Vegan Christmas cake – a rich, moist and boozy vegan fruit cake that is perfect for the festive season. Eat right away or make in advance and feed regularly with rum or brandy.

Fruit cake is a bit of a divisive one; I know that not everyone likes it, but I absolutely love it. Christmas for me wouldn’t be the same without a boozy, fruity cake.

It is a bit different then most recipes. It has pieces of marzipan mixed into it which make it lovely and moist. I adapted the recipe from one which I had used for years. Obviously if you do not like Marzipan then you can leave it out.

Fruitcake can be very dry and a bit too rich but this recipe gives a moist flavourful cake.

I made the recipe vegan by replacing the eggs with apple sauce and Aquafabua which is the liquid from tinned Chickpeas.

I love marzipan so decided two years ago to see what it would be like if I chopped up some and put it in the cake. It was delicious so it became a permanent part of the recipe.

Vegan Christmas Cake is easy to make. Beat the margarine and brown sugar until creamy. Add in the black treacle and apple sauce.

Mix the flour with all the remaining ingredients except the brandy and aquafabua. Stir in the Brandy and Aquafabua. Place in cake tin.

Preparing the tin:

Vegan Christmas Cake takes a long time to bake so the tin needs to be prepared to stop the cake burning before it cooks.

Cut a double strip of baking parchment slightly longer than the circumference of the tin. Fold back 1 inch (2.5 cm) along its length and snip this at intervals, cutting at a slight angle to the fold.

Press the paper around the sides – it should sit comfortably around the sides of the tin.

Finally, cut a double circle of paper – using the tin as a template – to fit the base and press into place.

Brown paper is then tied around the outside of the tin. This protects the cake during the long, slow cooking.

Smooth the top with a spoon and make a slight hallow in the middle. This makes sure the top of the cake is flat if you want to decorate it.

Bake it for three hours but check with a skewer after two and a half hours as ovens vary. Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire rack. When cool turn it out and brush all over with rum or brandy.

Wrap it up in baking parchment then tin foil and store in an airtight container. Feed every week or two with rum or brandy, for up to six weeks.

This vegan Christmas cake is delicious freshly baked. It can also be made up to six weeks in advance and stored, well wrapped, in an airtight container. Drizzle over a couple of tablespoons of rum or brandy every week or two. Alternate top and bottom of the cake, until you are ready to ice it (if you choose to decorate it). But don’t feed it for a week before icing it in order to give the surface a chance to dry out.

To make this vegan Christmas cake alcohol free, soak the fruit in the same quantity of orange juice. Bear in mind that if you aren’t feeding it with alcohol then the cake won’t keep for as long, so bake it the same week that you want to serve it.

VARIATIONS:

You can vary the types of dried fruit that you add to suit your own tastes, as long as you keep the same overall weight – a total of 665g. Chopped dried dates, figs and apricots all work well, and you could even add dried cherries, blueberries or pineapple.

Different types of nuts used can also be used. I used a mix of walnuts and almonds but pecans, hazelnuts or any type of nut you like can be chopped and substituted.

If you are not a fan of marzipan then it can be left out without affecting the recipe.

Vegan Christmas Cake

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 3

Course Baking

Equipment

8inch Round cake tin
Baking Parchment
Brown Paper
String

Ingredients

150g/ 5⅓oz Vegan Margarine
175g/ 6oz Soft Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Black Treacle
270g Jar Apple Sauce
200g/ 7oz Plain Flour
1 Teaspoon Ground Mixed Spice
½ Teaspoon Grated Nutmeg
50g/ 2oz Ground Almonds
65g/ 2½ oz Chopped Almonds or Walnuts
65g/ 2½ oz Glace Cherries, halved Wash,dry and toss in 1 Tablespoon of the flour
125g/ 4 oz Raisins
200g/ 7 oz Sultanas
275g/ 10 oz Currants
65g/ 2½ oz Chopped Mixed Peel
250g 9oz Marzipan
2 Tablespoons Brandy or Whiskey
Aquafabua drained from a 400g tin of Chickpeas

Instructions

Prepare the cake tin by lining with baking parchment and tying brown paper around the outside.
Preheat oven to 140°C/270°F/Gas Mark 1
Beat margarine and brown sugar together until creamy.
Beat in the treacle
Add in the apple sauce
Mix the flour with all the remaining ingredients except the brandy and Aquafaba
Gradually add into the creamed mixture
Stir in the Brandy and Aquafaba
Place the mixture in the cake tin
Smooth the top with a spoon and make a slight hallow in the centre of the top
Bake for 3 hours but check after 2½ hours as ovens vary
Allow to cool in tin for 15 minutes before removing and coolng on a wire tray