Executive Chef Prem Kumar Pogakula along with his team and guests from Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Delhi took part in this festive ceremony this year

The season of making plum cakes and soaking up nuts, fruits and spices in wine and rum is finally here. The traditional cake mixing ceremony which usually happens a month or two ahead of Christmas, ushers in good tidings and fun for the festive season. This tradition has been part of The Imperial since time immemorial and is conducted all amidst great cheer and festive fervour.

Marking the onset of the harvest season, Executive Chef Prem Kumar Pogakula along with his team and guests from Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Delhi took part in this festive ceremony this year at The Imperial New Delhi with renewed excitement, mixing traditions and cultures. Massive varieties of candied fruits, fruit peels, assorted nuts, juices and spirits like cognac, rum and red wine were used to soak the fruits in and were blended joyfully for exotic dough preparation, to mature beautifully in time for Christmas and to be churned out as Christmas plum cakes, puddings and Stollen.

"The traditional cake mixing ceremony spreads joie de vivre and camaraderie for Christmas. It is typically a community event where we all get together and have fun and this time it is more special after the pandemic since it’s like a pre-Christmas social get together with our guests and members of Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Delhi. We at The Imperial New Delhi have always organised this tradition with a lot of enthusiasm and merrymaking and I am truly grateful to Hon’ble Hungarian Ambassador Andras Laszlo Kiraly and his wife Orsolya Bernat for joining us this year in this fun celebration. It is an ecstatic moment to watch the guests, members and children from the Hungarian Embassy and our team of chefs and associates participate in the mixing, celebrating the onset of the festive season,” said Vijay Wanchoo- Sr. Executive VP and GM, The Imperial New Delhi.

"The cake mixing is a Christmas tradition dating back many years and is also a precursor to the occasion. It is a pre-requisite for settling the liquor in the mix of nuts, fruits and spices, covered with cinnamon. Christmas fun starts with this ceremony which is considered to be a harbinger of good fortune and joyous times. This recipe is unique to The Imperial for many decades. The mix of exotic ingredients get soaked in liquor for at least a month. The more the ingredients get soaked in good quantity of spirits, the better the taste. Unlike other cakes, this traditional one is the most sought-after as it is prepared in a distinct way with mounds and mounds of brown dates, black raisins, red cherries, cashew nuts, topped with powdered cloves, cardamom, ginger peel, lemon peel, orange peel, dry figs, walnuts, apricots, prunes, dry black currents, pistachios, almonds, pepper and other exotic spices, mixed with 40 litres of liquor like cognac, rum and red wine. This will be kept till the dry fruits get fattened on liquor. Then our chefs will combine flour with this 100 kgs mixture for the dough to be baked to perfection for approx 400 cakes, which are simply delectable,” said Chef Prem Kumar Pogakula, Executive Chef, The Imperial New Delhi.