Easy Christmas cake
Get ahead with this classic Christmas cake. Make it in advance and it will keep until you’re ready to decorate.
Ingredients
- 225 g flavourless coconut oil or grass-fed butter softened
- 100 g organic coconut sugar or dark soft brown sugar
- 225 g buckwheat flour
- 4 large free-range eggs beaten
- 50 g ground almonds
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 85 g tart cherries, roughly chopped (unsulphured and unsweetened)
- 250 g raisins (unsulphured and unsweetened)
- 250 g currants (unsulphured and unsweetened)
- 100 g pecans, roughly chopped
- Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon (unwaxed)
- Juice and finely grated zest of 1 orange (unwaxed)
- 1½ tsp mixed spice (I like Steenbergs)
- 1½ tsp rosewater (I like Steenbergs)
- ½ tsp pure orange extract (I like Steenbergs)
- ½ tsp baking powder (aluminium free)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Grease and line a 20cm (8 inch) round cake tin with plastic-free baking parchment.
- Place the coconut oil and sugar in a large bowl and mix until smooth. Stir in a spoonful of flour, then the beaten eggs and remaining flour alternately, a quarter at a time, mixing until well combined. Mix in the almonds.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the top, making a slight dip in the centre. Bake for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 150°C (300°F) and bake for another 2 hours or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Leave to cool completely before turning out and wrapping well in plastic-free baking parchment and foil before storing.