Vegan Fruit Loaf Cake (Gluten-free)

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Fruity, full of texture and flavors from the spices, this Vegan Fruit Loaf Cake is perfect for Christmas and also very simple to make! It’s also a lovely sweet option, you know, for any time!

So today I’m going to start with the sentence that I probably say too often but nonetheless, it’s true: I’ve been wanting to make this for a very long while.

With Christmas coming, I started to feel like more snacks/sweets. Not sure why but I guess when you see all the things in the stores around Christmas time, it’s pretty fair you got intrigued. Right?

Anyhow, in short, I want to make a fruit loaf cake, and of course, it will be vegan. And this time I also want to make it gluten-free because I hope more people could enjoy this lovely loaf cake.

I’ve read a lot of fruit cake recipes and stumbled upon the one from Traditional Plant-based Cooking. The cake looks really amazing so I really want to give it a try.

But since I’m a creative rebel, I did make some adjustments to my personal taste. The loaf cake turned out really wonderful and I cannot wait to share this recipe with you!

Watch How to Make It

Ingredients You Need

• Light muscovado sugar: I choose light muscovado sugar because it has a slight molasses undertone. If you don’t have it, you can also use soft brown sugar.
• Plant-based milk: Any plant-based milk, like soy milk, oat milk, nut milk can work. I personally prefer to use slightly sweetened soy milk because they taste creamier.
• Mixed dried fruits: Basically, it’s just a mix of dried fruits. The easiest route (at least for me) is to buy store-bought mixed dried fruits. Or you can make your own mix by combining different dried fruits, such as raisins, sultanas, currants, etc.
• Fresh orange zest: I was thinking if I should put it under the “optional” section. But after a second thought, I think fresh orange zest is a must because it really does make a difference in the final taste.
• Vegan spread (margarine): Just like the regular spread that you use on your bread but it’s vegan. It’s quite common to find in the grocery stores in the UK (and I believe in most Western countries.) If you cannot find it, you can use extra-virgin coconut oil instead. But there will be something you need to pay attention to. I’ll write more details below in the “Question You Might Have” section.
• Salt: Yes, just a pinch of salt. No biggie.
• Gluten-free self-raising flour: I would say to use the one you’ve used with success before. I use this one.
• Ground cinnamon: I mean, I think we could collectively agree cinnamon is a must in most festive/Christmas recipes, right?
• Mixed spice: Mixed spice is very common in the UK. Or you can just use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice.
• Grond nutmeg & Ground clove: We don’t need much of them, just a tiny bit. But they do give this whole loaf cake more depth of flavor.

Optional Ingredients

• Mixed peel: This is optional but I highly recommend adding it to your fruit loaf cake to make it more “fruity.”
• Hazelnuts: Because the batter looked a bit boring so I added some chopped hazelnuts on top of the batter before I sent it into the oven. Even though I did this for the whole presentation reason, oh man, I think they really make the loaf cake taste better as well. But I know some people are allergic to nuts, so, it’s really up to you!

How to Make Vegan Fruit Loaf Cake

It’s really very easy to make. And it should also take you less than 20 minutes.

First, remember to reheat the oven. It’s really important to let the oven reach the temperature before we put our loaf cake in.

Then let’s start by adding sugar, plant-based milk, mixed dried fruits, vegan spread, and salt to a saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir to mix all together.

Cook the mixture for 5~8 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let it cool down a bit.

In a big mixing bowl, add the rest ingredients, namely gluten-free flour and ground spices. Mix all together evenly.

Once the fruit mixture has cooled down, add it to the flour mixture. Use a spatula to mix all ingredients together. There should not be any flour seen at this stage and the batter will be thick but not hard.

Transfer the mixture into a one lb loaf tin lined with parchment paper. Spread out the mixture evenly. If you have prepared chopped hazelnuts, sprinkle them on top of the batter.

Bake it in the preheated oven at 175°C/350°F for 40~45 minutes. To test if it’s fully cooked, use a small knife or a long toothpick to insert in the middle of the cake. Take it out to see if there’s anything stick to it. If not, it’s done!

The final step will be letting the loaf cake in the tin on a cooling rack to cool down completely. I know it’s really hard to resist as your whole kitchen smells so amazing, but patience!

Once it’s cooled, slice and enjoy!

How to Store Vegan Fruit Loaf Cake

Since this fruit loaf cake is vegan, (no dairy, eggs, and animal products), it can stay at room temperature for quite a while. In general, I always recommend storing it in an air-tight container.

If you’re in a cooler country, this loaf fruit cake will be fine for 5~7 days at room temperature and 2~3 weeks in the freezer. But if you’re in a tropical/warmer country, I will say that it’s better to store them in the fridge for 5 days or 2~3 weeks in the freezer.

When about to serve, let the cake slice defrost at room temperature or reheat it in the oven at 160C for 5~10 minutes depending on the state of the slice.

Questions You Might Have

I don’t have gluten-free self-raising flour, can I just use gluten-free flour or self-raising flour?

• Gluten-free flour: You can use store-bought gluten-free flour mix but remember to add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder as well. And here I also want to mention that store-bought gluten-free flour is different from brand to brand, so if one doesn’t work, you can try another one to see which one works best.

• Regular self-raising flour: I use gluten-free self-raising flour because I want to make it gluten-free. But if you don’t have any issue/sensitivity with gluten, you can just use regular self-raising flour (1:1 ratio), or use all-purpose flour plus 1+1/2 baking powder.

Are there other substitutions for vegan spread/margarine?

If you cannot find vegan spread, you can use extra-virgin coconut oil instead. But make sure it’s melted before adding to the mixture. And because of the special trait of coconut oil, the cake will be harder after refrigeration. So if you want a soft cake texture, remember to reheat the cake slice before serving.

What kind of dried fruits can I use?

I would say any kind of dried fruits will be fine. For this recipe, I use a mix of raisins, sultanas, golden raisins, and currants. There are also other great choices like dried cranberries, cherries, and mango.

Final Words

This vegan fruit cake is on the sweet side but I’ve reduced the sugar so it’s a manageable sweetness that’s perfect with a cup of tea. The dried fruits in the loaf taste so juicy and the cake is firm to the touch but loose in the mouth.

This vegan fruit loaf cake is really lovely and I hope you will love it too! If you have other questions or thoughts, welcome to let me know by commenting down below!

And then… Let’s prepare for Christmas!

More Vegan Christmas/Festive Recipes:

• Easy Vegan Spiced Oatmeal Cookies (healthy + crunchy)
• Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cream Pie (Gluten-free)
• Vegan Mince Pies (Gluten-free)