Vegan Christmas Cake

Vegan Traditional Christmas Cake

Follow this step by step guide to a beautifully moist vegan christmas cake.

400g mixed dried fruit
75g candied peel
60g dried cranberries
40g dried blueberries
85g glacé cherries
100ml rum/brandy+feeding

175g dairy free margarine
125g coconut sugar
50g light brown sugar
30g black treacle
Zest of large orange
Zest of a lime+the juice
350g plain flour
40g ground almonds
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
120ml soya milk
60g flaked almonds

The cake
1. Add all dried fruit in a deep sided bowl, tip over alcohol and stir.
2. Leave overnight in a covered bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 140c and line a deep 20cm cake tin.
4. Whisk all ingredients together in high speed mixer until creamy, except flaked almonds and soaked fruit.
5. Change attachment for a dough hook.
6. Add soaked fruit and flaked almonds.
7. Combine well but don’t over mix.
8. Transfer mixture to your lined tin.
9. Bake for 2 hours or until inserted knife comes out clean.
10. Cool in tin.
11. When fully cool, store in airtight container.

Feeding your cake
Feeding your cake will ensure it is as moist as possible for the big day.
The amount of times you feed your a cake will depend on how strong you want the flavour to be, it is possible to overfeed your cake.
It’s a good idea to feed once the after it’s initially baked, then no more than four times while the cake is maturing.

1. Pierce holes in your just-cooked cake with a skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp of alcohol until it has all soaked in.
2. Feed your cake with 1-2 tbsp alcohol every fortnight until you ice it, re-wrapping it each time and storing in an airtight container.
3. Don’t feed the cake for the final week to give the surface a chance to dry before marzipan and icing.
4. Marzipan and ice the cake a week before the big day.

Notes:
Store in air tight container and finished cake will freeze well.