This Fig and Walnut Cake is a fantastic alternative to the traditional Christmas Cake. Read on to find out why.

An alternative to Christmas Cake

Over the last few years I've been tweaking my traditional Christmas Cake recipe. I'm a big fan of the original recipe and love the excitement that comes with soaking my fruit for days, cooking the cake for hours and then feeding it with brandy for a month or two before embarking on the decoration process. That being said, it is incredibly labour intensive and as each Christmas comes around I panic about being able to get the cake done in what little time I have. As a result I've been looking for a quick Christmas cake recipe that can be made in a day.

Christmas cake that doesn't need to mature

In an attempt to cut down on the need to soak the fruit and feed the cake for quite so long I've come up with a rich, moist fruit cake recipe that can be made in the run up to Christmas or even Christmas Eve if you'd prefer. All because it can be enjoyed immediately!

What makes the traditional Christmas Cake so rich is that it is jam packed full of spices, treacle and booze. Cooking the cake month's before gives the cake time to "mature" enhancing it's flavour. But, with my Fig and Walnut Cake recipe you can still serve up a decadent fruitcake without spending hours nurturing the sponge.

This Fig and Walnut Cake from Supper in the Suburbs is a wonderful alrernative to the traditional English fruitcake

How to make Fig and Walnut Cake

The secret to this alternative Christmas cake recipe? Partially dehydrated fruit. Doesn't sound that exciting does it? But hear me out...

Figs are fantastic in their own right and have been celebrated in figgy pudding for hundreds of years particularly around the festive season. They can also be bought in a "partially dehydrated" state from all good supermarkets and health food shops. I've noticed that they are often packaged as "dried" figs but you will see in the window of the packet that they are actually quite sticky and a little moist. These are the figs you want!

Dried apricots are also only partially dehydrated. Bite into one of these orange jewels and you'll find a soft moist centre. Grab a bag of those from the supermarket too as both the apricots and the figs will add depth of flavour and the additional moisture will cut down on the time required to soak the fruit.

You'll also need ground almonds as well as walnuts for the sponge. The walnuts not only add crunch but a sweet creamy flavour too. The almonds will help give the sponge a fantastic texture retaining the moisture from the booze.

Simplify Christmas this year with a Fig and Walnut Cake which looks beautiful served naked and can be cooked just days before Christmas

Decorating an alternative Christmas Cake

Perhaps the most noticeable difference between a traditional Christmas Cake and my Fig and Walnut Cake is that I choose to serve my Fig and Walnut Cake completely naked. There's no marzipan here and certainly no royal icing. No fondant Santa Clause or plastic reindeer either. This is meant to be a simple, no fuss recipe so lets forget the decoration! From a flavour and texture point of view you don't need it anyway!

If this is a little too plain check out this Christmas cake recipe where I decorate with glazed nuts. You can also add a thin layer of marzipan and royal icing if you really want but be careful not to use too much and overpower the cake.

The Recipe