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This vegan fruit cake recipe is a healthy and delicious spin on a classic holiday season dessert. Made with your favorite blend of dried fruit, this egg- and dairy-free sweet loaf is cozy, moist, and nostalgically delicious.
Made with vegan butter, plant-based milk, and chia seed eggs, this healthy vegan fruit cake is an allergy-friendly version of a beloved traditional Christmas cake.
Just as sweet, moist, dense, and flavorful as the original, this spiced vegan fruit cake is a perfect treat to enjoy during the holidays or any special occasion.
This sweet loaf's deep brown color is broken up by bright, juicy chunks of dried grapes, cherries, cranberries, blueberries, and apples. Each bite of this scrumptious cake is packed with comforting fruity flavors!
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👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Naturally dairy free and egg-free
- Can easily be made gluten-free
- Perfect treat for the holidays
- Sweet, moist, dense, healthy, and perfectly spiced
- Traditional Christmas recipe turned vegan
- Great for special occasions or any time of the year
- Best Easy Vegan Fruit Cake ever!
🥘 Ingredients
- Dried Fruit: I use a mixture of raisins, currants, dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, and dried apples. You can use any dried fruit you like. Feel free to add in some nuts as well - walnuts and pecans work really well!
- Whole Wheat Flour: Adds a subtle nuttiness and more whole grains. Plain flour will also work.
- Melted Coconut Oil: A rich, dairy-free substitute for regular butter. Vegan butter or vegetable oil would also work.
- Plant-Based Milk: Unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, and soy milk all work well in this recipe. I used almond milk.
- Chia Seed Eggs: A gelatinous mixture made by combining 2 tablespoons of chia seeds with 4 tablespoons of water. Acts as a binding agent and a plant-based egg replacer.
- Light Brown Sugar: Keeps your cake moist and sweet.
- Cinnamon: Because who doesn't love a dash of this festive spice. You can also add a little bit of ground nutmeg or even pumpkin pie spice to this recipe.
📖 Variations
You can easily tweak the main flavors of your egg free fruit cake by changing what fruit mixture and spice mix you include in your batter. You can also totally make this egg and dairy-free cake gluten free too!
- Vegan Mango Cake: Simply use dried mango chunks instead of a berry and cherry mixture.
- Vegan Passionfruit Cake: Try swirling a passionfruit purée throughout your fruit loaf before baking. For extra tropical goodness, toss in some shredded coconut, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and candied fruit like pineapple.
- Vegan Plum Cake: Use dried plums (prunes) soaked in a mixture of orange juice and orange zest to create this tart and tangy vegan Christmas cake.
- Rum Cake: For more decadence, you can soak the dried fruit in alcohol overnight - rum or brandy will both work well.
- Gluten Free Vegan Fruit Cake: Make this Christmas cake recipe gluten-friendly by swapping out the whole wheat flour for oat flour, ground almonds, or your favorite gluten-free flour mixture.
🔪 Instructions
Preheat Oven, Mix Wet Ingredients: Preheat the oven to 325ºF. In a large bowl combine your plant-based milk, vegan butter (or oil), sugar and chia seed eggs. Mix until smooth. You can use a stand mixer but it's not necessary - a simple mixing bowl and whisk will work!
Mix Dry Ingredients: Gently whisk in your dry ingredients (the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon) until all ingredients are just combined.
Fold in your dried fruit: Now would be the time to add in a few walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, or sunflower seeds if desired. Don't overmix or your cake will end up being too tough.
Bake: Transfer your vegan fruit cake batter into a loaf tin lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. I used a 13×5 inch loaf pan. Bake in a 325°F oven for 80-90 minutes or until golden brown.
Let Cool: For best results, let it cool down for 15-20 minutes in the loaf pan and then remove and let it cool down completely on a wire rack.
Serve: Once your vegan Christmas fruit cake has cooled, feel free to slice, serve and enjoy!
❓Recipe FAQs
What can I use instead of eggs in a fruit cake?
This recipe calls for you to use chia seed eggs in place of regular eggs. However, you can also use flax eggs or an additional ½ cup of plant-based milk instead. I have a whole post on vegan egg substitutes that you can check out here!
How do you keep fruit cake moist?
The best way to keep your cake moist is to soak your dry fruit prior to baking. You can soak your fruit in water, fruit juice, or (if you like a boozy vegan fruit cake) in brandy or rum. Soaked dried fruits will be partially rehydrated, keeping your vegan fruit loaf moist and flavorful.
Is fruitcake healthy?
The traditional way to make fruit cake isn't that healthy - it's packed with sugar and carbs, and is meant to be more of a holiday treat than something healthy to enjoy regularly.
But we made a few swaps to this fruitcake recipe to keep all of the deliciousness of the original version, but make it much healthier for you! Here are some of the changes we made to this healthy fruit cake:
1) No marzipan: Christmas fruit cake is usually covered in some sort of jam and then a layer of marzipan, but you actually don't need it to enjoy a sweet loaf cake!
2) Less sugar: Each huge slice has only 6 grams of added sugar (the rest comes from the fruit), which is less than your average holiday cake!
3) Whole wheat flour: Instead of all purpose flour, for more fiber and healthy whole grains.
How Do You Store This Vegan Sweet Loaf?
This fruitcake can be stored in an airtight container on the counter at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Alternatively, you can pop your container of leftover cake in the fridge where it will stay good for up to two weeks.
In the freezer, well-sealed vegan fruitcake will stay good for up to 6 months.
I love pairing this vegan version of a traditional Christmas fruit cake with other classic and comforting holiday desserts. Try serving this moist and dense cake alongside my healthy pumpkin pie, cherry crumb pie, vegan snickerdoodles dipped in chocolate, and a piping hot mug of healthy hot chocolate with cinnamon.
💭 Expert Tips
- Be sure to chop your dry fruits before adding them to your batter. The larger the fruit chunks, the more likely they are to all settle near the bottom of your cake.
- Try baking your cake batter in 3 or 4 mini loaf pans and give away miniature vegan fruit cakes as festive gifts! If you make mini cakes, you'll need to adjust the baking time down.
- Stick to using 300 grams of dried fruit in this recipe. Add any more and your cake will become too dense and tough.
- Be sure your eggless fruit cake is done baking by sticking a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, you can take your cake out of the oven.
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