Christmas Cake!

I love Christmas! I love thinking up present ideas, decorating the house, getting the tree and all the rituals associated with food as well. So whilst there's no turkey in sight on our Christmas table I do make vegan versions of the rest of the Christmas fayre. I can't remember where I came across this cake recipe now, but it works really well.

It's still November but it is wise to make the cake early and to 'feed' it regularly with sherry or rum so that it's nice and mature when you eat it. It's also snowing today, so I'm feeling quite festive. The back garden is blanketed, I've been out to fleece my onions and garlic and put some food out for the birds so now I'm in my kitchen, looking out at the snow and creating lovely spicey chirstmasy smells. All in all feeling rather jolly.

Anyway - to business.

Ingredients
675g mixed dried fruit
1/4 pint veg oil ( I use sunflower)
350g SR Flour
1 lemon rind (buy unwaxed!)
450ml water
2 tsp mixed spice
75g brown sugar
3tbsp sherry or rum

To make

So easy!! Just mix all the ingredients together, apart from the sherry/rum! Stick in the oven (in a cake tin, obviously, lined with baking paper) at 150c for 2 hours.

Once baked leave to cool for half an hour or so then prick the top with a cocktail stick. Feed the cake by spooning the sherry or rum on top. Wrap the cake up well - either double wrapped in baking paper or I do mine in a clean, tightly secured tea towel  and then put in an airproof tin. Feed again a couple of times before you want to eat it!

At Christmas you can either eat it as it is (the Yorkshire way is with wensleydale cheese but clearly not appropriate for vegans) or ice it. I tend to cheat here and buy ready made icing and marzipan, secured with apricot jam.

Ho ho ho