My mother in law, Caroline, is known by her grandchildren as Oma (Grandma in German.) Every year when my husband was growing up, she famously made her mini fruit cakes for Christmas. Apparently, she doused them with rum from Thanksgiving to Christmas, which is probably why they were a big hit! It was fun to read her original hand written recipe for 125 mini fruit cakes which she baked in homemade tins! Here is my veganized version – a new (old) holiday tradition!
Makes approximately 96 miniature fruit cakes
Fruits & Nuts
10 oz currants
10 oz almonds
16 oz walnuts
4 oz dried cherries
4 oz dried pineapples
4 oz candied lemon peel*
4 oz candied orange peel*
10 oz dates
1/4 cup mini vegan chocolate chips
3/4 cup rum
1/2 tablespoon instant coffee
1/2 cup molasses
Cake Batter
2 1/2 cups flour + 1/2 cup flour
1 cup packed vegan brown sugar
1 cup vegan cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 (scanty) teaspoon cloves
1 cup sunflower oil
The juice of one lemon
2 cups cold water
Chop all of the fruits and nuts into small pieces. Add chocolate chips, and the rum, coffee, and molasses. Mix well. Cover in an air tight container and let stand for 12 hours or longer.
Preheat oven to 375.
Sift 1/2 cup of the flour and mix into the fruit and nut mixture. Set aside.
In a big mixing bowl, sift the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour. Add the brown sugar, the sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla powder, and spices. Mix to combine.
Add the oil, lemon juice, and water. Mix well to combine either by hand or using a mixer. Add the fruit and nut mixture and mix with a spoon until completely combined.
(It will seem like there is a lot of fruit and nut mixture and not a lot of batter. That’s right!)
Bake miniature cakes for 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely before serving. Merry Christmas!
* I made my own candied peels. If you use my recipe, be sure to double it!