Easter Edition: Ginger Spiced Fruit Cake with a Ginger Glaze (Vegan, Oil Free)

Happy Monday, everyone. I hope you are staying safe at home. I hope you are slowly getting used to being at home and finding your own new routine – I know I am. It’s funny sometimes how we get used to new routines so quickly and it becomes our new norm.

And can you believe Easter is just around the corner? Although 2020 hasn’t started like most of us hoped it would, I feel like it has flown past! Do you feel the same? And I know Easter this year won’t be the same for most of us as most of us won’t be going away for the long weekend or spending it with our extended family! As for me I won’t be studying through Easter like I always do as my actuarial exam has been cancelled this semester. I was pretty upset about it as I have been studying for it since January and it only was cancelled a couple of weeks ago. But I am looking on the bright side and doing things I wouldn’t usually do during this Easter period – I have baked some hot cross buns (but without the crosses) which I usually buy, I learnt a new skill: tiling (I tiled the kitchen in our place yesterday), I weeded our front and back yards (and it’s so much better to look at now), I planted some veggies from plant cuttings/scraps (I haven’t done this in over a year) and I am decluttering again 😊 Some days are more productive than others but overall I feel like I am making good use of this lockdown period.

Also, I have come up with a few Easter recipes that I would love to share with all of you. So, this is my first Easter recipe that I would be sharing with you. It’s a tea infused ginger spiced fruit cake with a light ginger glaze 😊 It’s very similar to this spiced fruit cake that I made a couple of Christmas ago but better (especially if you like ginger). It’s vegan, oil free and only sweetened with dried fruits (but you can add sweetener if you prefer your cake sweeter). If you don’t have ginger tea, don’t fret as you can use any spiced tea or black tea you have in your pantry 🙂 I love this cake as it’s super moist and easy to make and would make a great healthier dessert for Easter ❤️ I hope you get a chance to make this cake for you and your family 😌

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have. As always, please let me know what you think of this recipe. If you like what you see on this blog, you can follow me on my blog, Facebook or Instagram for some food porn. Also, if you do recreate this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @subz_foodie 🙂

Ingredients

For the cake

2 cups mixed dried fruit (or mix of raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricots (chopped), dried citrus peels);
2 heaped tbsp ginger spice tea leaves/3-4 tea bags of your choice (preferably ginger/spiced/black tea);
2 cups boiling water;
1/2 cup semolina;
1/2 cup almond meal;
1/2 cup wholemeal flour (or normal/rye flour);
1/2 cup self raising flour (or more wholemeal flour);
1 tsp baking powder;
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon;
2-3 tsp ground ginger (or more or less depending how ginger-y you like your cake);
Optional: You can some sweetener if you prefer your cake sweeter; and
Optional: 1 tbsp seeds (sunflower/pumpkin seeds) for sprinkling;

For the glaze

2 tbsp ginger spice tea leaves/3 tea bags of your choice (preferably ginger/spiced/black tea);
1/3 cup boiling water;
2-3 tsp ground ginger (or more or less depending how ginger-y you like your glaze); and
2 tbsp coconut sugar (or sugar of your choice) – you can add more sugar if you prefer your glaze sweeter).

Method

For the cake:

In a medium sized bowl, place the dried fruit, boiling water and tea bags (or leaves with a tea strainer) and allow to soak for at least 4 hours (I soaked my dried fruit for 6 hours – the longer your soak the dried fruit, the stronger the tea flavour);
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and grease or line a 19cm round baking pan or loaf tin with baking paper;
Discard the tea bag/tea leaves from the dried fruit bowl;
In a large bowl, place all the cake ingredients (except the optional seeds) including the soaked dried fruit with the liquid and mix until well combined;
Transfer the fruit cake mixture to the baking pan (and sprinkle with seeds on top if using) and place in the oven;
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into cake. Do not overbake the cake as it will become dry; and
Remove the cake once baked and allow to cool overnight (the cake will become moist overnight);

For the glaze:

Place the tea bags/leaves (with a tea strainer) in a cup with the boiling water and allow to brew for 2-3 hours;
When the tea is brewed, place the tea, sugar and ground ginger in a saucepan over medium-high heat on a stove and bring to the boil. The mixture will start becoming caramel-y and sticky after 5-6 minutes;
When the mixture reduces to approximately 3-4 tbsp (it will be sticky), turn off the heat and allow the glaze to cool for 8-10 minutes;
Then, using a brush, start glazing the top of the fruit cake evenly until all the glaze is finished;
You can start slicing your cake now;
Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. The cake stores for up to 7 days in a Tupperware.