Healthy Christmas Cake

My husband loves a good Christmas Cake and who doesn't? So this is the recipe I'll be using this year from the Healthy Chef... looks delicious!!

Ingredients:

• 650 g (23 oz) organic dried fruits - chopped. My favourites are fresh pitted dates, raisins, apricots, figs, dried cherries

• 1 whole orange, peeled

• 3 organic eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste

• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoons, ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

• ¼ teaspoon bicarb soda

• 120 g (4 ¼ oz) good quality melted butter or your choice of cold pressed coconut oil or macadamia nut oil

• 100 g (3 ½ oz) wholemeal organic spelt flour

• 80 g (2 ½ oz) walnuts or whole almonds (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F.

2. Combine dried fruits into a large mixing bowl.

3. Crack eggs into a blender.

4. Add the peeled orange, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.

5. Blend until smooth and combined.

6. Pour the orange / egg mix over the top of the dried fruits.

7. Add melted butter then mix in well.

8. Add spelt flour and baking soda and mix through.

9. Line a 18 cm (7 1/2 inch) baking tin with baking paper.

10. Spoon in the cake mix and flatten over the top.

11. Decorate if you like with the almonds or walnuts. You can also add a handful if you wish into the cake mix which enhances the flavour profile.

12. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until cake is cooked through.

13. Remove from the oven and cool.