This beautiful Christmas cake recipe is packed full of nutrients, and gentle on the blood sugar levels—so you'll have long lasting energy all day.

One of our BePure Holistic Health Consultants, showered the office in festivity, creating this tasty recipe. A lot of Christmas cakes are laden with sugar which, alongside every other seasonal treat, adds to the blood sugar rollercoaster our poor bodies have to go through at this time of year. As an energy-balancing alternative, this recipe is sweetened with natural fruits and coconut sugar which contain essential vitamins and minerals. 

Nuts and seeds contain proteins and fats which help slow the release of glucose/sugar into our bloodstream.

Christmas is supposed to be a fun time of the year to celebrate and spend time with loved ones, it can also be a very stressful time. By still nourishing and caring for our bodies, we can keep levels of inflammation low. And as we know, inflammation in the body also means inflammation in the brain. Meaning that when our bodies aren't stressed from a physiological stand point, it's easier to avoid emotional stress making it easier to relax and just enjoy ourselves.

Meaning that when our bodies aren't stressed from a physiological stand point, it's easier to avoid emotional stress making it easier to relax and just enjoy ourselves.

In summary, our one tip for enjoying a very merry Christmas, is to nourish yourself first to ensure that your body is getting the essential nutrients it needs to operate happily—load up on the beautiful fresh veggies, some protein, and healthy fats before sampling some of the festive treats!

Ingredients

Group 1

• 200g of craisins

• 200g of raisins

• 2 Tbsp honey

• ¼ cup goji berries

• Zest and juice of 1 orange

• Juice of 1 lemon

• ½ apple, grated

• 1 tsp of mixed spice

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

 Group 2

• 100g of butter/coconut oil, softened
• ½ cup plain greek yoghurt/coconut yoghurt
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 2 eggs

• 1 cup roughly chopped blanched almonds
• ¾ cup roughly chopped whole brazil nuts
• ¾ cup roughly chopped whole walnuts
• 150g roughly chopped whole apricots
• 150g roughly chopped dried figs
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup almond meal
• 75g lemon and orange peel cooked in 1 Tbsp of honey*

*Bought citrus peel can be laden with sugar and is very easy to make yourself. Dice up the peel from an orange and lemon. Cook this in a pan over a medium heat with 1 Tbsp of honey. Cook until sticky and no liquid remains.

Directions

1. Combine the first group of ingredients and let them sit for at least an hour.

2. Pre-heat oven to 150ºC degrees on regular bake. Prepare a 20cm round bundt cake tin (a regular cake tin is also fine) with baking paper.

3. If you are making your own citrus peel, prepare this now following the instructions in the note above. 

4. Beat the softened butter, yoghurt and coconut sugar. Then beat in the 2 eggs, one at a time. Add this mixture to the soaked fruit. Fold through the remaining ingredients.

5. Pack the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 2 ¼ - 2 ½ hours or until a skewer comes out clean. Check it after 1.5 hours, if it's getting a little too dark on the top, cover with tin foil and continue to bake. When ready, cover the cake with foil and allow to cool completely before removing it from the tin.