Eggless fruitcake perfect for Christmas!!!

I still reminisce those school days back home where mom used to get my favorite fruitcake for a snack, I always wondered how it was made. I have tried many failed versions of fruitcake, but this fruitcake recipe is one of the best so far and was always a hit in any party!!! Baking fruitcake that also eggless on your own gives me immense gratification plus you have a choice to include or exclude nuts as per your or kids choice. Here are the basic ingredients you need to bake a perfectly moist vegan fruit cake, perfect for the holiday season.

Basic ingredients:

1. All-purpose flour OR Whole wheat flour  ~ 1 + 3/4 cup
2. Granulated sugar ~ 1 cup
3. Water ~ 2 cups
4. Vegan butter like earth balance ~ 1/2cup=1 stick
5. Baking soda ~ 1tsp
6. Salt ~ 1/2tsp
7. Vanilla extract ~ 1tsp
8. Cinnamon powder ~ 1 Tsp
9. Nutmeg powder ~ 1 tsp or if you want a less strong taste of spices substitute for 1/2 tsp.
10. Tuttifrutti ~ 1 cup
11. Raisins ~ 1/3 cup
12. Dried Cranberries ~ 1/3 cup
13. Dried Apricots ~ 1/4 cup(optional)
14. Almonds finely chopped  ~ 1/4 cup 
15. Broken Cashews ~ 1/4 cup (optional)
16. Pecans finely chopped ~ 1/4 cup (optional)

How to :

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, #1flour, #2sugar, #3baking soda, #6 salt #8cinnamon powder & #9 nutmeg powder.
2. Take a saucepan and boil 2 cups of water along with raisins, cranberries, dried apricots and tutti-frutti for about 8- 9 min with closed lid.
3. Once the boiled water is ready, put a stick of butter, ingredient # 4 into the water. Let the butter melt in the water and let it cool down for about 10 min.
4. Add vanilla extract at this point in the mixture of water and butter.
5. Slowly mix all the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. 
6. Fold in all the dry nuts ingredients # 14,15,16
7. slowly mix everything evenly, do not over fold the mixture, to retain the moisture.
8. Grease the pan or bundt cake pan with the oil and dust it with flour and remove the excess.
9. Slowly pour the mixture into the pan and give it a final tap to remove any air bubbles.
10. Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 35-40 min or when the toothpick comes out clean.
11. Wait for the cake to cool down for at least 30 min before digging in.
12. Turn the pan over and give it a pat on all the sides to loosen up the sides to take the cake out of the pan, very very critical step, be patient and try to do it gently.
13. Lastly, dust the top of the cake with sugar, or you can drizzle the cake with the thin frosting by warming the frosting for 10 seconds in the microwave and top it with sprinkles or you can also top it with fresh fruits like strawberries!! Possibilities are endless, be creative. 
14. Finally, dig in!!!! 

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