Carob Cherry Christmas Cake- vegan

You can simply top the cake with marzipan ad a ribbon, or add a layer of white icing for a more traditional finish.

I know Christmas is now a fast-fading memory, but we were asked to post our new Christmas cake recipe now rather than wait until next December (and who says fruit cake is only for Christmas anyway?) so here it is, ready to bring you a bit of midwinter cheer:

340g wholemeal flour
175g muscovado sugar
100g slivered/ flakes almonds
175g sultanas
175g mixed peel
200g glace cherries, halved
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 level tabs carob powder
3 tsps mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon or cassia
1 tsp ground ginger
150ml rosehip tea
250ml soya milk
75ml coconut/ cold- pressed sunflower oil

• First, soak the sultanas in the rosehip tea.
• While they are soaking, mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Put all the wet ingredients together and beat them into the dry ingredients.
• Stir in the rosehip tea and sultanas.
• Spread the mixture evenly into a prepared cake tin/ mould and bake in an oven preheated to 180C for about 45 minutes. Be sure to use the middle shelf of the oven so that the top of the cake does not overcook before the centre is done. (Another good way to avoid this happening is to use a wider shallower tin like we used - see photo.)
• Cover with marzipan. We made our own- see here- or you could buy yours, but home made does have a much better flavour and texture. (I find that bought marzipan is often too sweet.) Just to make the cake look prettier, I coloured some of the marzipan red and green and made a sprig of holly for the top. A light dusting of icing sugar and a sparkly ribbon completes the festive look.

What would you like to see for next Christmas? A yeast-free vegan stollen is one idea...