Christmas comes early every year for 88-year-old Clementine Coutinho D’Mello in Vasai. If you’re in or around Waliv Village, you’re better off asking for ‘Aunty Clementine’, or better yet, her famous ‘No Oven, No Sugar, No Butter’ Christmas Cake. She soaks her fruit mix for at least a month, though she’ll always say, “the longer, the better.” Read on, and you might find Aunty Clementine’s treasured recipe somewhere between tips from two city-based bakers.

Longer the better

Rum-Mixing was always a big day at home. Each ingredient had to come from a specific shop; no negotiations allowed. The candied fruits were always from Lobo’s in Crawford Market, and cinnamon from Prince Stores in Vasai. These little traditions mattered. Our real reward came much later though, when the cake was finally baked. We’d wait for those slightly charred sides, and the caramelised crust.