An easy vegan Christmas cake that’s rich, delicious and tastes just like a traditional festive bake. This dairy free and eggless Christmas cake is perfect for any festive celebration.
It simply wouldn't be Christmas for me without a rich fruit cake.
When I became vegan as soon as the festive season came around I set about adapting my usual Christmas cake recipe to be free from dairy and eggs.
A few tweaks later and this is the result - a delicious, rich Christmas cake that's packed with brandy-soaked fruit and topped with marzipan and fondant icing (both optional).
In order to make it as easy as possible for you to make this cake I've provided you with as much information here as possible. If you prefer you can proceed straight to the printable recipe card below.
Contents
- Is it easy to make a vegan Christmas cake?
- Are all the other ingredients in this Christmas cake vegan?
- Is brandy vegan?
- How to make a fruit cake without egg
- How to make a chia or flax egg
- More vegan Christmas recipes
- Ingredients for vegan Christmas cake
- Step-by-step photo instructions
- Printable recipe card
Is it easy to make a vegan Christmas cake?
It was easier than I thought to make a vegan Christmas cake.
Simply substituting the butter for dairy free spread and the eggs for flax eggs makes a perfect vegan Christmas cake.
It holds together and has all the flavours you'd expect from a traditional, rich traditional Christmas cake.
Are all the other ingredients in this Christmas cake vegan?
Aside from the flax eggs and the dairy free spread there are a few extra ingredients that you need to check are suitable for vegans.
This will include the alcohol you use if you choose to use any to make this a boozy vegan Christmas cake.
It also includes the marzipan and fondant icing.
Homemade almond paste (marzipan) usually contains eggs, as does fondant and royal icing. This means that they're not suitable for vegans.
However, most shop bought marzipan and fondant icing is suitable for vegans. For this reason I've chosen to use both shop bought marzipan and fondant icing for this easy vegan Christmas cake recipe.
Is brandy vegan?
To make a boozy vegan Christmas cake you need to add some alcohol such as rum, sherry or brandy. I prefer to add brandy. Many types of brandy are vegan but you can check on the Barnivore website.
How to make a fruit cake without egg
Since I became vegan and began experimenting with vegan baking I've tried many different egg replacements. Different types of egg replacements work better for different recipes.
Aquafaba, the water from a tin of beans (usually chickpeas), works really well for meringue as in this vegan aquafaba pavolva recipe.
And many cakes actually work without any kind of egg replacement - such as this Oreo cake or this vegan pumpkin loaf. In the latter case the pumpkin helps to bind the cake together.
However, for my festive eggless Christmas cake I have used flax eggs. Chia eggs would also work well. Both flax seeds and chia seeds can be ground down and mixed with water to make a thick paste which acts as a binding agent.
How to make a chia or flax egg
To make the equivalent of one egg:
- Take 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flax seeds.
- Grind them to a powder in a blender or spice grinder. You may find it easier to grind a larger quantity and store what you don't need for the future.
- Mix with 2 tablespoons cold water (some recipes call for 3 tablespoons but I get better results with 2).
- Set aside and allow to thicken.
Or you might like this Easter vegan simnel cake.
Ingredients for vegan Christmas cake
For the cake
Please do not reproduce this recipe without permission.
NB: start this cake a day before want to bake it.
To make this vegan Christmas cake you will need:
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 100 g glacé cherries washed and quartered
- 100 g candied peel
- 400 g mixed dried fruit
- 2 tablespoons brandy use orange juice instead if you prefer a non alcoholic cake
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 6 tablespoons water
- 225 g softened dairy free spread or melted coconut oil
- 225 g self raising flour
- 60 g ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
To ice the cake
To ice this cake you will need:
- 4 tablespoons apricot jam
- icing sugar for dusting
- 500 g vegan golden marzipan
- 450 g vegan ready rolled fondant icing
How to make a vegan Christmas cake
Please do not reproduce this recipe without permission.
The day before
- Rinse and quarter 100g glacé cherries
- Add to a mixing bowl with the 400g mixed dried fruit, 100g candied peel and 150g light brown sugar
- Add 2 tablespoons of brandy (or orange juice for a non-alcoholic version). Mix well, cover and leave to soak overnight. If you don’t have time to soak overnight leave for at least two hours.
When you are ready to bake
4. Make your flax egg by mixing two tablespoons of flax seeds (linseed) with six tablespoons of cold water. Stir and leave to thicken. You can also use ground chia seeds.
5. Add 225g soft vegan butter to the bowl of soaked dried fruit.
6. Mix well.
7. Add the flax egg and stir well
8. Next add 225g self raising flour, 60g ground almonds a teaspoon of mixed spice and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg.
9. Beat until well combined.
To bake
10. Transfer the cake mixture to a lined cake tin.
11. Bake for 2 - 2.5 hours or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cover the top with foil if it starts to look too brown.
12. Leave in the tin to cool. Wrap with baking paper and foil and feed with a tablespoon of brandy every week. Wrapped up well and regularly fed with brandy your cake should keep for at least six weeks and probably longer.
When you are ready to decorate your cake
13. Brush the top of the cake with warm apricot jam.
14. Roll out the marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar.
15. Cover the cake and then use your hands to press the marzipan carefully and smoothly around the edges. Cut off any excess marzipan.
16. Roll out the fondant icing on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Cover the top of the cake and press down as with the marzipan. Decorate as desired.
If you have made this recipe and loved it please consider leaving a comment and rating below.
Please do not reproduce this recipe without permission.
Vegan Christmas cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 100 g glacé cherries washed and quartered
- 100 g candied peel
- 400 g mixed dried fruit eg sultanas, raisins, currants
- 2 tablespoons brandy use orange juice instead if you prefer a non alcoholic cake
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds linseeds
- 4 tablespoons water
- 225 g softened dairy free spread or melted coconut oil
- 225 g self raising flour
- 60 g ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
To ice the cake
- 4 tablespoons apricot jam
- icing sugar for dusting
- 500 g vegan golden marzipan
- 450 g vegan ready rolled fondant icing
Instructions
To make the cake
- Start making your cake the day before you want to bake it.*
- Place 150g light brown sugar, 100g quartered glacé cherries, 100g candied peel, 400g mixed dried fruit and 2 tablespoons of brandy (or orange juice if preferred) together in a large mixing bowl overnight. Still well then cover and leave to soak.
- When you’re ready to bake your vegan Christmas cake pre-heat the oven to 150°C fan/170°C/gas mark 3.
- Grease a 20cm/8 inch round cake tin. Line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.
- First put 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds in a small bowl and add 4 tablespoons of cold water. Stir well and leave to rest until it thickens and forms a gloopy mixture.
- Beat 225g of dairy free spread or melted coconut oil into the soaked dried fruit. Next add the flax eggs and stir well.
- Finally add the 225g self raising flour, 60g ground almonds and 1 teaspoon mixed spice and ½ teaspoon of nutmeg to the bowl containing the dried fruit.
- Beat until well combined - this may take a few minutes - and pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth over the top.
- Place the tin in the middle of the oven.
- Bake for 2-2.5 hours or until the cake is firm and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cover the top with foil if it’s starting to look too brown on top but is not baked in the middle.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin then cover with a layer of greaseproof paper and wrap up with tin foil. If you wish you can feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp brandy every week until you’re ready to ice it.
To add the marzipan
- When you’re ready to add your marzipan heat 4 tablespoons apricot jam carefully in the microwave or a small saucepan. Push through a sieve and set aside for a moment.
- Remove the cake from the tin and brush the apricot jam over the top of the cake.
- Roll out your marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar and carefully lift on top of the cake. Trim any extra marzipan from the cake and if you want you can save this to make shapes from to decorate the cake.
- You can rewrap the cake for up to a week before adding the icing or do it immediately.
To ice the cake
- When you’re ready to ice your cake if you wish you can brush a little sherry over the top of your marzipan to help the icing stick but this isn’t essential. Unroll your icing and place carefully over the cake, using your hands to smooth it down. Trim off any excess.
- Decorate with Christmas figures or holly leaves, a ribbon and any marzipan shapes you have made.
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate and is intended as a guide only.
- If you don't have time to soak the cake overnight you can just soak for 1-2 hours but you'll get the best results by soaking overnight.
- Apple juice can be used instead of brandy if preferred.
- Wrapped up well with baking paper and foil, and regularly fed with brandy, the cake should keep for at least six weeks before being iced.
Nutrition
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Jan Lyons
Hi,
I’ve bought all the ingredients for this cake and I’m wondering how far in advance it can be made and how long will it keep?
Thanks
Jan Lyons
Cook Veggielicious
Hi Jan - I haven't tested making this cake this far in advance of Christmas yet (although you've inspired me to do so!) but I think that if you're going to feed it regularly with brandy (or similar) and keep it well wrapped up it should keep until Christmas. Let me know how it goes.
Sarah
I have made this cake, it’s the first time I have ever made a Christmas cake and it’s turned out really well. I made it 3 weeks before Christmas and topped up with brandy 3 times before adding the marzipan and icing. The recipe was really easy to follow and I learned about flax eggs which I had never heard of before. I gave up meat in February and although I am not completely vegan yet, I choose vegan options when I can. The cake was really tasty and moist. I would advise making the marzipan the same thickness as the icing, I rolled the marzipan a bit too thin. It’s fun to decorate the top too and if you have some spare marzipan you can roll into balls and cover with melted chocolate
Cook Veggielicious
I'm so glad you enjoyed the cake Sarah and I'm glad to have told you about flax eggs - they are so useful. Thank you so much and happy new year to you.
Sarah
Happy new year to you too 😊
Jo
Just wondering about making this into two smaller cakes in 10cm tins.
Would you suggest baking it for a shorter period if that’s the case? TIA
Cook Veggielicious
Hi Jo, I would bake for an hour and then check with a skewer.