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–+ servings
Christmas Fruit Cake Vegan

Vegan Christmas Fruit Cake

Nothing smells more festive and christmas-y than this rich, old English cake. We found a way to make the traditional fruit cake, fully vegan, incredibly flavorful, ultra moist and absolutely finger licking good.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Servings 15 people
Calories 371 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 3/4 cup All purpose flour for the cake
  • 1 Cup Coconut sugar
  • 1 cup Vegan Butter
  • 3 Tbsp All purpose flour for the fruits and nuts
  • 1 cup Dried Raisins Sun Maid (jumbo raisins)
  • 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
  • 1/2 cup Dried Apricots
  • 1 cup Red Cherries Candied
  • 1 cup Green Cherries Candied
  • 1 cup Chopped Pecans
  • 1 cup Cashews chopped
  • 1 cup Pineapple Juice
  • 1/2 cup Maraschino Cherries Juice
  • 1/4 cup Rum
  • 1/4 cup Molasses
  • 1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/2 Tsp Pumpkin Spice
  • 1/4 Tsp Salt
  • 1 Orange Zest
  • 1 Lime Zest
  • 1 Lemon Zest
  • 1/2 Cup Almond Milk
  • 3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven at 300 F.
  • If you have enough time, then I suggest soaking the fruits by mixing the dried raisins, cranberries, apricots and candied cherries in an airtight container. Pour in the pineapple juice, cherry juice and rum. Close the container with the lid, give it a shake and make sure the fruits are fully soaked in the liquid. If you want an alcohol-free version, you can skip the rum and just use pineapple and cherry juice (orange juice is great too), but keep in mind that the alcohol increase the shelf life of the cake. Let this soak for at least 24 hours or up to a week. Then skip to step 4 below.
  • If you're short in time, then in a medium saucepan, add the the dried raisins, cranberries, apricots and candied cherries. Then pour in the pineapple juice, cherry juice and rum. Let the mixture simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Make sure not to let the juice evaporate completely. After 10 minutes, you should be left with a thin syrup-like liquid.
  • Strain the fruits mixture using a fine mesh strainer. Reserve the rum syrup in an airtight container.
  • Add the strained fruit in a mixing bowl, followed by the chopped pecans and cashews.Then add 3 tbsp of all purpose flour and mix to incorporate. This is to prevent the fruits and nuts from sinking to the bottom of the loaf pan when baking. Then set it aside.
  • Add the almond milk and apple cider vinegar to a small container, give it a quick mix, then set it aside.
  • Place a fine mesh strainer on top of a mixing bowl and add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients through so that there are no lumps, then set it aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, add in the softened (room temperature) butter, followed by the coconut sugar. Mix in the stand mixer or using an electric hand mixer for 3 to 5 minutes until the butter becomes fluffy. Then add in the molasses and give it a mix to incorporate.
  • Grate the lime, lemon and orange using a zester grater and give it a mix.
  • To the batter, add the almond milk and apple cider mix reserved earlier. You'll notice that the batter starts to separate because of the vinegar. Use the hand or stand mixer to fully incorporate.
  • Add the sifted flour to the batter and mix to incorporate. The batter will not look as consistent due to the reaction between the vinegar and baking soda. This is normal and serves as replacement for eggs.
  • Gently fold in the fruits and nuts mixture we reserved earlier.
  • Grease a baking loaf (I used a 13x4 loaf pan) with some oil or butter, and line up every side of the loaf with parchment paper. This will prevent the fruits from burning when baking.
  • Add the batter to the lined loaf pan, cover it with aluminum foil, and pop it in the oven for 3 hours.
  • Once the cake is out of the oven, let it cool down completely. Then brush the top with the reserved rum syrup. In addition to adding more flavor to the cake, the syrup also serves as a preservative because of the alcohol, helping the cake last for up to 3 weeks.

Notes

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Nutrition

Calories: 371kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 5gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 254mgPotassium: 409mgFiber: 3gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 861IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 3mg
Keyword christmas dessert, christmas fruit cake, fruit cake
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