EVERYTHING READY TO GO
MAKING A WISH
THE FINISHED CHRISTMAS CAKE
You can use all organic ingredients, but you don’t have to. This makes a lovely moist, boozy and fruity cake. We eat it plain but you can buy vegan marzipan and icing to decorate it if you like. I like to get everything measured and ready before I start, so that the making of the cake goes smoothly.
INGREDIENTS
350 gr wholegrain spelt flour
175gr vegan marg
175gr light muscovado sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
150gr sultanas
200gr raisins
150gr dates
50 gr flaked almonds
1 tblsp treacle
100gr glacé cherries, halved
grated zest of an orange
2 tblsps ground almonds
120ml soya milk
2 tblsps red wine vinegar
¾ tsp of bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)
6 tblsps (90ml) brandy
• Preheat oven to 150˚C
• Grease an 8” cake tin and line with a double layer of greased greaseproof
• Sieve the flour and spice
• Rub in the marg until the mix is like breadcrumbs
• Stir in the flaked almonds and treacle
• Add the sugar, dried fruit, cherries, orange zest and ground almonds and mix
• Warm half the soya milk in a small pot and add the vinegar
• Dissolve the bread soda in the rest of the soya milk, then add
this to the milk and vinegar mix
• Stir this into flour and fruit mix until well combined
• Spoon mix into greased tin and smooth the top
• Bake for 2 hours, until a skewer/cocktail stick comes out clean
• Leave cake in tin to cool, then turn out and peel off greaseproof
• Prick cake with a cocktail stick and feed with a third of the brandy
• Wrap cake in greaseproof and store in a tin
• Feed with the rest of the brandy at weekly intervals
• Will keep for 4 weeks
41 comments:
I'd love to know if any of you make the cake. Leave a comment if you have!
The recipe was fantastic! Moist, sweet and boozy. Perfect. It really made my first Vegan Christmas! Thank you!
Wow, Rebecca, I'm thrilled somebody else enjoyed the cake! We devoured ours and it was yummy. Congrats on becoming vegan! I am a mere veggie but my partner is a vegan, so I cook and bake vegan all the time.
Thanks for stopping by.
Nuala x
I made the cake yesterday and the majority was devoured hot by 3 adults and 3 children after pouring about 1/3 cup brandy over it. A vegetarian friend raved with every mouthful then promptly copied down the recipe. I am planning to make at least 2 more this year and will serve it with vegan custard and icecream for Christmas dinner. I substituted dark brown sugar for muscovado as I couldn't find any. Thank you for this recipe - it will be shared and treasured.
Hi Geoff,
I'm delighted you made and enjoyed the cake. It is BEYOND delicious. I brought a wedge to my parents' the other day and they ooh-ed and aah-ed over it. We have one quarter left of ours - I am eking it out!
I should consider making another too.
Thanks for stopping by and for your feedback.
Nuala
ooo..this looks LOVELY!
going to go soak some fruit and try to cook it tomorrow!
( I'll let you know how it turns out)
Thanks for the recipe!!
Vee xxxx
V - it's the best Xmas cake ever!! We've scoffed ours already. I've even made it again in individual sizes for next week. Blog post to follow next week on that!!
N
yum yum, i've just made two more this morning because the first one was so fab, I used Drambuie instead of brandy. It just goes to prove a vegan family can have the best of everything. :-) LOVE IT!! oooh yes and the vegan custard idea was inspired.
yum yum, i've just made two more this morning because the first one was so fab, I used Drambuie instead of brandy. It just goes to prove a vegan family can have the best of everything. :-) LOVE IT!! oooh yes and the vegan custard idea was inspired.
Yay, Christa. It's so good to hear about people making the cake. Drambuie, eh? Very nice.
ok! I've finally done it! it's in the oven!
I used your recipe as a guideline but just changed the amounts of things.
Also I soaked my fruit in some rum before hand. MMMMM nice!!
thanks again! i'll let you know how it tastes!!!
Vee xxx
Vee - rum! I like it. I hope it is totally yummy. No doubt it will be. Happy Xmas!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=11552116&l=0705eb412d&id=531230494
Here it is!
And it tasted gorgeous!
:D xxxx
It looks gorgeous, V. Glad it was a success!
This looks really delicious!
Do you know how long it would keep for?
Oops! Just reread post & saw the four weeks comment!
Thanks!
Hi Emily
It should keep nicely for 6 weeks, if you feed it regularly with brandy, that should keep it right.
We eat ours after about 4 weeks usually. It's irresistible!
Nuala
i am looking for a recipe for vegan plum pudding... can you steam a thing and expect it to hold together without eggs?? can I use a traditional recipe and substitute an egg replacer? any ideas?
thanks
Hi Alpha
Here is good old Rose Elliott's plum pud recipe. You are making me want to make pudding now!
Nuala
Christmas Plum Pudding
8 oz (225g) currants
4 oz (125g) sultanas
4 oz (125g) raisins
4 oz (125g) mixed candied peel, chopped
1oz (25g) blanched almonds, chopped
4 oz (125g) plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
8 oz (225g) dark brown molasses (dark brown) sugar
4 oz (125g) soft, fresh wholewheat breadcrumbs
8 oz (225g) pure vegetable suet, grated
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp black treacle
4 fl oz (100ml) soya milk
4 tbsp rum
1. Grease a 2 pint (1.2 litre) pudding basin (mixing bowl) or 2 x 1 pint (600ml) pudding basins.
2. Put the dried fruit and almonds into a large bowl. Add the flour, salt, spices, sugar, breadcrumbs, suet, lemon zest & juice, treacle, soya milk and rum. Mix very well to make a soft, dense mixture. Spoon the mixture into the basin or basins. Cover with a double layer of greased foil and tie down well under the rim.
3. Put into a steamer or saucepan on top of a an upturned saucer and pour in enough boiling water to come half-way up the sides of the basin. Steam for 4 hours, topping up the pan with boiling water as necessary. Leave to cool. Remove the foil and cut out a circle of grease proof paper to fit over the top of the pudding, cover tightly with a fresh, doubled piece of foil, then store in a cool, dry place - or pudding will keep (and mature) for several months. To reheat, steam of before for 3 hours before serving.
URL:
http://www.vegancampaigns.org.uk/resources/recipes/swXmasPlumPud.html
This a fabulous recipe - better than any non-vegan Christmas cake I've had! I made two versions of the cake - I added one overripe mashed banana to one, and left it out in the other. The banana made the cake lovely and moist and you didn't even know it was there so I'd recommend adding it, especially if you have one festering in a fruit bowl!
Hi Jennifer
That sounds great - I'm all for using up squishy bananas! Glad you enjoyed. Nuala x
i made your cake yesterday!! over the moon with it. Check my blog and you can see pic x
Oooh, fantastic, I'm going there now to look. N x
I've just put your cake in the oven - 2nd year on the trot :) x
Fantastic!!! I hope it turned out great.
What a highly recommended cake! I have one vegan guest for xmas and thought I'd make a vegan friendly cake. I'm sure noone will be any wiser it is vegan as it sounds yummy (as I'm sure lots of vegan food is!) Glad to find this recipe thankyou x
Hi Sandra - don't tell them until the vegan says they can't have any and then reveal that it is vegan - ta dah!!
It is a delicious cake, I must say. Your friends will be amazed!
Nuala x
I was a bit unsure of this recipe and very nervous when stirring in my beautifully spiced and brandy soaked organic dried fruit (I soaked my fruit in brandy and spices for a week prior) but it is a great recipe- cakes look great and can't wait to a slice out of them if they'd just hurry up and cool!! Thanks so much- you're a wizz merry christmas to you and your family!!
Wonderful, Teg! Enjoy and Nollaig Shona (Merry Xmas!)
Nuala x
It's great thank you!! I made two so I could test one before the Christmas Day cake unveiling and it has gone down well with everyone. I use to do Nigella Lawsons Christmas Black Cake, but I think I have a new favourite!
Happy Christmas x
Woo - I love to hear it, Sandra. Merry Xmas!!!
Hi there - this recipe looks amazing and I am determined to make a cake this year.... It keeps for 4-6 weeks once feeding done, but can I be really thick and ask how many weeks to feed it for? Is it make cake, feed for several weeks, then will keep for 4-6 weeks? Just wondering when to bake
Thanks ever so much
Hi Missy,
I feed mine once a week and it lasts from baking for six weeks. Except it doesn't cos we have it eaten, but you know what I mean :) For clarity: the cake will last six weeks from the day you make it but I recommend feeding it brandy once a week. Hth. Good luck! Let me know if you bake it!
Nuala x
Hi! I usually make my christmas cake around now and then by christmas its really rich and delicious. I was wondering if i feed this cake with brandy, would it last longer than 6 weeks? Like a month and a half?
Hi Michelle
I think it should last if you keep feeding it brandy. The alcohol preserves the cake. I am only going by what the original recipe said and ours is always eaten by Xmas anyway but I imagine the more alcohol, the longer it will last.
HTH!
Nuala x
i am having a major panic, as mine is in the oven minus the dates, am not a confident baker and am fretting that as i forgot to put the dates in and had not subbed them for anything else (as it was an error!!) my cake will be dreadful - i know you are unlikely to see this and be able to reply today but i wondered what you think will happen to my cake? thank youosawithi
Hi Missy,
So sorry for the late reply, I was away.
I hope it turned out fine. I am sure it just means a less fruity cake and that it held together fine. How did it go??!!
Nuala x
How long will the cake last if I don't use alcohol? A recovering alcoholic is going to be eating this so I don't want to use booze, but will it last as long without it? If not, how long before xmas should I make it?? Thx :-)
Hi Sarah, As I haven't made it without booze, I would say it should be fine for a week, in an airtight tin. The fruit will keep it from getting too dry. So you could make it anytime from the 18th on, I would say, if you plan to serve it on Xmas Day. Best of luck and thanks for stopping by! N x
would it be ok to make without the almonds? I am allergic to walnuts and they can never guarantee that theres not other nuts in there.
Hi VegKat,
Yes, without almonds would be fine. The flaked almonds just add a slight crunch. Substitute the ground almonds with the same amount of flour (added with the other flour), just to keep the bulk the same. Good luck! Let me know how you get on.
Nuala x
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