Ready for some sugar and spice?
This Christmas cake recipe uses aromatic cinnamon and dried fruit for a festive flavour like no other. We’ve replaced the icing with jewel-bright fruits and nuts – but you can decorate the cake however you like.
Just like the traditional version, it gets better with time! Bake it a few weeks or months ahead of Christmas. Our recipe can be gluten-free, alcohol-free, and vegan - so everyone will enjoy it when the big day arrives.
350g H&B Chopped Dates
1kg H&B Mixed Fruit
250g Vitacoco Coconut Oil
4 tbsp H&B Chia Seeds (If you would prefer to make a traditional
cake replace chia seeds with 3 eggs)
75g H&B Brown Rice Flour
2tsp H&B Mixed Spice
1tsp H&B Cinnamon
100g H&B Ground Almonds
100g H&B Flaked Almonds
Extras you need:
1 Orange
1 Lemon
150ml Rum or any alcohol of your choice (for an alcohol free version use Orange Juice)
200g Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
100g Plain Flour
Equipment you need:
Large pan
20cm deep cake tin
Baking parchment
1
Zest and juice the orange and lemons. Add to a large
pan with chopped dates, mixed fruit, rum, Vitacoco
coconut oil and brown sugar.
2
Bring to the boil and stir, then lower the heat and simmer
for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Transfer the
mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 mins.
3
Heat your oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2. Line a deep
20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment.
Mix the chia seeds with 150ml water. Leave to sit for 5
mins until gel-like and thick.
4
Add the chia seed mix, vanilla extract and remaining
dry ingredients to the fruit mixture. Stir well, ensuring
there are no pockets of flour.
5
Tip into your prepared tin and level the top with a spoon.
Place in centre of the oven and bake for 2 to 3 hours or
until the cake feels firm to the touch and is golden brown.
Check after two hours, and if the cake is a perfect colour,
cover with foil. When the cake is fully baked a skewer
inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean.
6
Remove cake from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
Poke holes in it with a skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp of rum.
Feed the cake for up to 5 days with 1-2 tbsp of rum until
ready to remove from tin and decorate.