Go Back
+ servings
Vegan Fruit Cake

Vegan Christmas Fruit Cake

Vegan Fruit Cake is the perfect baked treat to make for Christmas. It is packed with dried fruit and nuts, still light and delicious.
Author: Pavani
Print Pin
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Soaking Time:: 12 hours
Total Time: 13 hours 20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 16 Servings

Ingredients

  • 2½~3 cups Dry Fruit Nuts*
  • ½ cup Orange or Apple juice
  • ½ cup Rum, brandy or sherry
  • 1 cup Almond Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
  • 2 tablespoons Apple cider Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tablespoon Orange zest
  • cups All purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • cup Oil*
  • cups Light brown Sugar*

Instructions

  • Start by soaking the dry fruit and nuts in orange juice and/ or rum for at least 12 hours. Check the tips section on more details.
    2½~3 cups Dry Fruit Nuts*, ½ cup Orange or Apple juice, ½ cup Rum, brandy or sherry
  • When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 2 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pans or 3~4 mini loaf pans or 1 8-inch round pan. Lightly grease the pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with a parchment. Lightly grease the parchment as well.
  • In a measuring jar, combine milk and vinegar and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Stir in baking soda, vanilla extract and orange zest. The mixture will bubble a little. Set aside while you prepare other ingredients.
    1 cup Almond Milk (or other non-dairy milk), 2 tablespoons Apple cider Vinegar, 1 teaspoon Baking Soda, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 1 tablespoon Orange zest
  • In a medium size bowl, sift flours, baking powder, salt and all the spices. Mix until combined. Set aside.
    2¼ cups All purpose flour, ½ teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • In a large bowl, combine oil and brown sugar. Using a whisk beat the mixture until very smooth, about 4~5 minutes.
    ⅔ cup Oil*, 1¼ cups Light brown Sugar*
  • Add the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix until combined and no dry flour remains. Stir in the soaked dry fruit mixture along with any of the leftover marinade. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
  • Bake for 35-50 minutes (check the Tips section for baking times for different baking pans) until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes before removing the cake onto a wire rack. Cool the cake completely before slicing.

Video

Notes

  • Use any combination of dried fruit and nuts. Make sure that the total amounts to 2½~3 cups. Here are a few fruit and nuts that I love using in my cake:
    • dried cherries, cranberries, dates, berries, raisins (black or golden), apricots (chopped), dried strawberries (the juicy dried ones, not freeze dried) etc. etc.
    • almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans etc.
  • Minimum marinating time is 12 hours, but you can marinate them longer too. Here are few guidelines to help you:
    • If using only alcohol, then you can soak them for up to 3 months in advance.
    • But if are using making non-alcoholic and using just fruit juice, then marinate them for about 5~7 days in advance. Also make sure to refrigerate the container.
  • You can use rum (either white or spiced would work), brandy or sherry. The alcohol usually cooks off while baking, so don't worry about feeding it to kids. But you can completely avoid alcohol to make this is a no-alcohol fruit cake. In which case, use double (or 1 cup) of fruit juice.
  • On the other hand, if you want a boozy cake, then just use 1 cup of alcohol for soaking.
  • But to get the best flavor of both fruit and booze, use a 50:50 combination of fruit juice and alcohol.
  • Almond, oat and soy milk are great to use here.
  • White wine or red wine are good substitutes for apple cider vinegar.
  • If you are not vegan, substitute oil with melted butter. This adds more flavor, but the cake will dry up faster and will not keep well for too long.
  • I used both all purpose and whole wheat flour. But you can omit the whole wheat flour and make it entirely with APF.
  • Baking times vary with the size of the baking pan used:
    • (1) 8" round cake pan - 45~55 minutes
    • (1) 9" round cake pan - 35~45 minutes
    • (2) 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan - 40~50 minutes
    • (3~4) mini loaf pans - 30~35 minutes
  • Baked cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week. It can be frozen for up to 2 months. Make sure to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 181mg | Potassium: 56mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @cooks_hideout or tag #cookshideout!