Fruitcake

Not your granny's fruitcake: Fruity, nutty and festive. This delicious, yet simple, vegan fruitcake makes a wonderful lunch or dinner dessert.

Fruity, nutty, festive. This delicious, yet simple, apple fruitcake makes a wonderful lunch or dinner dessert. I often serve the firm cake as a sweet addition to a savory brunch.

Choose the apples depending upon your taste buds. Granny Smiths offer a tart snap, while Fujis taste sweeter. My favorite apple is Jonagold, which combines the best qualities of Granny Smiths and Fujis.

Tips
• Use dark raisins. Golden varieties might be bleached.

• Vary the sweet or tart taste, besides changing apple varieties, by substituting dried cherries or dried cranberries for raisins.

• Replacing traditional fats and salt with alternatives provides a healthy boost. Miso, Japanese fermented soybean paste, adds a salty, unique burst of flavor. Tahini, a Middle Eastern butter made from sesame seeds, gives the cake body.

Apple-raisin fruitcake

Prep: 25 minutes
Bake: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Makes: 8 slices

Note: We also found that a mix of 1 cup whole-wheat flour and 1 cup bread flour worked well in this fruitcake.

Ingredients:
2 cups raisins
1¾ cups apple juice
2 cups whole-wheat bread flour
2 medium apples, cored, peeled, diced in 1/2-inch cubes
¾ cup walnuts, about 1/4-inch pieces
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon each: cinnamon, nutmeg