A delicious Low Carb Christmas Cake that is sugar free, gluten free and perfect for diabetics. A wonderful celebration cake that proves you don't have to compromise on flavors just because a recipe is low in carbs and sugar free.
Course Baking, cake, Cakes, Muffins and Sweets, Dessert
Soak the dried fruit in the brandy/whiskey/tea for as long as possible. Overnight is ideal.
Preheat your oven to 165 C/330 F fan forced
Prepare an 8“round baking pan with oil/butter all over and line the base with baking paper.
Beat the eggs in medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and frothy.
Add vanilla extract, oil or butter, nut milk and orange zest and mix until well blended.
Mix the dry ingredients together until combined and ensure the baking soda is well dispersed. Using a spatula, stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and mix until ingredients are well combined. Finally gently fold the dried fruit mixture through the batter with a spatula until well dispersed but without over mixing.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and smooth off the top. Decorate with additional nuts if desired.
Bake on the middle rack for 35-40 minutes or until cake is cooked on the inside. Check with a skewer to see if it pulls out dry. Take care not to overcook. If cake is browning too quickly, drop the temperature back a little.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes. Tip the cake out onto a cooling rack and wrap in cling wrap if you want a lovely moist centre.
Notes
Variations - Slivered almonds can be switched for blanched almonds, walnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts. Switch the blueberries and cranberries for 1 cup of mixed fruit of choice, such as 1 cup of cranberries, mixed fruit, peel etc.Low Carb Glaze - For a special occasion, you may want to glaze the cake with low carb glaze.To make glaze, bring to boil 1 tablespoon of stevia/monk fruit blend with ¼ cup of water. You can also add 1-2 tablespoons of whiskey or brandy with the water but restrict the total liquid amount to ¼ cup. Once you have brought the mix to the boil, turn the temperature down and simmer for about 2-3 minutes. The liquid will be slightly syrupy.Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly before brushing it onto your slightly warm or cool cake. If the mixture crystallizes, simply reheat, add a dash more water or alcohol and simmer until it liquidizes before using.To Serve - cut the cake and serve as it comes with a cup of tea or coffee. Try warming the cake up slightly and serve it with low carb custard. The cake can also be drizzled with brandy or whiskey prior to heating up.Handy Hint - if the cake has dried out slightly, serve it warm. Freshen it up by spraying lightly with water and microwave for a few seconds to warm it up. Alternatively moisten the cake, cover with foil and warm up in the oven for a few minutes.Cake Pan Tips - when baking cakes, the cake will cook a lot slower and not dome as much if you use a light colored pan. While not vital, it is a great tip to consider when baking.Note that baking powder is not used in this recipe because the cake is meant to be a heavy cake, like a fruit cake. If you want a slightly lighter cake, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of baking powder to the recipe.Storing Tips - in cling wrap or baking paper, wrapped in foil in an airtight container for 3-4 days for ultimate freshness. The recipe freezes really well.Dried Cranberries - Nearly all dried cranberries are sweetened with apple juice, so buying them sugar free is difficult. If you don't want to make your own, use the apple sweetened ones if you don’t mind the additional carbs. I have used the sugar reduced cranberries in recipes before, but they are still higher in sugar than I would probably prefer. By the time a cake or pudding is divided into about 20 serves, the carbs are still quite low though. See my recipe below for Low Carb Christmas Pudding where I used the reduced sugar cranberries and you will see that you can still end up with a low carb serve at the end (if you don’t eat the whole cake!) Dried Blueberries - Dried blueberries are also normally sweetened. I like to buy these particular blueberries from iherb. They are dehydrated but don’t have any added sugars. Once soaked, they swell and are wonderful in cakes and puddings. Note that this brand's dried raspberries and strawberries are divine as well.