SMALL VEGAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

Small vegan Xmas cake

Fruit and sugar soaking in rum

Only himself and myself eat Christmas Cake, so I no longer make the lovely large one I used to make. This one does instead; it's a souped-up version of my Rum Brack. A non-vegan version can be made of course - substitutes in receipe.

Oven-ready

RECIPE

150ml tea
50ml dark rum or brandy
225g mixed luxury dried fruit
75g glacé cherries, halved
75g pitted dates, halved
75g brown sugar
1 tsp of NoEgg made up as per pack OR 1 beaten egg
60g melted vegan marg
125g wholegrain spelt flour
125g self raising rice flour
1tsp bread soda
1 tsp mixed spice

METHOD

- Soak the fruit, sugar, rum/whiskey and tea in a bowl - leave until cold
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Grease and line the bottom of an 8" round tin (I used a 2lb loaf tin, this time)
- Add the melted marg to the fruit mix. Stir through.
- Add the beaten egg. Stir through.
- Sieve flour, then fold in the flour, bread soda and spice
- Scrape/pour mixture into the lined tin
- Bake for 55 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean
- Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack.
- Peel off paper when cool
- Wrap cake in greaseproof and store in a tin
- Prick cake with a cocktail stick and feed with a more rum/brandy once a week (if the cake lasts that long!)
- We're not marzipan or icing fans but vegan versions of both are available :)

Nollaig shona! Hapy Christmas!

CHRISTMAS CAKE 2016

Well, last year I didn't even bother making a cake which felt wrong. The problem is the three kids don't eat Xmas cake so it's only me and himself. Anyway, I decided to make a small cake this year, so here it is. (It's my teabrack with a bit of zhuzsh.) I should mention we are not icing and/or marzipan fans here but both are easily procured or made. We cut the cake today and it's boozy and yum. Happy Advent!

Soaked fruit

With the egg and marg mixed through

Teeny brandy :)

INGREDIENTS

150ml tea

50ml brandy (plus more for dousing later)

grated rind of one orange

200g dried fruit (candied fruit, glace cherries, sultanas, raisins)

100g stoned dates, sliced in half

100g brown sugar

1 beaten egg

50g melted marg

255g wholegrain spelt flour

1 tsp bread soda

1 tsp mixed spice

flaked almonds to top (optional)

METHOD

- Soak the fruit, rind, sugar, brandy and tea in a bowl - leave overnight or for at least 4 hours

- Preheat the oven to 180C

- Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (ready-made liners are great and very little greasing needed!)

- Add melted marg to the fruit mix. Stir through.

- Add beaten egg. Stir through.

- Sieve in the flour, bread soda and spice

- Place mixture into the lined tin and flatten out the top

- Sprinkle with a handful of flaked almonds (if using)

- Bake for one hour, until a skewer comes out clean

- Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack.

- Once cool, make holes with a skewer and pour on a few tsps of brandy

- Wrap in greaseproof paper, then tinfoil and store in an airtight tin.

- Douse with a few tsps of brandy, bottom and top of cake alternately, at one week intervals, until you want to eat it.

VEGAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

Herewith - belatedly - my vegan Christmas cake - it's boozy, fruity and utterly yum. I made it yesterday with a little help from two of the kids. I've been making this cake for years and I always get comments from people who've made it, so please comment!

This year I am taking part in my friend Emily's Advent Linky Party with this recipe. See the Craft Advent/nest button over on the right and click to learn more.

Everything ready to go!

It helps hugely, I find, to get all your ingredients weighed and ready in advance.

Juno observing, Finn measuring

Nuala making a wish :)

This recipe makes a lovely moist cake; we used it as our wedding cake last year. We eat it plain but you can buy vegan marzipan and icing to decorate it if you like.

Nollaig shona! Happy Christmas!

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

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 150˚C
• Grease an 8" cake tin and line with a layer of greased greaseproof; leave a ridge of paper at the top
• 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 (it will puff up nicely!)
• 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 (if the cake lasts that long!)

The cake cooling in the tin

The finished cake!

CRAFT-ADVENT LINKY PARTY!

My friend Emily (artist/crafter/super-mom/wonder woman) is having a Craft-Advent Linky Party over at her lovely blog The Nest. She will be posting all sorts of beautiful craft tutorials, recipes etc. I can't get her sweet button (above) to go on my blog (grrr) so this will have to do as my 'I am taking part' button. Roll on Xmas!