Low Sugar Christmas Cake (Gluten Free)
What kind of cake do you like to eat at Christmas? Many favour a light, fluffy sponge covered in a sweet white icing, like the coconut cake I shared with you guys last year.
But others, like myself, are traditionalists, and love nothing more than a deeply-flavoured, rich fruitcake layered with marzipan or covered in a creamy frosting.
I’ve always loved fruitcake, at Christmas, weddings, baptism, or pretty much any occasion I could use as an excuse! And while I am happy to indulge a little in a small slice at Christmastime regardless of the sugar intake, I do love to have a great low sugar version up my sleeve, allowing me to have a little more and suffer the effects a little less.
The great thing about this cake, other than the fact that it is gluten free and low in sugar, is that the low sugar content means you can use regular shop-bought marzipan or a sweet icing or sugary decorations if you like, as the overall sugar content of the cake is still very low. So while a slice of regular Christmas fruitcake can easily set you back a whopping 11 teaspoons of sugar (using a slice of a Waitrose Christmas cake as an example), mine contains just a couple of teaspoons added sugar in the whole cake. And the dried fruit sugar content is very minimal, since it contains only a fraction of the dried fruit in a couple of handfuls of raisins.
Using my low carb mincemeat recipe makes this a nice easy recipe, as you can make a big batch of mincemeat ahead of time (I tend to make a couple of batches to keep in my fridge for last minute mince pies, stollen bites, or other treats at this time of year anyway), and the cake itself will keep for up to a week if tightly wrapped and kept in the fridge, or up to a month in the freezer (defrost overnight on the counter before icing and decorating in time for Christmas).
So if you are looking for a simple, healthier Christmas fruitcake that means you can still use the ready-made sugary decorations while keeping the overall sugar content really low, this is it. Less fuss, less sugar, more fun, more time. Merry Christmas! 😉
A lighter Christmas fruitcake that goes easy on the dried fruit and added sugar. Gluten free, low sugar and delicious. One bowl, simple, yum. Recipe adapted from River Cottage Gluten Free by Naomi Devlin.
- 800 g (28 oz) low sugar mincemeat (see Notes for my recipe*)
- 4 tablespoons brandy (optional, for overnight soaking)
- 250 g (2 sticks + 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, soft
- 100 g (1/2 cup) xylitol (or 50g/1/4 cup Natvia)
- 150 g (1 1/4 cups) ground almonds (almond meal)
- 100 g (1 cup) sorghum flour
- 100 g (1 cup) buckwheat flour
- 1 tablespoon mixed spice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 1/2 teaspoons (gluten free) baking powder
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- zest and juice of 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon brandy (use another tablespoon of orange juice for alcohol free)
- marzipan and/or fondant icing, or whipped coconut cream, to frost
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If soaking the mincemeat, stir with the brandy in a large bowl and leave at room temperature to soak for at least 1 1/2 hours or overnight.
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Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas 4, and carefully grease and line a 20cm (8") round deep cake tin.
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Beat the butter with the xylitol for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy, then stir through the rest of the ingredients. Add the mincemeat (if you like your fruitcake dark and deep, add an extra handful of raisins) and mix well until combined, then spoon the batter into the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 160C/325F/gas 3 and bake for another 1 hour-1 1/2 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. If at any point while baking the cake starts to catch but isn't cooked through, cover with foil. Allow the cake to cool slightly, then pierce all over with a skewer and spoon over the brandy. Allow to cool completely, then ice and decorate how you want, or wrap tightly in baking paper and tin foil and keep in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
*find my simple low carb mincemeat recipe here
Please can I ask what the different flours do?
Also, when are you bringing out a recipe book?!
Thanks 🙂
😊 The flours are there to make the cake gluten free, but you could try subbing in a gluten free blend or plain flour if you prefer. I haven’t tested it that way though, so not sure if a 1:1 ratio would work (I suspect it would though!).