An Easy Christmas Pumpkin Fruit Cake Recipe

 

Christmas is a busy, busy time for everyone with things winding up in absolutely every area of our lives. The pace is hectic. Then there's the parties - an endless stream of them. Fun though they are, (not to mention tiring), there's often the requirement of bringing a plate which certainly 'adds to the plate' in the stress stakes!

 

I like to bake everything at this time of year because that's half the fun of Christmas for me. These party events make me pull out the cook books for take-along ideas that are especially quick and painless. Really, we should all be buying the treats for parties right now but it's hard to do this when everywhere you look has stunning foods on display to celebrate the season. Got to be a part of it and get cooking!

I've been making this festive pumpkin fruit cake for years. It is economical, impressive and delicious. If you like fruit cakes, this is about the easiest one you can make. Pop a couple of plastic Christmas decorations on the finished product and people will be wowed at all your events! The festive pumpkin fruit cake makes a fab Christmas gift too. Just buy a decorative tin and pack it up in pretty cellophane with a gorgeous card - Christmas taken care of!

 

This fab fruit cake can be made vegan very easily and it does not contain eggs either so it is a perfect option if you have special dietary considerations or reactions to these foods.

 

Easy Christmas Pumpkin Fruit Cake:

 

2, 1/2 cups of mixed fruit,

1/4 cup of sweet sherry

1 cup of cooked and mashed pumpkin (any kind is fine),

1 tablespoon of caster sugar,

1/2 a cup of milk,

1, 2/3 cup self-raising flour,

2 teaspoons of mixed spice,

1/2 teaspoon of bi-carbonate soda,

 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

 

Grease and line a deep, square baking pan with baking paper and make sure the sides are also lined so that the paper sits a good couple of cm's above the rim. (This protects the cake from drying out or burning quickly during the baking process.)

 

Combine fruit and sherry in a bowl and cover and set aside for a few hours or even overnight so that the fruit is plump and alcohol infused.

 

Combine pumpkin, milk and sugar in a bowl and add the fruit and dry ingredients making sure you mix well.

 

 

Pour the cake into the prepared pan and bake in a moderate 180 degrees C oven for 60 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer.

 

This cake has a beautiful colour inside and a rich sweet and groggy flavour. It is an ideal cake for vegans and people with allergens too as there are no eggs and the milk can be substituted with whatever you prefer.

 

A baked, delicious smelling, hot cake in a tin, cooling on a rack - this is what Christmas is really about!

Serve dusted with icing sugar for an extra festive look.

 

Are you a baker or a buyer at Christmas time?

Do you have a favourite family fruit cake that you make yearly?

 

 

Merry Christmas lovely readers!

Thank you so much for following my blog this year and for sharing my family journey, baking my recipes, reading my reviews and entering my regular giveaways. Your support blows me away!

Thank you too, to those of you who have left such inspiring and moving comments here week after week. It has meant so much to me!

So many of you who have emailed me your heartfelt gratitude at winning prizes weeks after they have been received, thank you too. It has been such a wonderful experience meeting you all here and I look forward to bringing you more in the new year and meeting more newcomers too.

Wishing you all a very special Festive Season filled with love and happiness!

 

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