Step 1

Firstly chop all the nuts and dry fruits and take them in a bowl or a jar. Pour rum in the bowl or jar.

Step 2

Cover and let the dry fruits soak for 12 or 24 hours or for 3 days. If you have used apple juice or orange juice to soak the dry fruits, then cover the bowl with an air-tight lid or a tightly with a clingfilm wrap and keep in the refrigerator.

Step 3

After some hours or every day stir or shake the bowl or jar, so that all the nuts and dry fruits get soaked properly.

Step 4

In a spice-grinder or dry grinder, grind the spices listed above, under the heading "for ground spice mix" except for ginger powder. Set aside.

Step 5

Prepare a loaf pan or a round cake pan by greasing it very well with oil. You can also line the cake pan with butter paper.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit)for 20 minutes.

Step 7

Sieve the flours, baking powder and the the ground powdered spice mix. You can also add ginger powder at this step. Note that ginger powder is optional.

Step 8

Add the soaked dry fruits together with the leftover rum or apple juice/orange juice.

Step 9

Add the oil and demerara sugar or your choice of brown sugar or regular white sugar. Also add vanilla extract. Gently mix together the ingredients until just combined, making sure to not over-mix.

Step 10

In a bowl or mug add soy milk. Now add apple cider vinegar and stir gently.

Step 11

Add baking soda and stir thoroughly. Add this frothing mixture to the cake batter.

Step 12

Stir and mix quickly but evenly.

Step 13

Pour in the cake pan.

Step 14

Shake the pan lightly so that the cake batter is spread evenly throughout the whole pan.

Step 15

Use a spatula to even the top of the cake.

Step 16

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 180 degrees celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) for 50 minutes to 60 minutes or more or less depending on your type of oven.

Step 17

The eggless fruit cake will have a lovely golden brown color. Test the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center and it should come out clean.

Step 18

Let the cake pan cool completely on a wired rack or stand before flipping the cake out onto a plate.

Step 19

Wrap the Christmas fruit cake in a cling film or store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

Step 20

The flavors mature over a period of time and thus the eggless fruit cake tastes very good after some days. If you stay in a warm climate then keep Christmas fruit cake in the fridge.

Step 21

Later, slice and serve the eggless fruit cake with a glass of dairy or plant-based milk, or a hot cup of cocoa. You can also serve it as a sweet snack.