The vegan fruit & nut bread recipe is only about healthy, wholesome ingredients, sugar-free, and dairy-free. It is a healthy treat you can indulge yourself at any time of the day.
You know it’s a great day when you smell sweet baking all over the house. The baking aromas spreading nicely from the oven flashes back to childhood; to the times when mom or grandma’ baked all kinds of cakes and we were genuinely happy. With this plant-based and vegan recipe, you can recreate this feeling for the loved ones around you. Moreover, when baking vegan fruit & nut bread, you know it is the perfect treat for children because it is loaded with fiber and is sugar-free. No need to worry when the little ones ask for a second portion.
Preparing this cake at home can definitely be a relaxing experience because the recipe is versatile and because it doesn’t require any baking experience whatsoever. You can choose and mix the ingredients according to your personal preferences. You can use any mixture of dried fruit you want. For example, you may hate raisins and prefer to use cranberries – it is all up to you. Plan a quiet afternoon when you know you’re free, and try making homemade vegan fruit & nut bread, the result will be surprising!
Ingredients for the vegan fruit and nut bread
Considering that it is a vegan recipe, with no added sugar, there will be a list of ingredients full of nutritious and valuable products. Although the recipe implies a rather “rich” list, I promise the final result will simply amaze you. All the ingredients in this recipe are healthy and very easy to find in a grocery store. You don’t need big quantities of them, just a wide variety. Here is what you need for a delicious crumbly vegan fruit & nut bread:
- Dried fruits – 1 cup. Choose whatever dried fruits you love most. Pick between a mix of figs, prunes, raisins, cranberries, dried apricots, mango.
- Orange juice from 2 oranges. You will also need the zest of one orange. The riper the orange, the sweeter the final result of the cake.
- Spices such as ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg – 1 tsp of each
- Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
- Walnut flour – 1/3 cup. You can grind the walnuts on your own to get the desired result.
- Almond flour – 3/4 cup. Also, you can grind the almond to get the flour.
- Corn or rice flour – 3/4 cup
- Baking powder – 2 tsp
- Baking soda 1/2 tsp
- Coconut milk or almond milk- 1 cup
- Coconut oil (butter) – 1/3 cup
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
Now that you know what it takes to bake a healthy treat for the entire family, let’s get our hands into it.
How to prepare the nut & fruit bread?
The first thing I always do when starting to prepare the batter or the drought for baking, I turn on the stove to preheat it well. While I am creating magic in the kitchen, my stove is getting ready to beautifully brown it to perfection.
For this recipe, divide the cooking process into 2 parts. The first part involves soaking the fruits so that they are even moister and more delicious when baked. The second part is the preparation of the dry ingredients.
To soak in the dried fruits, use a bowl and squeeze in the juice out of two ripe oranges. Use the zest of one orange as well. Now add in the juice all the dried fruits you wish to use for this vegan fruit & nut bread. Let them soak in while you get to the next step of the preparation.
The next step of this recipe is to stir in all the remaining dry ingredients with coconut milk, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Use a large bowl to mix them all in, then stir them gently. Pour the coconut milk and use your hands or a spatula to make sure everything is well blended.
If you do not have almond flour or walnut flour, don’t worry. Use a grinder or a blender to grind the nuts till they reach a state similar to flour. That is more than enough to get the needed result for this baking. This is how I did for the recipe and it worked out, so I encourage you to do the same without any second thoughts.
Finally, mix the obtained batter with the orange juice and the soaked dried fruits. The batter should be similar to fat yogurt, with a semi-liquid consistency.
How to bake the nut & fruit bread?
Now that the batter is done, it is time to transfer it to a pastry ring/baking ring. Considering that the batter semi-liquid, I like to make sure it will not run or pass while cooking. Therefore, I lay a sheet of parchment paper at the bottom of the baking rink before pouring in the batter.
Sprinkle some nuts at your own preference on top of the batter as well as some dried fruits if you like. This will make the fruit & nut bread even prettier when baked.
At this point insert the baking ring into the preheated oven at 325 °F and wait for 1 hour for it to get beautifully baked to the crumbly consistency. The secret key for perfect baking is to set the right temperature and to keep the oven door closed during the entire baking time. This is how you make sure the temperature remains unchanged during cooking, and namely the unchanged temperature is what you need for perfect baking.
How to serve the nut & fruit bread?
When the 1-hour baking time expires and the whole kitchen is filled with a sweet baking aroma, it is time to take the baking ring out of the oven. Open the ring and let the fruit & nut bread rest for another 30 minutes. It is important to wait for another half of an hour for it to strengthen its shape. Remember that there are no eggs involved, as a result, the cake is crumbly and it needs time to rest.
Finally, use a knife to slice the fruit & nut bread and serve it with a nice cup of coffee or tea. The cake is a bit crumbly, not very sweet, and is made quickly; described in one word, it is wonderful. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Vegan fruit & nut bread recipe
Equipment
- baking ring
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dried fruits figs, prunes, raisins, cranberries, dried apricots, mango
- 2 medium oranges for the juice and zest
- 1 tsp cinnamon ground
- 1 tsp nutmeg ground
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup walnut flour
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup cornflour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup coconut milk or almond milk
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F
- Squeeze the juice out of two ripe oranges in a bowl and soak in the dried fruits. Use the zest of one orange as well
- Use another large bowl to stir in all the remaining dry ingredients with coconut milk, coconut oil, and vanilla extract
- Mix the obtained batter with the orange juice and the soaked dried fruits
- Lay a sheet of parchment paper at the bottom of the baking rink and pour in the batter
- Sprinkle some nuts at your own preference on top of the batter as well as some dried fruits if you like
- Bake the batter for one hour at 325°F, don't open the oven door in the meantime
- When the time expires, take out of the oven and open the ring; let the fruit & nut bread rest for another 30 minutes
- Serve with pleasure!
