my mom. Actually i learned this cake from my neighbour aunty who never fail to make this cake every year for Christmas.This cake makes me nostalgic and seriously i miss those days . Here in Paris, we do celebrate Christmas but in a different way.Usually Vivikam cake is prepared with loads of eggs, rum and nuts, raisins, this cake is very rich but i followed my neighbour aunty's Vivikam cake as this recipe is completely Rum free but still very rich too.Am running my second week of blogging marathon with Festival recipes as this week's theme. Since we are in November, obviously Festival recipes goes for Christmas special recipes. This week's theme is very close to my heart as i'll be sharing Pondicherry Christmas recipes.Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#46. 

Vivikam cake, Puducherry cake

1/2kg Semolina/Rava
1/2kg Sugar
150grms Butter (room temperature)
1tbsp Ghee
1/2cup Cashew nuts
1/2cup Raisins
1/4cup Candied fruits (orange, lemon etc)
1/4litre/1cup Thick Coconut Milk
5nos Eggs
2tsp Vanilla Essence
1tsp Caraway seeds
1/2tsp Baking powder

Beat the butter, eggs and sugar together.

Fry the semolina with ghee until a nice aroma comes from.

Add the egg mixture, semolina, cashew, caraway seeds,raisins, essence, coconut milk together in a bowl.

Add in the baking powder and keep aside in a fridge for two days in fridge or else in room temperature for a day (if the room temperature is not too humid).

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Pour the soaked semolina mixture in a greased round mould and bake for 40-45minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Let it cool completely.

Slice and enjoy.

Vivikam cake, Puducherry cake

Gâteau à la Semoule de Pondichéry:
1 / 2 kg de semoule / Rava
1 / 2 kg de sucre
150grms beurre ( température ambiante )
1 cuillère à soupe de Beurre clarifié
1 / 2cup noix de cajou
1 / 2cup Raisins
1 / 4TASSES fruits confits (orange , citron , etc.)
1 / 4litre ou 1 tasse de lait de coco
5nos oeufs
2 cuillères à café d'extrait de vanille
1 cuillère à café de cumin graines
1 / 2 cuillères à café levure chimique

Battre le beurre , les oeufs et le sucre ensemble .

Faire revenir la semoule avec du beurre clarifié pendant quelque minutes.

Ajouter le mélange d'œufs, semoule , noix de cajou , graines de carvi ,raisins secs , extrait de vanille , lait de noix de coco, tous sa dans un bol .

Ajouter la levure chimique et laisser dans un frigo pendant deux jours dans un endrroit ou la température est ambiante pendant un jour.

Préchauffer le four à 350F .

Verser l'appareil dans un moule rond beurré et cuire au four pendant 40-45minutes.

Laisser refroidir complètement.

28 comments:

Priya said... Reply To This Comment

cake is so soft sis..nice to know a new cake recipe

Nargis Aara said... Reply To This Comment

This cake must be tasting yumm with coconut milk in the recipe! but how much is 1/4th liter in cups?

Julie said... Reply To This Comment

already with Christmas recipes,Priya?? this is a new recipe cake to me,looks inviting and makes me drool :)

vaishali sabnani said... Reply To This Comment

Even though you learnt it from your neighbour aunty..I can understand your sentiments behind the cake. A signature recipe.

Priya Suresh said... Reply To This Comment

@Shweet Spicess1/4litre of coconut milk makes one cup (250ml)..Hope this helps..

Rafeeda AR said... Reply To This Comment

Such a rich and delicious cake... love that it is alcohol free... looks like I must try this...

Shoba said... Reply To This Comment

Yummy and a rich cake akka

Unknown said... Reply To This Comment

Lovely recipe

Poornima Hegde said... Reply To This Comment

So rich and delicious cake!

Laxmipriya said... Reply To This Comment

looks so soft.. perfect for christmas..

Sandhya Ramakrishnan said... Reply To This Comment

What a rich and soft cake....Love the texture :)

Varada's Kitchen said... Reply To This Comment

Moist and golden brown the cake is so appetizing.

www.mahaslovelyhome.com said... Reply To This Comment

thanks fr introducing new cake....luks very delicious..

Nisha said... Reply To This Comment

A very nostalgic recount Priya. Your cake has turned out perfect.

Sneha's Recipe said... Reply To This Comment

A rich and soft cake.What a great way to prepare for Christmas.

Sundari Nathan said... Reply To This Comment

Looks so soft and fluffy!! love it!!

Unknown said... Reply To This Comment

Love the cake, so soft and moist. Jayanthi(www.sizzlingveggies.com)

Unknown said... Reply To This Comment

Who can resist a cake that is perfectly browned and is so soft...Yum!!

Unknown said... Reply To This Comment

Am a big fan of this cake even though I tried the eggless version we loved it a lot :) Your cake looks fabulous aks , so moist !!

Padmajha said... Reply To This Comment

Cake looks perfect Priya. Will try making an eggless version of this one...

Srivalli said... Reply To This Comment

Where was this when I was breaking my head for Pondi dishes!!..:)..anyway so nice to read about the dish and it's attachment for you Priya..the cake looks yum, though I would want to make it eggless for self..

Srividhya said... Reply To This Comment

Looks very spongy and soft

Chef Mireille said... Reply To This Comment

this is my kind of cake - although I would probably use different spice as am not a fan of caaraway. But I definitely want to try a adapted version of this

Harini R said... Reply To This Comment

Wow! I love such recipes which have memories attached. Makes it all the more precious!!

Pavani said... Reply To This Comment

Amazing looking cake with semolina. It looks so moist and delicious.

veena said... Reply To This Comment

What a lovely colour Priya. Looks awesome!

Anonymous said... Reply To This Comment


Hi Priya, Beautiful looking cake. combining semolina and alcohol, something I have not heard of before. When would i need to add in the rum if required. Very curious

Gracy

Priya Suresh said... Reply To This Comment

Thank u Gracy, actually you can add the rum while mixing the ingrédients before letting the batter in fridge, it enhances the flavor of the rum..Hope this helps..