This recipe for Vegan Gluten Free Fruit Cake is free-from eggs, dairy, sugar, fat, nuts, and soy, yet each bite is deliciously moist, sweet, fruity, and satisfying. Its a great festive fruit cake alternative - for Christmas cakes, Hogmanay cakes, Easter cakes, Halloween cakes, Thanksgiving cakes, or even for a special Mother's Day or Father's Day. Or simply enjoy as an everyday free-from fruit cake to pair up with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.
1 kg/ 2Ib loaf pan plus baking parchment to line pan
Saucepan
citrus fruit zester
Mixing bowl
Ingredients
Pre-cook the dried fruits:
500millilitreswater
500gramsdried mixed fruit[use a dried fruit mix, or a combination of dried fruits such as raisins, currants, sultanas, cranberries, etc.]
200gramsdates[chopped and any stones removed]
Mix through dried fruit after stewing:
4tablespoonsfresh orange juice[or apple juice]
Fruit cake:
170gramsgluten free plain flour[ we used the Freee Doves Farm flour]
¼teaspoonxanthan gum
3teaspoonsgluten-free baking powder
1teaspoonmixed spice powder[or pumpkin or apple pie spice mix]
1teaspoonground cinnamon
¼teaspoonground cloves[or ground nutmeg, allspice, ginger, or extra of the other spices listed]
50gramsground sunflower seeds[or ground pumpkin seeds] [if nuts are not an issue you can use ground almonds, etc]
1mediumorange[zest removed]
4tablespoonswater
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 130 Fan, 150 Celsius,300 Fahrenheit, or Gas 2.
Prepare your loaf pan by greasing with either oil or margarine and lining the pan with baking parchment.
Stew the dried fruits
Place the dried fruit and dates into a saucepan along with the water, and over a medium heat bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Carefully transfer the stewed fruits into a mixing bowl and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes. Give the mix a stir every now and again to release the heat faster. Add the orange juice and mix.
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Prepare cake:
Add the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, ground sunflower seeds, mixed spice, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest into a mixing bowl. Stir everything together.
Pour the stewed fruits into the mixing bowl, and add the 4 tablespoons of water.
4 tablespoons water
Mix well and transfer the cake batter to the loaf pan and level the cake surface with the back of a cutlery spoon or a small spatula.
Bake:
Place the loaf pan on the shelf just above the bottom one, or if you prefer, directly under the middle shelf in the oven. The key is to keep the cake away from the top shelf of the oven!
Baking time for the fruit cake can vary based on your specific oven. In our fan oven, it typically takes about 55 minutes. However, it's a good idea to start checking at the 50-minute mark. Look for a firm cake that's just pulling away from the sides of the pan. To be extra sure it's done, insert a skewer into the cake - it should come out clean. If these signs aren't there, continue baking for an additional 5-10 minutes and check again.
Once baked, leave the cake in the loaf pan for about 20 minutes before carefully tipping out, peel the parchment paper away from the sides, and leave to cool on a cooling rack before slicing.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
Vegan gluten-free fruit cake can be stored wrapped in parchment paper and a second layer of kitchen foil or placed in an airtight container, for up to 5 days. Possibly a few days longer if kept in a cool, dry area. We often wrap the cake and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
This fruit cake can also be stored in the freezer for up to 4-6 months. Wrap up the entire cake or individual slices. Remove the wrappings and thaw to room temperature before enjoying.
Replace the orange juice with apple or even pineapple juice. We freshly squeezed the orange after we removed the zest for the cake. We managed to get all 4 tablespoons required for the recipe from one medium sized orange.
Alternatively use any store-bought orange juice.
Any blend of mixed dried fruit can be used in any quantities for this cake, as long as your chosen mix equals the stated amounts. Such as raisins, currents, sultanas, dried apricots, dried pineapple or papaya cubes, cranberries, goji berries, dried cherries, dried blueberries, prunes, figs, etc. Or simply use an already prepared dried fruit mix.
Although we do recommend not replacing the dates as they contribute to the sweetness as well as tasty caramelly flavours.
Instead of mixed spice powder you can use pumpkin spice powder or apple pie spice powder, or extra cinnamon, or a mixture of ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, all-spice, etc.
The ground sunflower seeds can be replaced with ground pumpkin seeds. Or if nuts are not an issue use ground almonds or another ground nut.
Looking for a gluten-free Christmas cake? You can use this recipe and either bake the cake in a loaf pan or a circular cake pan. However, as this cake is free from added sugar and fat, as well as alcohol, it will not keep as long as traditional Christmas cakes. It is best to bake the cake a few days before it is required for the festive period or freeze the baked cake. The cake can be covered with gluten-free marzipan and gluten-free royal icing the same way as a traditional festive cake.