NBF Christmas Cake
My first of 12 Christmas recipes, the all important Christmas cake! Now I’m not going to lie, I never liked Christmas cake and it will always remain the only thing left unfinished at the Purcell Household but I have turned this traditional recipe into everybody’s favorite! Giving it more crunch, removing the alcohol (sorry, not sorry) and a little lighter, you will fool everyone with this doppelgänger!
Try not pick the nuts off the top, they’re slightly addictive!
VEGAN, DAIRY FREE, GLUTEN FREE, & REFINED SUGAR FREE
Serves
Cooks in Minutes
Ingredients
- 100g Ground Almond
- 80g Buckwheat Flour
- 2 tbsp Coconut oil
- 2 tbsp Coconut sugar
- 200g Dried dates soaked in 250ml hot water for at least 20 minutes
- 200g dried fruit- I used a mix of cranberries and raisins- but chopped apricots, figs etc work well too.
- 200g Walnuts- roughly broken
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp. cloves
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Âľ tsp ground ginger
Topping
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 150g mixed nuts
- pinch sea salt
Method
- Preheat oven 180°C
- Start by prepping the nut topping, In a bowl pour in the maple and sea salt, stir in the nuts until they are coated in the maple.Leave aside until ready to use.
- Place the soaked dates and water into a food processor and blend into a smooth paste.
- Add in the ground almonds, buckwheat, coconut sugar, baking powder and spices.
- Blend to form a thick smooth batter.
- Toss in the dried fruit and walnuts, stir using a spoon to combine well.
- Prepare a 8” round tin with some parchment paper, before spooning in the batter.
- Spread the batter evenly ensuring the top is very smooth.
- Place the maple nuts on top of the cake pressing them gently down to set. Drizzle any left over maple over the cake and place in the oven to bake for 35.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before tipping out of the baking tin.