Small Batch Vegan Christmas Cake

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Small batch vegan Christmas cake - if you don't have a lot of people to feed but still want a delicious home-made Christmas cake then this recipe is for you!

It makes a small, 6 inch vegan fruit cake which is rich, moist, boozy, utterly delicious and really easy to make! It can be eaten right away or made in advance and matured to make it even better!

Small batch vegan Christmas cake on a plate surrounded by red baubles and ribbons.

I love a good Christmas cake, and my vegan Christmas cake recipe is very popular, but if there aren't very many of you to feed then you may not want to make a full sized one.

This small batch vegan Christmas cake makes a smaller 15 cm/6 in fruit cake, which cuts into about 6 slices. It is still just as rich, moist, fruity and delicious, just not as big!

It is made using the boiled fruit cake method, which is where you do not soak the fruit in advance, instead it is heated in a pan with the wet ingredients then left to cool. The fruit soaks up the hot liquid and becomes nice and juicy without the need to let it soak for ages.

Rather than the traditional marzipan and icing decoration, I decided to keep things simple with a topping of blanched almonds and glacé cherries; it is a very effective, but extremely quick and easy way of making the cake look pretty and festive.

A labelled photo of the ingredients needed to make small batch vegan Christmas cake, in bowls.

Ingredient Details:

Mixed dried fruit: I use a shop bought mix of raisins, sultanas, currants and candied peel. If you don't like candied peel then you can just use the vine fruits, or feel free to vary the type of fruit that you use as long as you stick to the same overall weight.

Dried cranberries: I love adding cranberries for flavour but you can just use more mixed dried fruit instead.

Glacé cherries: Also known as candied cherries, you can either use natural coloured ones or the bright red dyed cherries. These can be swapped for more mixed dried fruit as well if you aren't a fan.

Milk: You can use any kind you like but it should ideally be unsweetened and soy milk is best as it has the highest protein content.

Brown sugar: Dark brown soft or muscovado sugar adds a lovely treacle flavour. You can use light brown instead, but do go for dark if you have it.

Treacle: I use black treacle but molasses will also work.

Butter: For the best results you need to use a vegan block butter, not the spreadable kind which has too high a water content for baking. I like Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter.

Plain flour: Plain (all-purpose) flour is best here. I do not think that this cake will work gluten-free, it will likely just crumble to pieces.

Ground almonds: These give the cake a lovely texture and help to keep it moist. In the US use almond flour.

Baking powder and soda: Make sure that you use both, they are not interchangeable.

Vinegar: This reacts with the raising agents to help the cake rise. I use cider vinegar but white or red wine vinegar is fine too, as is lemon juice.

Alcohol: Rum, whisky, brandy, amaretto, Tia Maria, port or sherry all work. I use rum. You will need some to soak the fruit in and some to feed the cake.

Orange zest: This is optional but great for adding flavour.

Spices: I use mixed spice and cinnamon; you can omit, swap or increase the spices as you like. Use pumpkin spice instead of the mixed spice if you can't get hold of it.

Blanched almonds: These can be omitted or swapped for another kind of nut.

Close up of the sliced small batch vegan Christmas cake.

How To Make Small Batch Vegan Christmas Cake:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: Place the mixed dried fruits, cranberries, glace cherries, chopped almonds, alcohol, butter, brown sugar, treacle, milk, vinegar and orange zest in a large saucepan.

Heat gently, stirring often, until the butter has melted then bring to the boil. Boil for about 30 seconds then remove from the heat and set aside to cool until just warm, about 1 hour.

Step 2: Stir in the mixed spice, cinnamon, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ground almonds, followed by the flour.

Step 3: Transfer the batter to a greased and lined deep 15 cm round cake tin and spread it level.

Step 4: Optionally, arrange circles of blanched almonds and halved glace cherries on top of the cake and press them lightly into the batter.

Step 4, the decorated cake before baking.

Step 5: Bake the cake for about 1 ½ hours, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Close up of the decorations on top of the cake.

Top Tips:

USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

To get clean slices, use a very sharp serrated knife and cut the cake with a sawing motion rather than pressing straight down.

Lining the tin with a double layer of baking parchment helps to stop the edges of the cake from burning before it is cooked in the middle.

The cake is ready when it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.

Don't use pre-soaked fruit for this recipe, it will throw off the moisture balance of the ingredients.

You can vary the types of dried fruit that you add to suit your own tastes (I know quite a few mixed peel haters!), as long as you keep the same overall weight – a total of 350g. Chopped dried dates, figs and apricots all work well, and you could even add dried cherries, blueberries or pineapple.

If you want to ice the cake then leave off the cherry and almond decorations.

A shot of the small batch vegan Christmas cake from above.

FAQ's:

How should I store it?

Once the cake has cooled completely, remove it from its tin and brush it all over - top, bottom and sides, with your choice of alcohol. Wrap it tightly first in baking parchment, then tin foil. Store it in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 3 months.

Drizzle over a couple of tablespoons of alcohol every week or two, alternating top and bottom of the cake, until you are ready to ice it (if you choose to decorate it). But don't feed it for a week before icing it in order to give the surface a chance to dry out.

Can I make it alcohol free?

Yes, you can use an equal amount of orange juice instead of alcohol in the cake. Bear in mind that if you aren't feeding the cake with alcohol then it won't keep for as long so only make it a week or two before you want to serve it.

How should I decorate it?

You can use the simple decoration method of the cake in the photos using nuts and glacé cherries, or omit those and cover the cake in a layer of marzipan (brush the cake with sieved, warm apricot jam before covering so that the marzipan sticks), then a layer of either royal icing or fondant.

Most shop-bought marzipan and fondant is vegan, though do check the packet of course. You can make vegan royal icing by swapping the egg white for aquafaba.

Once the small batch vegan Christmas cake is iced, you can add decorations as you wish - I like to keep things simple and just pile some gingerbread star biscuits in various sizes on top.

How do I make a bigger cake?

Simply double the recipe and bake in a deep, lined 20 cm/8 in round tin at the same oven temperature for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

More Vegan Fruit Cake Recipes:

The sliced small batch vegan Christmas cake on a plate surrounded by festive decorations.

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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5 from 5 votes