To make this eggless fruit cake, you can use any of your favorite dried fruits likes raisins, dried dates, figs, apricots, berries and glace cherries. You can also skip glace cherries if you want to avoid artificial colors. Just replace them with some dried cranberries as they add similar color to the fruit cake. You can use cashew nuts, almonds and walnuts in any proportions to make them 100 grams. Towards the end of this post, I have shared few pics of the same recipe made using wheat flour and oil which I had made few years ago. If you are a newbie, please read the step by step photo instructions. They are much more clearly explained along with pictures taken at every step.

Preparation

  1. Using a good spice mix to make the fruit cake is very important as it enhances the flavor. I have used homemade spice powder using cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. You can also use dry ginger powder if you prefer the aroma. If you want to make it just add the 3 ingredients to a spice jar and powder it finely. I have also added 1 tbsp of sugar to help the spices blend easily. Set this aside.
  2. Grease a 8 or 9 inch cake tray and dust it with flour. Instead of flour, you can also use a parchment paper or grease proof paper to line the cake pan. You can also use a loaf pan. If using aluminum pan it is good to line the pan.

Preparing fruits

  1. These are the dry fruits and nuts I have used. I usually skip the glace cherries from this recipe and use mixed berries. If you prefer to avoid the artificial colors then just replace the glace cherries with dried cherries or berries. You can also add more citrus peels if you prefer. But 20 grams was good enough for our taste buds. Preparing the fruits and nuts does take some time so it is good to prepare in advance.
  2. Add chopped raisins, citrus peels, cranberries and apricots to a large mixing bowl.
  3. Bring water to a boil and pour them over the dry fruits. Actually this is a boiled cake recipe where all the dried fruits are briefly boiled in water to soften the fruits. In the recent years I started to feel boiling them does affect the flavor of the fruits & cake so I prefer to just pour hot water to them.
  4. Leave them to soak until the mixture turns cool or warm.
  5. The fruits get soaked in the hot water and turn soft.

How to make eggless christmas fruit cake

  1. Add brown sugar to the mixture. The recipe works well with 150 to 200 grams of brown sugar depending on the kind of dried fruits used. If using dates 150 grams would be sufficient. I have used 1 cup packed i.e 200 grams. So use to suit your taste.
  2. Add salt.
  3. Pour orange or apple juice. I used freshly squeezed unsweetened orange juice without pulp.
  4. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar. I have used organic apple cider vinegar. Avoid cheap vinegar as it can make the cake bitter.
  5. Add vanilla extract. You can also skip this since the flavors from the spice mix is good enough.
  6. Pour melted butter or oil.
  7. Mix them all to dissolve the sugar. Set this aside.
  8. Preheat the oven to 170 C for at least 15 mins.
  9. Fluff up the flour in the jar and spoon it to the measuring cups. Level the cups with a spatula. Add it to a sieve placed over a mixing bowl. Then add soda.
  10. Add the spice powder. Sieve them all together.
  11. If using wheat flour, then repeat the process thrice. This makes the cake light and less denser.
  12. The batter needs to go into the oven right after mixing the wet and dry ingredients. So make sure the oven is hot enough before you begin to mix the both. Stir the fruit mix well. Pour it to the flour.
  13. Mix the batter gently just until combined. Do not over mix. Add in the chopped cashews, almonds and cherries.
  14. Gently mix in.
  15. Pour it to the cake pan. Knock it gently to the kitchen top only twice. Do not over do as the nuts will settle at the bottom.

Baking eggless fruit cake

  1. Bake the cake for 35 to 40 mins if you have used a 8 inch pan. If using a 8½ by 4½ loaf pan, you will have to bake for 50 to 55 mins. Please do adjust the timing based on the size of your pan. When the cake is done, a tester inserted comes out clean.
  2. Cool the cake for 15 mins. Invert the cake on a wire cake.
  3. Cool the cake completely. Slice Eggless Christmas fruit cake once cooled completely. For more Cake Recipes, you can checkEggless Vanilla cakeEggless chocolate cakeBlack forest cakeEggless tutti frutti cakeEggless sponge cakeVanilla butter cakeBanana cakeEggless carrot cake Eggless Fruit cake made with wheat flour

Tips

Flour: This cake can be made using all purpose flour/ maida or whole wheat/ atta. Using wheat flour would make the cake slightly dense but still tastes very good. However if using wheat flour, sieve it well with the other dry ingredients at least thrice. This makes the cake lighter. Fats: I have used melted butter this time but it also works well with oil. I had used several times extra virgin coconut oil and just loved it. There was no flavor of oil in the cake. Towards the end of this post, I have shared few pics of the same recipe made using wheat flour and oil which I had made few years ago. If you are a newbie, please read the step by step photo instructions after the recipe card. They are much more clearly explained along with pictures taken at every step. Related Recipes