Pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C. Line a round baking tin with parchment paper and grease sides well with butter.
Sift the flour, baking powder, garam masala powder, and salt in a bowl.
Whisk the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale in color – about 10 minutes by the manual whisk, 3-4 mins with a hand mixer. Add rum essence, vanilla essence and mix until combined.
Add egg one at a time, beating each time for about 1 minute using a hand mixer.
Fold in the flour mixture one-third at a time and mix gently using a spatula. combine all the ingredients nicely to form a smooth cake batter.
Add the cooled caramel and the soaked dried fruits. Cut and fold the batter to evenly combine.
Pour cake batter into the greased cake tin. Tap once or twice on the kitchen counter to release any air trapped.
Bake for 55-60 minutes until the top turns into a dark brown color and when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with dry crumbs. You can start checking from 45 minutes onwards. Usually, in our oven, it takes up to 60 minutes. The top will look like it’s overdone but don’t worry, make sure the inside is also completely cooked.
Once the cake cools down completely, brush it with some leftover rum and cover it with foil and leave it in the oven or some warm place overnight or until you need it. This way it has a nice matured flavor.
Dust the Christmas cake with the icing sugar before serving.
Store Christmas cake at room temperature for up to a month in an air-tight container.