EGGLESS CHRISTMAS FRUIT CAKE with whole wheat flour! Step-wise recipe to make this soft and moist egg free Christmas cake with no soaking of fruits as traditional cakes demand!

                               Jump to Recipe

Come Christmas and everyone is busy baking cakes and cookies to celebrate with family and friends! Although I love baking, because my kids are all grown up and have flown the coop, my baking has been restricted to just a few bakes a year! But this year, as I am in my younger son’s house in San Diego and he and my daughter-in-law (Preeti)  love to celebrate Christmas by decorating a Christmas tree and adorning them with ornaments which they have collected in their travels, I decided to make this easy and scrumptious Christmas bake which we all love to add to the festive atmosphere!

WHAT IS A CHRISTMAS FRUIT CAKE?

In India, we know fruit cake as plum cake chock full of dried plums, nuts and with a heady aroma of spices like cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. These cakes are more famous in the southern state of Kerala and I love their version of plum cake! They normally have rum soaked dry fruits (which sometimes are soaked for at least a month!) and then mixed into a spice infused batter.

Recently, Preeti had bought a wooden basket online which came with a bunch of dry fruits (dried bananas, apricots, apples, kiwi, prunes,mango etc.) which were lying around. So, to make this cake, I decided to not purchase any fresh dry fruits but make do with the ones I had!

This soft and moist cake is an easy one with no eggs, no alcohol (you can add if you want) and with whole wheat flour instead of plain maida/all-purpose flour! Just boil the dried fruits with some orange juice (freshly squeezed homemade and from homegrown oranges), water (or rum) and some lemon juice (again I used homegrown lemons) and then mix into the cake batter and then bake. Do check out our home garden with orange tree on the left and lemon and lime trees on the right below! We have been feasting on fresh oranges, lemons and juices ever since we came here! This cake turned out absolutely delicious, moist and dense like the ones we used to get in stores and the whole house was wafting in the aroma of spices, fruits and freshly baked cake! Why, Preeti even mentioned that this cake tasted like the one they had got as a gift for their anniversasy from my other son and daughter in law from Boston! That compliment was enough for me to save this recipe on my blog!

EGGLES CHRISTMAS CAKE – INGREDIENTS:

Dry fruits and nuts – like I mentioned above, I used leftover chopped up dried kiwi, mango, apricots prunes, raisins, etc. along with some nuts –chopped up almonds and walnuts. You can use any mix of dried fruits and nuts you like or have. Spices and flavorings (the key ingredients in a Christmas plum cake) – I added powdered nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and dried ginger along with some zest of one orange for a more citrusy kick. Flour – traditionally, they use all-purpose flour or plain flour. But I always try and use a healthier option, so whole wheat flour it was. You can use plain flour instead if you prefer. Yogurt – as this is an eggless version, my favorite substitute is yogurt or buttermilk/sour milk which adds moisture to bakes especially when making cakes. Other basic ingredients –dark brown sugar, oil (yes oil which makes the cake ultra moist as compared to butter), baking powder, baking soda, vanilla essence and a dash of cocoa powder to add to the dark color of the cake. Cocoa powder again is optional.

KEY STEPS TO MAKE A PERFECTLY BAKED FRUIT CAKE:

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Well, it is a Christmas cake after all, so serve it as a dessert at your Christmas meal or as a snack with your chai/coffee any day. Our family loved it so much, I am making this all year round! This stores well at room temperature for a couple of days but if storing longer, refrigerate in an airtight container. Enjoy Foodies! Merry Christmas and Happy Baking!

If you are a huge cake lover like me, then you will absolutely be thrilled by these too:

Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake Super Moist Carrot Cake with Honey-Lime Glaze Super Moist Cocoa Cupcakes – Eggless Vegan Chocolate Mocha Banana Cake Vegan Dates and Cashew Nut Cake

Now, let’s see how to bake this gorgeous and delicious Eggless Christmas Fruit Cake:

Step-wise Instructions to make Scrumptuous, Eggless Christmas Fruitcake:

SOAKING THE DRIED FRUITS: In a small saucepan, mix the dried chopped up fruits, orange juice, water and lemon juice. If you are adding alcohol, at this stage, you can add some rum instead of water.

Bring to a boil and simmer on medium low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, let us prepare the batter. TO MAKE THE CAKE: Preheat oven to 160 C or 320 F. Line an 8-inch pan with parchment paper and grease the paper too; set aside. In a mortar or pestle or spice grinder, blend 4 to 5 whole cloves, 1 small nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder and 1/2 tsp ginger powder. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in orange zest and spice mixture.

If using, stir in 1 tbsp cocoa powder.

In another large mixing bowl, beat oil and brown sugar using a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer until homogenous for a couple of minutes.

Add the yogurt and vanilla essence/extract and beat well for another minute or so.

Now, stir in the dry flour mixture and using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently mix using the cut and fold method until you see no more dry flour pockets. DO NOT OVER MIX TO AVOID A DENSE CAKE!

Add the soaked dried fruits (leave some to top the cake) and nuts and gently fold it in.

Pour into the prepared pan and level using an offset spatula. Sprinkle the remaining dried fruits on top and place in preheated oven.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for about 10 minutes.

Then, remove from pan and let cool COMPLETELY before cutting into slices. Enjoy this soft, moist, slightly dense, scrumptious, spice infused Christmas Fruit Cake especially during Christmas or any time you crave and fancy biting into this delicious cake!

Happy Baking Foodies!

PIN here for later:

If you like my posts and recipes, do not forget to Pin, Share, comment in the box below or like my Facebook page  For more such easy and delicious recipes,  follow me on: Facebook @ curryandvanilla Pinterest @ curryandvanilla Instagram @ curryandvanilla16 Twitter @ curryandvanilla Google Plus  @ Vanitha Bhat Have fun cooking, eating and sharing!!!