I was searching for a fruitcake recipe that used as little sugar as possible as it was for my dad who is diabetic. I found this recipe on Good Food and loved it firstly coz it uses pecans, which my dad loves! This recipe uses no extra sugar but what is in the fruit and the only carb in it is the polenta. It’s wonderully fruity! In honour of the occasion I arranged fruits and nuts on the top to make the union jack but you could use banana chips and pecans, as was originally suggested in the recipe.
Serves 12
250g dates, stones removed
200ml boiling water
2 small or 1 large banana (~140g)
100g pecans, roughly chopped
200g sultanas
100g chopped prunes
100g chopped apricots
100g fine polenta
2 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
3 tbsp Jack Daniels
2 egg whites
– Heat the oven to gas mark 4/180C and line a 900g loaf tin.
– Put the dates and water in a small pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
– Tip into a food processor with the banana and blend until smooth.
– In a large bowl mix the pecans, sultanas, prunes, apricots, polenta, mixed spice, baking powder and Jack Daniels.
– Then mix in the date puree.
– In another bowl whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
– Fold the egg whites into the fruit mixture until well combined.
– Tip into the loaf tin and smooth out. It will be very full.
– Decorate the top of the loaf however you wish. I used almonds, pecans and glace cherries to make the union jack!
Anna in the kitchen 