Vegan Christmas Cake

Instructions

Place the sugar, dried fruit and brandy (or orange juice) into a mixing bowl, mix, cover and leave overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 150C (fan) or 170C, grease a cake tin and line with baking paper.

Add your linseed to a small bowl with 6 tbsp of water and stir until thick.

Beat the coconut oil into the soaked fruits, add the linseed mixture and stir to thoroughly combine.

Add the flour, almonds and spice, beat until combined, pour into the prepared cake tin and gently smooth over the top.

Place in the oven for 2 - 2.5 hours or until firm and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cover the top with foil if it's starting to look too brown.

Leave to cool completely then cover in a layer of greaseproof paper then wrap in tin foil and feed with 1-2 tbsp of brandy every week until you're ready to ice it.

Heat the apricot jam in a saucepan, push through a sieve and set aside.

Remove the cake from the tin, brush with jam, roll out the marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar and carefully lift on top of the cake. Trim any extra marzipan from the cake (use to make shapes for the top of the cake).

You can rewrap the cake for up to a week before adding the icing or add it immediately. Brush a little sherry over the top of the marzipan to help the icing stick, unroll the icing and carefully over the cake, using your hands smooth it down and trim off any excess.