This healthy gluten free Christmas fruit cake is a family recipe with a twist: no added sugar, butter or eggs, and sorghum flour is used in place wheat flour. Soft and moist – perfect with a digestive herbal tea after dinner. Vegan.
1kgmixed fruitomit the peel and glace cherries OR a 1kg mixture of fruit to your liking (slutanas, raisins, dried apricots, prunes, figs)
1cupdatespitted
1cupbrandy
1½cupsdry sherry
1cupmacadamia nuts
1cupwalnuts
1cupalmondsor use 3 cups of any unsalted, raw mixed nuts
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
1teaspoonmixed spice
1¼ - 1½cupssorghum flouror almond meal
1teaspoongluten free baking powder
OPTIONAL, TO BIND:
2tablespoonsground flax meal or psyllium husks
Instructions
Soak the mixed fruit and dates in the brandy and dry sherry overnight, or even longer. You will still need to soak the fruit if using orange juice or chai tea in place of alcohol.
When ready to cook, pre-heat oven at 150˚C (300˚F) and line a square cake tin with baking paper and set aside.
Add the nuts, citrus zest and mixed spice to the soaked fruit and stir well. Sift in the flour and baking powder – you may need the full 1½ cups of sorghum flour though this depends on how moist the batter is. Add the ground flax/psyllium last if using.
Pour mixture into cake tin and smooth out the surface. Cover with tinfoil. Bake for 1¼ hours, then remove the foil and bake another five minutes to brown the top.
Once cooled, wrap in baking paper then again in tin foil or newspaper to keep fresh. If you went with the brandy and sherry, the cake will last for weeks or more.