I love eating cake with my cup of tea. This is a great option if you want to use dried fruit and nuts. This recipe does not use any kind of fat (butter or oil), I’m using apple sauce instead.

Also, I’m using coconut sugar which gives a nice taste to the cake.

Let’s start with the recipe.

Yield 1 8 inch cake pan

Ingredients

For the cake

1 and 1/3 cups dry fruit ( I used cranberries, black and golden raisins, blueberries and cherries)

4 oz brandy (or you can use orange juice)

1 cup walnuts (chopped)

3 tablespoons orange juice

1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened apple sauce

1 and 1/4 cups coconut sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

For the cake

1.-Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 8 or 8 1/2 inch round pan (it’s better to use a spring-form pan), line the bottom with parchment paper, you can line the sides too.

In a small bowl mix the dried fruit with the Brandy (or orange juice). Let it rest for about 15 minutes.

2.-In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Set aside. This mix is going to be our dry ingredients.

3.- In another bowl mix eggs, sugar, apple sauce and orange juice. In low speed add dry ingredients. Add dry fruit with some of the liquid that is left in the bowl. Fold in the walnuts.

4.- Pour your batter on the cake pan. Bake it for about 1  hour BUT sometimes ovens are different, so I would recommend that after 45 minutes you check the cake and see how is cooking. If the top is getting too dark and the inside needs more time to cook, grab a piece of foil paper and place it on the top and keep baking until is cooked. When the cake is done the top will look shiny and when you insert a toothpick moist crumbs should come out.

6.- Put the cake on a rack and let it cool for an hour or hour and a half, then take the cake out of the pan and let it cool completely.

Dust some powdered sugar on the top and enjoy.