You only need three ingredients for this Vegan Christmas Cake - dried fruits, self-raising flour, and chocolate flavoured plant-based milk - or an alternative. Ideal for an emergency Christmas cake as it can be quickly and easily baked. It's also great for when you want an everyday fruit cake but are short of time, ingredients, finances, have last minute guests, or just fancy a slice of fruit cake. Although this is a three ingredient Christmas cake you can add extra flavours such as festive spices - ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, mixed spice, or pumpkin spice.
Cake pan about 8 inch diameter by 3 ½ inch height (20 cm x 8-9 cm)
parchment or baking paper
sieve
cooling rack
Ingredients
225gramsself-raising flour[self-rising flour]
550gramsdried fruit mix[either a ready prepared dried fruit mix or a mixture of currants, raisins, and sultanas]
550millilitreschocolate plant-based milk[or an alternative, see recipe notes]
Instructions
Soak the dried fruits and milk together the night before you bake the cake
Add the dried fruit to a mixing bowl and pour in the milk. Stir and leave to soak for at least 8 hours or pop the bowl in the refrigerator and soak for 1-2 days before using.
550 grams dried fruit mix, 550 millilitres chocolate plant-based milk
Bake the cake:
Preheat oven to 150 fan, 170 Celsius, 375 Fahrenheit or Gas 3.
Prepare a cake pan by greasing with margarine or oil and lining with parchment paper.
Sift the flour into the mixing bowl with the soaked dried fruits and milk.
225 grams self-raising flour
Scoop the cake mixture into the cake pan and level out the top.
Place the cake pan on to the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. We baked the cake using a fan oven and the cake was baked after 55 minutes.
Leave the cake in the pan for at least 30 minutes before carefully removing to cool on a cooling rack.
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 5-7 days.
This cake will not lastfor months compared to a Christmas cake baked with sugar and alcohol, or fed with alcohol, as the alcohol helps preserve cakes.
Freeze the fruit cake for up to 4-5 months. Wrap tightly in greaseproof paper or food wrap, and a second layer of kitchen foil. An additional layer in the form of a freezer proof bag is a good idea.
You can make your own plant-based chocolate milk by mixing vegan-friendly chocolate milkshake powder with plant-based milk. Or by preparing vegan hot chocolate and then cooling the drink to use for the cake.
We have used Alpro chocolate soya milk for this recipe, as well as Co-op [UK supermarket] Gro cookies and cream plant-based shake - which is oat milk and cocoa powder.
A few ideas to replace the chocolate milk if preferred: vegan vanilla milk, vegan strawberry milk, vegan banana milk, chilled sweet coffee, cold sweet black tea or similar, sweetened herbal or fruit tea, sweet chai tea, orange juice, apple juice, cranberry juice, or your favourite fruit juice.
Any combination of dried fruits can be used for this recipe, chop up any large pieces of dried fruits such as dried apricots or dates.
For an extra festive flavour you can add warm spices such as ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves, mixed spice powder, pumpkin pie spice, or apple pie spice.