Holiday Fruit and Nut Cake

It’s that time of the year that everything is about comfort and joy. It probably is my favourite time of the year when you can make special occasions happen any time ~ simply over tea and a good cake. This Holiday Chai Cranberry Nut Loaf Cake made with Stash Tea and served with a lovely Holiday Chai just adds that special touch and joy!

I’m a lover of chai tea as is and I was so inspired by adding this Holiday Chai blend into this delicious gluten-free and vegan loaf cake.

The aroma and flavour of this tea goes above and beyond and really adds so much WOW into this cake just by simply adding in tea :)… just this blend alone contains black tea, cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger root, gingerbread flavour, nutmeg oil and Jamaican rum ~ Yessss!!! :)

The Holiday Chai goes absolutely perfectly in this recipe and simplifies the recipe so much as you can avoid all spices because this tea is so rich and potent as is :) Plus, it’s nice to make two cups and drink tea as you make it ~ because the baking is already half the fun :)

With the Holidays coming up, I also thought it would be fun to make this loaf cake recipe as mini cakes as gifts. The recipe filled up two mini paper pans perfectly AND I think it makes for an excellent and delicious gift idea.

Add a couple more Stash Tea bags for a tea for two and it’s the cutest cake and tea set ever given and received! (you could also just throw in a whole box of Stash Tea along with it if you’re more generous ;) It’s adorable, practical and delicious ~ the best kid of gift for a hostess, neighbour or friend :)

Holiday Chai Cranberry Nut Loaf Cake

gluten-free, dairy-free, ego-free, vegan, refined sugar-free

Serves 6-10

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten-free flour mix or wheat flour

1/2 raw cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 cup strong Holiday Chai tea from Stash Tea (or any chai tea)

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1 apple, peeled and diced small

Topping:

3 tablespoons icing sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk (any plant-based milk)

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the tea, apple sauce, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract. Add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine well. Add in walnuts, cranberries and the chopped apple and stir to incorporate.
Pour into a parchment-lined 6×9” baking dish and bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes until set and browned on top. Let cool 30 minutes before serving or refrigerate and serve completely cooled.

For the icing, mix the icing sugar with milk (start with 1 tablespoon of milk and mix well before you add more milk) (check for milky texture until a runny mixture is made before adding more milk) Pour to top of the cake once it is cooled completely. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Serves 6-10.

Wow! What a beautiful and delicious cake if I can say so myself.

This cake also is better the next day – which makes it great for baking ahead and just having it out of the way. Because I know how Holidays can get busy and having one thing out of the way is amazing!! :)

Also, it’s most delicious when served with the Holiday Chai Stash Tea ~ it just brings out the flavour so much :)

I liked using the Holiday Chai in this recipe, but this same recipe could be done with so many other of the Stash Tea flavours, such as: Cinnamon Vanilla, Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning… or Christmas in Paris ~ what a lovely Holiday collection of tea this is!

I hope you’ll enjoy this lovely Holiday Chai Cranberry Nut Loaf Cake soon and make yourself and your family and friends celebrate life with joy!

Sponsored by Stash Tea ~ my truly favourite natural tea company! :)

 

Ella Leché is a cookbook author (‘Cut the Sugar‘), recipe developer, and photographer/stylist behind Pure Ella; where she shares delicious and healthy recipes. Eating PURE is clean ingredients, whole foods, plant-based nourishment and delicious desserts – with quality ingredients and sweeteners so they’re treats with benefits so you won’t have to feel deprived or restricted to eat healthier.
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