This fruit cake loaf is everything a fruit cake should be: moist, fruity and comforting. But it’s far easier than a traditional fruit cake — only six ingredients are required. It’s vegan, oil-free, and can be made gluten-free.
Just six ingredients and six simple steps produce a warming, sticky loaf. For extra depth try steeping the soak liquid in a spicy tea — chai rooibos works particularly well. Serve slices toasted with a thick smear of salted vegan butter and a hot cup of tea.
Baker’s Tips For This Fruit Cake Loaf
- Making a flax egg: Mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 2.5 tablespoons water and set aside to thicken. The longer it rests, the better the texture. If you don’t have ground flax, grind whole flaxseeds or substitute ground chia seeds using the same ratio.
- Tea infusion: Use any tea you like, but spicy blends such as chai give the loaf a lovely warmth. Use 4 tablespoons loose leaf or the contents of 4 tea bags, brew in freshly boiled water for about 10 minutes, then strain.
- Dates: Soak chopped or blended dates in the brewed tea for at least 30 minutes before adding to the batter. This softens them and releases extra gooey sweetness.
Ingredient Substitutes
Coconut sugar — swap for dark brown sugar or muscovado for richer caramel notes. Lighter sugars may be used but the flavour will be milder.
Flax egg — make a chia egg instead by substituting ground chia seeds at the same ratio.
Plain flour — this is all-purpose/plain flour. Use a gluten-free plain flour blend to make the recipe gluten-free.
Dates — if you prefer, use other dried fruit such as raisins, prunes or cranberries. The recipe is forgiving; just match the same total weight of dried fruit.
How To Store This Fruit Cake Loaf
Keep the loaf in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to a week. For longer storage slice the loaf and separate slices with parchment paper, then freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge or toast slices directly from frozen.
You may also like these comforting dessert recipes:
- Apple and Cinnamon Cake
- Healthy Chocolate Cake
- Cookie In a Mug
BAKING IN GRAMS
I test each recipe multiple times to make sure it’s simple and reliable. My goal is to create instructions anyone can follow — even if you’ve never baked before.
Measuring ingredients by weight gives the best results. A kitchen scale is affordable and makes a huge difference to baking consistency: cups can vary widely in how much flour they hold.
If you don’t have a scale yet, refer to an ingredient weight chart to convert cup measures to grams. Now dust off your apron and get baking!
Fruit Cake Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 Flax Egg 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds + 2.5 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp Loose Leaf Tea or 4 tea bags
- 400 ml Boiled Water
- 250 g Soft Dates see notes
- 80 g Coconut Sugar
- 300 g Plain Flour use gluten-free if necessary
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon optional
- 1/2 tsp Allspice optional
Instructions
- Make the flax egg by mixing 1 tbsp ground flaxseed with 2.5 tbsp water. Set aside to thicken.
- Add the tea (loose leaf or tea bag contents) to 400 ml freshly boiled water, stir and brew for 10 minutes. Strain.
- Chop or blend the dates finely. Pour the strained tea over the dates and let them soak for 30 minutes until soft and gooey.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a large mixing bowl.
- Stir the coconut sugar into the date-and-tea mixture until combined. Add this wet mix to the dry ingredients along with the flax egg (and apple cider vinegar if using).
- Pour the batter into a greased 1 lb loaf tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (160°C fan / 350°F) for 50–55 minutes, or until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Leave the loaf in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes.
- Serve warm or toasted with vegan butter.
Notes
These nutritional values are a guide and may vary depending on ingredients and measurements.
- See the recipe notes above for ingredient substitutions and tips.
- If you don’t have dates, any dried fruit will work — just use the same total weight.