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 require a lot of sugar in their recipes which can mean they’re not suitable for diabetics, those without a ‘sweet tooth’ and can cause spikes in blood sugar levels which can cause lethargy - and that’s no good when there’s a mountain of presents to open and hours of backyard cricket to play.
As an energy-balancing alternative, this recipe is sweetened with natural fruits and coconut sugar which contain essential vitamins and minerals and, trust us, is just as (if not more) tasty as traditional Christmas cake.
Did you know: Nuts and seeds contain proteins and fats which help slow the release of glucose/sugar into our bloodstream.
Natural sweeteners still spike our blood sugar levels which is why we have added in plenty of nuts and seeds to this cake. Nuts and seeds contain proteins and fats which help slow the release of glucose/sugar into our bloodstream—this keeps us full for longer, stabilises our blood sugars and prevents the 3PM (or post Christmas feast) crash!
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! It’s all about balance.
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
Group 3
- 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.
