In their new book Daar is a vegan op my verandah, Isabella Niehaus and Louis Jansen van Vuuren feature a delicious Christmas cake recipe.
Ingredients:
2 ml ground chai or flaxseed
8 tbsp (120 ml) water
800 g mixed fruit – we used dried figs and raisins
Apricots and mangoes
200 g glacé cherries
245 g light brown sugar
75 g black treacle
510 g dairy-free margarine
3 cups (750 ml) water
3 tsp (15 ml) baking soda
335 g self-raising flour
9 tbsp (135 ml) Monin Ameretto (or use brandy)
4 tbsp (60 ml) apricot jam
Method:
Mix the chai seeds and water and leave in the fridge. Place the mixed fruit, cherries, brown sugar, treacle, margarine and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the baking soda. The mixture will bubble, so do make sure your pan is large enough.
Set it aside to cool down completely.
Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 22 cm baking tin. Once the fruit mixture is cool, stir in the chai seeds, followed by the flour.
Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for a further 45 to 55 minutes. Leave the cake to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Use a toothpick or skewer to make small holes all over the cake and feed with Amaretto or brandy once a week.
*A glass of Deetlefs Estate Pinotage 2017 is elegant with this rich cake.
