What Is A Christmas Cake?
A traditional Christmas cake is typically a fruit cake that is covered in both marzipan and icing. A variety of fruits are used, including raisins, sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest and dried cherries. The dried fruit is often soaked in alcohol for up to 3 days and once baked, the cake is regularly ‘fed’ more alcohol on a weekly basis! The use of Marzipan in a Christmas cake is taken from Easter, when marzipan covered cakes were traditionally eaten.
Vegan Christmas Cake: What’s The Difference?
To make a traditional Christmas cake vegan, a substitute is needed for the eggs and butter that form the cake batter. Substitutes that work well include aquafaba, flax ‘egg’, or chia seed ‘egg’. Many recipes for Christmas cakes also suggest using royal icing which isn’t vegan. Plant-based versions can be made using aquafaba and icing sugar or alternatively, try ready-to-roll icing, as this is often vegan.
Vegan Christmas Cake Nutritional Information
Serves 20 – nutritional information based on 1 serving (un-iced)
Energy | 377Kcal |
Total fat | 10g |
of which saturates | 2g |
Total carbohydrates | 65g |
of which sugars | 6g |
Protein | 3g |
Fibre | 1g |
Equipment You’ll Need
- 2 large mixing bowls
- Microwave proof bowl or small saucepan
- Greaseproof paper
- Weighing scales
- High-sided ?8-inch cake tin
- Wooden spoon
- Scissors
- Oven
- Hob or microwave
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Grater
Ingredients
- 1kg mixed dried fruit; this is the mainstay of the Christmas cake, and provides most of the flavour and structure to the cake
- 200g glace cherries (rinsed); these can be left out however rinsing the cherries gets rid of a lot of the sweetness, so it’s worth giving them a try.
- 100ml of vegan dark liquor OR 100ml orange juice; Whilst the feeding of the cake isn’t necessary, it is worthwhile soaking your fruit at the start of the bake as this helps to add in extra flavour.
- 2 medium orange (grated)s; the orange zest will be added to the mixture for extra festive spirit.
- 2 tbsps Myvegan 100% flaxseed powder; this will help to replace the egg used in traditional recipes, acting as a binder for the ingredients.
- 250g vegan butter or spread; either soft spread or butter blocks will work equally well for this cake.
- 250g dark brown sugar; part of the colour in a fruit cake comes from the darkness of the sugar. If you can’t find dark brown, then light brown works just as well.
- 2 tbsps golden syrup; like the flaxseed, golden syrup acts as a binder and adds some subtle extra sweetness.
- 225g plain flour; unlike most cakes, fruit cakes don’t need to rise. No raising agents are needed, as much of the shape comes from the quantity of dried fruit.
- 50g Myvegan instant oats; this helps to add some texture to the cake and helps to absorb any of the excess liquid to prevent a soggy cake.
- 50ml dairy free milk – this can be used if the mixture is a bit too thick to stir!
- 4 tbspns water
To decorate; one jar of apricot jam, 500g marzipan, 500g ready to roll or vegan royal icing.