Raw Fruit Cake

This is another recipe I learned at the raw food workshop, but as usual I changed it. I made it in a heart-shaped silicone mould (which we lined with plastic wrap, for ease of removing and cleaning) and it was very nice for a luncheon with M’s mum, although I think she might have thought it was a bit too hearty. We liked it, though.

You can of course also add liquor, such as whisky.

Ingredients:

700-900 g dried fruit (depending on how large you want your cake) – you can use dates, apricots, prunes, raisins, figs, sultanas, currants, or any other such item. I used apricots, raisins, dates, and prunes.

1 lemon

½ cup orange juice (you can also add or use instead any other fruit juice; I had pear juice left from the previous recipe – the pear cake – so I added that as well)

2-4 tsp cinnamon

1-2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp vanilla

100 g ground almonds

whole or flakes almonds

Instructions:

1. Chop the fruit and put it in a large bowl. Add the zest and juice from the lemon, the orange juice, any other juice, and the spices. Leave to marinate for a few hours.

2. Chop some of the fruit finely in a food processor, adding in some ground almonds. Add more almonds and fruit, a bit at a time, and keep chopping until smooth. If you want, reserve some whole fruit.

3. Put the fruit and almond mixture into a tin (add the whole fruit if you kept some). Decorate with the almonds or incorporate them into the mixture.

4. Leave to set in the fridge for some hours (or, if you must, bake it for a little while at low heat).