Most Christmas cakes are packed full of gluten and refined sugar and contain hundreds and hundreds of grams of dried fruit. While I’m a big believer that Christmas cake shouldn’t be sans fruit altogether, there is a way to make it low in sugar and of course, gluten free and refined sugar free. Here it is. Enjoy.
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried fruit (e.g. apricots and sultanas)
- 30ml sherry*
- 2 cups hazelnut meal**
- 1 cup linseed, sunflower and almond meal (LSA)**
- 2 tablespoons nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 vanilla pod
- 4 eggs, free range
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 handful raw almonds
Method
- Soak dried fruit in sherry overnight.
- Preheat oven to 18O°C.
- Combine meals, spices, baking powder, salt and vanilla pod in a large bowl.
- Stir through soaked dried fruit.
- Beat eggs and add to dry mix with coconut oil and rice malt syrup. Add water and stir well.
- Spoon in a square cake tin lined with baking paper and bake for 30-40minutes or until it passes the skewer test.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Remove from tin and top with almonds. Continue to cool on a wire rack before slicing. Best served warm.
*For alcohol free, simply add your dried fruit into the dry mix, unsoaked.
**I have tried this recipe a number of times, with many different combinations of flours. I cannot offer substitutions here.
Could you soak the fruit in cold tea or fresh orange juice?
Great idea!
I think it great that you tried a LCHF xmas cake but it looks awful. I’d rather take a traditional recipe and change it slightly to get the carbs down, ie less sugar more xylitol, less normal flour more almond flower etc. Still lots of dry fruit and a good soaking of brandy, the spirit of Xmas! 😀
Hi Jon, I suggest you try it before judging a book by its cover! I have adapted a traditional recipe and still included dried fruit and alcohol, just not in excess.