Christmas Cake… a tradition in lots of households and a favourite with the team here at Lakeside Village!
We’ve got a great recipe to share from our friends at Grape Tree, that’s naturally vegetarian, but with a simple twist means it can also be vegan too.
Make this any time in the run-up to the big day and nobody has to miss out on a slice of the festive tradition. See below for the ingredients list and method and pop in store to Grape Tree for all the essentials needed, they’re open seven days a week, see here for their opening times.
Ingredients
- 350g plain flour
- 300g sultanas
- 400g raisins
- 125g currants
- 150g mixed peel
- 100g dried apricots roughly chopped
- 100g dates pitted and chopped
- 150g glace cherries
- 50g pecans chopped
- 50g almonds chopped
- 150ml breakfast tea (no milk!) or brandy or sherry
- 225g butter
- 225 soft brown sugar.
- 1 tsp orange rind zest
- 1 tsp lemon rind zest
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp black treacle
- 2 tbsp marmalade
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 large free-range eggs
Top tip – Vegan switch outs: Switch the 225g of butter for 225g of coconut oil; the 225g of soft brown sugar for 225g of coconut sugar; the eggs for 4tbs of golden linseed soaked in 12tbs of water for 30 mins.
Method
- Wash and dry all the fruit and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour over the tea or alcohol and mix well. Cover and leave to stand overnight.
- Line a 20-24cm round cake tin with baking paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the fruit rinds, vanilla essence and marmalade and beat well.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. If the mixture starts to curdle add a little of the flour.
- Fold in the prepare fruits, alternating them with the nuts, spices and flour which you have mixed together in a separate dish. Mix well
- Pour the mixture into the lined tin, smooth over the top and bake at 140°C for 3-4 hours. The cake is ready when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- When the cake has cooled take it out of the tin and wrap in greaseproof paper and then tinfoil and store in an airtight container.
- Just before Christmas remove the wrapping and decorate how you wish. A Grape Tree favourite is a coverings of pecans, almonds and glace cherries with warm apricot jam spooned over as a glaze.
All of the ingredients in this recipe can be found at Grape Tree with baking materials being able to be found at ProCook & Cook N Dine – see in store for details. Let us know how your Christmas cake creation turns out.
