Easy Christmas Fruit Cake (Naturally Gluten-Free)
There’s something special about a traditional Christmas fruit cake — the aroma, the nostalgia, the first slice shared with the people you love. This version brings all the moist, dense, beautifully spiced goodness of the classic… without the artificial colours, preservatives, or gluten. Slow-simmered oranges, warm spices, and organic dried fruit create a rich, glossy mixture that bakes into a cake that’s deep, indulgent, and true to the Christmas tradition. It’s wholesome, naturally sweetened, and richly satisfying — the kind of cake that makes the whole house smell like the holidays.Serve it generously with fresh cream or a thick dollop of full-fat Greek yoghurt, and you’ve just finished your Christmas table with a dessert worthy of celebration. Easy, nourishing, and honestly… the best Christmas cake you’ll ever make.
Nutritional Profile
This Christmas Fruit Cake is naturally gluten-free, using almond meal, brown rice flour and tapioca flour instead of processed non-organic wheat. Almond meal adds healthy fats, Vitamin E and protein, helping keep you satisfied while giving the cake its classic dense texture.
Rapadura sugar brings a deep caramel flavour and is less processed than white sugar, retaining small amounts of minerals and antioxidants. It has a lower GI for steadier energy — though it’s still sugar, so used mindfully for flavour, not sweetness.
Grass-fed butter offers more nourishment than regular butter, with higher omega-3s, CLA, Vitamin A and K2, plus beneficial compounds that support metabolism and cell health. It also gives the cake richness and a truly traditional finish.
A festive, nourishing take on a Christmas classic — made with real ingredients and no artificial additives.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup filtered water
- 2 oranges – zest and juice
- 170 gms grass-fed butter
- ½ cup rapadura sugar
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 600 gms mixed organic dried fruit (chopped apricots, dates, figs, sultanas, raisins) or any combination of your favourite dried fruits. (Read labels, oil-free, preservative-free)
- 3 free-range or organic eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup blanched fine almond meal
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup cassava flour
- 1 tsp baking powder (aluminium-free and gluten-free)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 140°C (fan-forced). Line a 20 cm square or round tin with baking paper.
- In a large pot, add water, orange zest, orange juice, butter, sugar, mixed spice and the dried fruit. Warm gently until the butter melts.
- Simmer the fruit mixture for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally as it thickens. Remove from the heat. Let it cool for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the eggs, almond meal, coconut flour, cassava flour and baking powder. Fold to combine.
- Pour into the lined tin.
- Bake for 1.5 hours. Check at the 1-hour mark — if the top is browning, cover with foil. Check the cake is cooked in the centre as it is quite dense.
- Cool completely before slicing.
- Serve with full-fat cream or Greek yoghurt.
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Keeps for 2–3 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.
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Freezer-friendly. I like to make a couple, slice and freeze. Perfect with a cuppa anytime or school lunchboxes.
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Decorate the top with blanched almonds before baking.
Smart Swaps
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Dairy-free: Use coconut oil instead of butter.
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Dairy-free serving: Swap cream or Greek yoghurt for coconut yoghurt.
This recipe is:
Health Benefits:
- Gut Health
- Healthy Digestion
- Antioxidant Rich
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