Embrace the festive season with this keto take on a Christmas staple.

Recipe: Extracted from The Keto Chef’s Kitchen II by Nerys Whelan

Makes: 12 portions

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:
50g dried apricots, unsweetened
50g craisins (dried cranberries), 50% less sugar
140g butter, melted (or coconut oil for dairy-free)
170g allulose
4 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
140g ground almonds
50g coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder, gluten-free
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50g pecans, roughly chopped
2 oranges, zest only
2 tsp rum or brandy essence (optional)

For the glaze:
150ml Water (reserved from soaking your fruit)
80g Allulose (other sweeteners may crystallise and make the outside crunchy but you can still substitute this if desired)
2 tsp Rum or brandy essence (optional)

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 170°C fan bake and generously grease a 20cm round cake tin.

Roughly chop the apricots and craisins and place them in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave them to rehydrate for 10 minutes. Drain, reserving the water for your glaze, and set the fruit aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter or oil, sweetener, eggs and vanilla until combined.

Sift in the ground almonds, coconut flour, baking powder and spices, and fold through the wet ingredients. Lastly, add the rehydrated fruit, chopped nuts, orange zest and essence, if using, and fold through until combined.

Pour the batter into the cake tin and smooth the top.

Bake for 35–45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If you use a wider cake tin, the cooking time will be shorter so check it after 25 minutes.

When the cake is almost cooked, measure out 150ml of the reserved water from rehydrating the fruit and pour it into a small pot. Add the allulose and essence, if using, and boil until the liquid has roughly reduced by half.

Once your cake is cooked, spoon the glaze over the cake while it is still hot. Allow the cake to cool in the tin before removing and serving.

Note: This recipe doesn’t store for months like traditional Christmas cake, but it will stay fresh in an airtight container for 4–5 days.

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Extracted from The Keto Chef’s Kitchen II by Nerys Whelan, Mary Egan Publishing, RRP $69.95.