Fat Free Alternative “Xmas” Cake
By Susan Ni Rahilly
I don’t really “do” Christmas, it’s not my season …. but when one of my nephews was young he had glandular fever and had to keep off fats. In an attempt to make a fat free alternative to Christmas cake that would be delicious enough for a 4 year old, I resuscitated an old Irish Tea Brack recipe. Yes, it’s made with tea: Irish “brown” tea, English or Breakfast tea will do. There’s no fat in it but lot’s of sugar (well, it is abiut Christmas!) and I used Spelt flour instead of plain white flour. I came up with the added tip of sprinkling the warm cake with apple juice and allowing it to soak through overnight, which makes it extremely moist: and it was a runaway success for years, so much so that I ended up making my sister’s birthday cake and Christmas cake every year – her birthday being on the 26th December. What an adventure trying to keep a secret for a 5/6/7/8 year old nephew and keep his mother out of the kitchen while we made an almighty mess!
So, here’s the recipe which is incredibly simple;
300 ml strong brewed tea
6 oz/180g brown sugar
9 oz/250g spelt flour
1 lb/450g mixed dried fruit
1 egg (lightly beaten) I believe you can use 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed instead of the egg but I haven’t tried it
1/2 level teaspoon breadsoda (baking soda)
What you do:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Put tea, sugar and dried fruit in a bowl, cover and leave to soak overnight. Grease a baking tin – it works well in a shallow, square tin as this is a dense, moist cake. Add the lightly beaten egg to the fruit mixture. Sieve the flour and breadsoda together and fold into mixture. Turn into the prepared tin. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours. Cool on a wire tray, prick small holes in the cake with a skewer and drizzle with apple juice.
Decorate as you would normally for a Christmassy cake, or simply slice and serve with a shaking of powdered sugar.
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Happy Xmas to all of those of you who do “do” Christmas and wishing all a New Year filled with happiness and fulfillment in 2013: Susan Ni Rahilly is founder of suZenYoga: spirituality, understanding, Zen, energy and nutrition (usually with not as much sugar and flour!) through dedication to Yoga practice.
