With a few days winter camping planned I thought we needed some wholesome sustenance to ward off the winter chill. This delicious fruit cake is easy to make [although it does take a bit of pre-planning] and keeps well for around five days. I first made this cake by soaking the fruit in tea but starting using whisky to use up some we had in the cupboard. I found that the whisky gives the cake a real flavourful punch and it is going to be hard to go back to cold tea when the surplus whisky has gone. Having a cake in the campervan is comforting and helps us to save money as it encourages us to have tea and cake in the ‘van rather than stopping at a tea shop [too often].
So here is my recipe for a vegan tea or whisky fruit cake
Ingredients
- 225 grams of flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 70 grams of sugar
- 1/2 mashed banana [60 grams] or you can use one egg if having a vegan cake isn’t important to you
- 250 mls whisky or brewed black tea
- 300 grams of your favourite mixed dried fruit [I like a mixture of cranberries and sultanas]
- 60 mls of soya milk [you can use cow’s milk]
- 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
- Pinch of salt
Method
- The day before, put the dried fruit in a bowl, pour over the whisky or brewed black tea and leave overnight to soak.
- The next day preheat the oven to 180C [gas mark 4] and line a baking loaf tin [the recipe has no oil so it needs the paper to stop it sticking].
- In a mixing bowl sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and mixed spice. Add the sugar and mix well, breaking any lumps. Make a well in the centre and add the mashed banana and the milk. Add the dried fruit and any remaining liquid. Mix well. You should have a soft mixture, add a little more milk if it feels too dry.
- Pour the mixture in to the loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes to one hour and a skewer comes out clean. Cool and leave a day before you eat it if you can. The cake keeps well in a tin.
Back on the road again 