This three ingredient vegan Christmas Cake is super simple and easy to prepare. Perfect for when you really need a Christmas or an everyday fruit cake but are short of time, ingredients, finances, have unexpected guests, or just want a tasty quick fruit cake.
Although the basic vegan Christmas cake has just 3 ingredients, vegan chocolate milk, dried fruit and self-raising flour, it can be jazzed up with some festive spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or mixed spice.
This cake is not heavy like a traditional fruit cake instead it is deliciously light, with similar textures and flavour comparable to a Soreen malt loaf. Perfect for kids and those who are not too keen on Christmas cake.
This vegan fruit cake recipe is also perfect as a base for an Easter fruit cake or traditional Easter Simnel cake.
Quick History Of Christmas Cake
Christmas cake evolved from a kind of British medieval simple plum porridge prepared with oats. On Christmas Eve religious folk would fast until Christmas Day where the first meal would often begin with a bowl of plum porridge.
At some point dried fruits and spices were also added to the plum porridge which created more of a pudding popularly known as figgy or plum pudding.
By the 1700s Christmas pudding had evolved into a firmer cake with the addition of flour and eggs. These baked Christmas cakes tended to be decorated by richer folks with marzipan or icing.
Although the Christmas pudding remains a popular traditional festive British dessert.
Nowadays in the UK Christmas cake is traditionally served near the end of Christmas Day if anyone has any room after the large Christmas dinner, followed by Christmas pudding, then a short while later cheese and biscuits, and possibly a sandwich!
Although in my Scottish household we generally don't have the capacity for all that food instead preferring to enjoy our Christmas cake as part of our traditional New Year's Eve buffet.
How To Prepare Three Ingredient Vegan Christmas Cake
Mix and allow to sit overnight or for 12 hours, so that the dried fruit soaks up the milk.
Scoop the mix into a prepared cake pan.
Cool in cake pan for 30 minutes before carefully tipping out and cooling completely on wire rack or chopping board.
Three Ingredient Vegan Christmas Cake Recipe Notes And FAQS
Store wrapped in parchment paper and a second layer of kitchen foil and place in an airtight container for at least 7 days possibly a few days longer.
This cake will not last as long as a regular Christmas cake as it contains less sugar and no alcohol which both tend to act as preservers.
Yes.
Why not prepare this cake on Stir-up Sunday the traditional day for baking Christmas cakes and puddings where everyone in the family takes a turn to mix the cake batter whilst simultaneously making a festive wish.
As this cake keeps fresh for less time than a regular Christmas cake simply freeze after it has baked and cooled, and then defrost a few days before Christmas and add vegan marzipan, icing or decorations if using.
Store in the freezer well wrapped in parchment paper and second layer of kitchen foil, for 3-4 months.
Yes.
Although do ensure that your beverage of choice has some sort of sweetness as if not the cake may not be sweet enough. And take into consideration that this change in ingredient will affect the cakes overall flavour.
A few ideas:
* vegan vanilla milk
* vegan strawberry milk
* vegan banana milk
* vegan chilled sweet coffee
* cold sweet black tea or similar
* sweetened herbal/fruit tea
* sweet chai tea
* orange juice
* apple juice
* cranberry juice
* your favourite fruit juice
Nothing extra really needs to be added but I do recommend adding some festive spices if the cake is intended for Christmas, such as (although not all at once!):
* teaspoon or two of cinnamon powder
* teaspoon ginger powder
* ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
* ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
* teaspoon or two of mixed spice
* teaspoon or two of pumpkin pie spice mix
* teaspoon or two of apple pie spice mix
* teaspoon or two of mixed spice
* coffee
* tea
* hot cocoa
* turmeric latte
* glass of chilled oat milk
For tasty puddings try:
* vegan hot custard, I have an easy recipe for custard over on my vegan school dinners jam sponge post
* vegan whipped cream (Asda, UK, does a whipped squooshy plant cream in a tall can in the chilled section)
* vegan single pouring cream (such as Elmlea plant single cream)
* homemade whipped coconut cream (from a can of full fat coconut milk, chill the can overnight and remove the thick cream, reserve the liquid for a curry, stew, smoothie)
* homemade sweet cashew cream (blend soaked cashews with some dates)
It may not be traditional but a slice of this cake with a little vegan butter or margarine spread over the inside of the wedge is actually very tasty. Similar to a Soreen malt loaf.
Absolutely.
Simply source a vegan marzipan and use to add a tasty festive addition to the Christmas cake. Check out this video from BBC good food for a method for covering a cake in Marzipan. Use any leftover marzipan to form little Christmas figures.
Recipe
Three Ingredient Vegan Christmas Cake
Equipment
- cake pan, around 8 inch diameter by 3 ½ inch height (20 cm x 8-9 cm)
- parchment/baking paper to line cake pan
Ingredients
- 225 grams self-raising flour sieved
- 550 grams dried fruit mix soaked in chocolate plant milk, I used a ready prepared dried fruit mix but individual dried fruits can be used in any combination
- 550 ml chocolate plant milk use this to soak the dried fruits overnight
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150 fan/ 170 Celsius/ 375 Fahrenheit/ Gas 3.
- Prepare a cake pan by greasing with a little vegan margarine or oil and lining with parchment paper.
- Soak the dried fruit in the chocolate plant milk overnight or for at least 12 hours.
- Mix the self-raising flour through the soaked dried fruit.
- Scoop the cake mix into the cake pan. Level the top with the back of a spoon.
- Place the cake pan on to the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. I have a fan oven and the cake is ready after 55 minutes.
- Leave in the pan for at least 30 minutes before carefully tipping out and cooling on a wire rack or chopping board.
Notes
- Nutritional data is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
- Store this fruit cake wrapped in parchment paper and a second layer of kitchen foil and place in an airtight container for at least 7 days possibly a few days longer.
- This cake will not last for months as a regular Christmas cake, as it contains less sugar and no alcohol which both tend to act as preservers.
- However, this fruit cake can be frozen for up to 3-4 months, so is a perfect cake to prep for Christmas in advance. Wrap well in greaseproof paper and a second layer of kitchen foil. An additional layer in the form of a freezer proof bag is a good idea.
- Remove the wrappings before defrosting at room temperature.
- A few ideas to replace the chocolate milk if preferred:
- * vegan vanilla milk, strawberry milk, banana milk, chilled sweet coffee, cold sweet black tea or similar, sweetened herbal/fruit tea, sweet chai tea, orange juice, apple juice, cranberry juice, your favourite fruit juice
- Any combination of dried fruit can be used for this recipe.
- For an extra festive flavour add a teaspoon or 2 of cinnamon, teaspoon of ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg or ground cloves, or a few teaspoon of mixed spice. Although not all the spices at once!
- Can't source vegan chocolate milk? Make your own using a vegan chocolate milk powder/hot chocolate powder.
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