This Gluten-Free Vegan Christmas Fruit Cake is perfectly spiced, seriously moist and covered in the most indulgent buttercream! It's also refined sugar free, and perfect for Christmas gifting!
After making this Fruit Cake, I realised it would be the perfect base for a Christmas Fruit Cake! You know, that heavily spiced fruit cake enveloped in a thick layer of super sweet marzipan or fondant icing? My version here is still pleasantly alcoholic, but slightly more subtly spiced than the traditional version, and much less heavy on the sugar...
Unlike marzipan or fondant icing, which I find quite sickly, especially on top of an already saccharine fruit cake, this vegan cashew buttercream is not too sweet, and its rich creaminess makes a lovely contrast to the sweetness of the cake and the slight acidity of the dried fruit.
Commonly used alcohol types are rum, brandy or sherry, but you can use any alcohol you like.
If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, make sure to check that the alcohol you use is gluten-free.
If you need it to be vegan, you can use the website barnivore.com to make sure that your alcohol is vegan.
Christmas Fruit Cake traditionally contains alcohol as the dried fruits are soaked in alcohol before being added to the cake batter. To make alcohol-free Christmas Fruit Cake, you can replace the alcohol by soaking the dried fruit in orange juice or apple juice instead.
Yes - you can do this by placing the dried fruit and alcohol (or juice) mixture in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 1 - 1 ½ minutes. Then leave to soak for 30 minutes.
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Place chopped dried fruits, walnuts and spices in a bowl and add sherry/brandy until covered.
Tip: Leave to soak in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl, using a measuring jug to measure out the plant-based milk.
- Transfer the cake batter to a 18cm / 7 inch springform baking tin.
Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to take out afterwards.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Transfer to a cooling rack until the cake has cooled completely before applying the frosting.
How to make the buttercream frosting
- Place the ingredients for the frosting in a food processor or blender.
- Whizz until completely smooth.
- Use a palette knife for frosting to spread the buttercream on the top and around the sides of the cake.
How long does this Christmas Fruit Cake keep for?
This cake keeps covered in the fridge for a few days. It's different from other vegan and gluten-free cakes as it doesn't dry out, and isn't crumbly or chewy. The taste even improves a couple of days after baking, which makes it great for gifting, and can easily be prepared in advance when entertaining guests.
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of dried fruit: I used a mixture of dates, cranberries, figs, prunes and apricots, but you can also use raisins, sultanas, sour cherries, mango, papaya or pineapple.
- You can replace the alcohol with orange juice or apple juice.
- You can replace the chopped walnuts with pecan nuts.
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
- You can replace the ground almonds with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds with ground sunflower seeds.
- You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.
More vegan festive desserts
- Pecan Pie
- Apple Cake
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Pumpkin Cake
- Apple Pie
- Matcha Shortbread
- Pumpkin Pie
- Gingerbread Cake
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I'd really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make this recipe
Gluten-Free Vegan Christmas Fruit Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 300 g (1 ½ cup) dried fruit , finely chopped (I used a mixture of dates, dried cranberries, dried figs, prunes and dried apricots, but you can use whatever dried fruit mix you like)
- 1 tablespoon unwaxed orange zest (or sub 1 teaspoon orange extract)
- 50 g (½ cup) walnuts , finely chopped (or sub pecan nuts)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice (or sub a mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves)
- Generous amount brandy or sherry (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary - or sub apple or orange juice)
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 200 ml (⅘ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
For the buttercream:
- 100 g (⅔ cup) raw cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or sub water or any other plant-based milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake:
- Place the dried fruit, orange zest, walnuts, ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice in a bowl and add a generous amount of brandy or sherry, until everything is roughly covered.
- Keep covered in the fridge for around 24 hours, to allow the flavours to develop.
- Before making the cake, preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, salt and ground almonds.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Add the dried fruit mixture (along with any residual brandy), adding a tiny splash more milk if it's looking too dry.
- Transfer the mixture into a baking tin lined with greased baking paper (I used a 7inch/18cm springform tin).
- Bake in oven for around 30 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Once cooked, leave to cool completely before frosting the cake.
For the buttercream:
- Drain soaked cashews and add to a food processor along with all the other ingredients.
- Whizz until completely smooth.
- Taste and adjust flavour if necessary, adding more maple syrup, salt or vanilla if you wish.
- Leave the buttercream to cool before using to frost the cake.
To frost and decorate:
- Once the cake has cooled completely, place onto a large plate or cake stand.
- Use a spatula or knife to cover the top and sides of the cake.
- Best when fresh, but keeps well covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
Video
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog - thank you.
Sharron
Would this Christmas cake last a few weeks if I didn't butter cream it but used marzipan and royal icing instead.
Rhian Williams
Hi! I'm not sure it will keep for that long as there's no sugar in there. Perhaps if you drizzle it with some alcohol every day that could work but you wouldn't be able to do that with marzipan/royal icing on top. I think it should keep for around 1 week or so covered in marzipan/royal icing but not sure about longer than that. Hope that helps!
Claire
Hi, I have been looking into how to make this cake last longer for Xmas and found some recipes similar to yours but with added dark sugar / treacle that says it last for ages if you feed it every so often with a drizzle of brandy/sherry then remembering to wrap it in a double layer of foil one strip one way and another at 90degrees and keep in a cool place until you want to marzipan and ice it. I'm going to try it a few days before needing to marzipan and ice it to try it out. (Luckily have found vegan versions!) It says it's the alcohol that preserves it and keeps it moist but not to overdo the feeding, slowly add it and let it soak in, if looks dry on the next day add a drizzle more alcohol, otherwise leave it another day. It suggests you can do it weeks in advance!? If it works I'll let you know but I think I will be adding treacle or sugar just to ensure it works. Im not quite sure how much treacle to add but will guess and do taste test as I don't want it to be overly sweet!
My mouth is watering just thinking about baking this cake!! Patience is a virtue! Roll on Christmas! 🎄😉 One question, can I bake it in one tin instead of two, will it take double the time to bake?
Rhian Williams
Hi! Thank you so much for sharing, that's so helpful to know! I would love to hear how you get on with this and if you manage to preserve it for that long. You can absolutely make it in one tin instead of two and yes it will take around double the time to bake. Just make sure an inserted skewer comes out clean!
Lilly Rayman
I've started mine now, just put my fruit to soak with the spices in some Scotch (only alcohol I have at home). When it's baked, I'll add a little extra alcohol to preserve it.
Generally when you cover a cake in icing, as long as you seal it entirely, and store in a air tight cake container (not refrigerated - it effects the structure of the icing) the cake will remain fresh for a longer period of time.
Rhian Williams
Sounds great, would love to hear how you get on! Ooh and thank you for sharing, that's really helpful to know!
Lilly Rayman
Okay, so my cake was made on Dec 4 2018 - I poked skewer holes in and poured 2 extra cap fulls of scotch over the cake - sealed it tight and left it on the side. 2 days later I covered it with marzipan and royal icing. It was not placed in the fridge at any stage of the process.
Christmas Day - we cut into the cake and it was as fresh/moist as the day it was made - there are only 2 slices left after two days, and its still as yummy as the day it was made! Not once has it seen the inside of the fridge and being in Australia - it has been sitting at around 30c in the kitchen.
The alcohol I think helped it stand up to the test of 20 days until being eaten.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for sharing such detailed feedback - that's really helpful to know and so glad it turned out ok after all that time!! Really glad you liked the cake too! Thanks again and hope you had a great Christmas!
Monica
Hiii I can not eat nuts, suggestions for replace the almond meal? Thanks!! I am going to make it for this Christmas!!
Rhian Williams
Aw great, thank you so much! You can use ground sunflower seeds, or a fifth of the amount coconut flour. Hope that helps!
The Green Cherry
hi there.... question - do you use 2 pans or 1? the directions say 2 pans but the recipe card only has 1, and the photo doesn't show layers after frosting.
Rhian Williams
Hi! Thank you for letting me know - there was a mistake in the directions. I have amended it now - it was 1 pan not two, but you can do either and divide the mixture between two pans and bake for half the time if you like. So sorry about that and thank you so much for letting me know!