Fruit Cake

Fall and winter baking typically scream warm spices and this spiced fruit cake is the perfect dessert for the cold weather to come. All the spices in this recipe tend to dry out the batter while baking but adding some extra orange juice to the batter not only keeps the cake moist and soft but it also brings a balance to counter the strong flavors of the cinnamon and ginger powder.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Black Raisins
• 1-1/4 cups Prunes, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Apricots, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Dates, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Dried Figs, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Cranberries
• 240 ml Fresh orange juice
• 200 grams Carols sorghum Flour
• 1/2 cup Almond Meal 
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking soda
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup Brown Sugar (Demerara Sugar)
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder 
• 1 teaspoon dry ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Slivered Almonds 
• 1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped

Directions

• Soak dry fruits in juice and rum for about 4 hrs
• Preheat the oven to 350℉.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and spices together and keep them aside. 
• Line the base and sides of a 9-inch springform cake pan with a layer of parchment paper, making sure the paper reaches the top of the tin. You can also optionally grease and dust the pan. 
• In a large bowl or a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, whisk the butter and sugar together until fluffy. 
• Gradually beat in yogurt. Add in the flour slowly until well combined.
• Finally add in the soaked dried fruits, their liquids, the chopped nuts and combine them into the flour mixture. 
• Don’t overbeat at this stage, we just want all the ingredients to be well combined.
• Spoon the cake mixture into the springform pan and level the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• The eggless cakes typically tends to darken a lot during baking, if this happens cover the top with parchment paper or aluminum foil in the middle of the baking process.
• Once the Cake is baked remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan. Ans serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.