Vegan Christmas cake, this one was a disaster!

[redpriestandmozart]

I need a decent recipe, tried & tested. I made this cake this morning and it was a disaster. Too dry, too flat & very tough. I've only been vegan 5 years, first year I made one but was disappointed it was more like a boiled cake, too moist! (I know, no pleasing me!).

In the old days before vegan my cakes were lovely, moist but not like a boiled cake, I remember there was ground almonds. This vegan recipe (saved on my computer last year, I can't find the origin of it) really only uses fruit, flour, sugar, some fat, spices & soy milk, using a 7 3/4 tin. I felt there wasn't enough mixture. Because it was so disappointing I cut it to try. I baked it for 1 hour on 160 then 45 mins on 150 fan oven.

So does anyone have a recipe they've tried and liked?

I am not vegan but two out of three dc are allergic to milk and have now outgrown egg allergy so I've spent a lot of time researching cakes!
I use a Delia Smith rich fruit cake recipe which I've adapted and it's always yummy. I will just find it now for you as i'm sure I've seen it online

www.deliaonline.com/information-centre/scaling-up-cake-recipes
Here it is. We are also coeliac so I sub the flour for Doves Farm gluten free plus 1tsp xanthan gum.
I substitute the butter for dairy free spread (sunflower Pure) and instead of the eggs I use one of the following options (depending on what I've got in the cupboard usually!)

I normally do a 20cm square one so i'm subbing 5 eggs-
I substitute two of them with Orgran No-Egg powder and the other three with 'flax seed' eggs so instead of the eggs, I make a mixture of the following. Whisk until smooth.

2tsp Orgran No-Egg plus 2 tsp boiling water
3 rounded tsp ground flax seeds plus 6tsp boiling water

I have also had success in using 3tbsp per egg of Aquafaba (the liquid out of a tin of chickpeas)
So 15tbsp/225ml.
You could also combine the aquafaba method with one of the other egg substitutes but the important thing to remember is that when you're subbing that many eggs it's a good idea to use more than one type of substitute as each had its pros and cons.

I made this one allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/12806/4-ingredient-fruit-cake.aspx recently as a fruit wedding cake for someone, really easy has only flour, orange juice, dried fruit and spice in it.

Unbelievably it was very tasty and not at all brick like, as I worried it might be due to lack of conventional ingredients.

WOW thanks, I'm thinking Delia with egg subs would be the most authentic, I have Orgran No-Egg powder, flax seeds and can open chickpeas for AF so I would use a mix of subs. I am also tempted to try the simple 4 ingredient cake, if I had enough pure orange I'd have been tempted tonight!

Thanks so much

Its so nice it's the recipe my sister is making for our wedding cake! Plenty of booze! You honestly can't tell the difference.

Second attempt and it's gone all Trump hairstyle on me.. all up on one side!

Smells great, not dry or burnt, think it's a keeper, I'll just level off the top before icing.

Thanks for all your help Giraffeski and I will also be making your recipe SmokyMountains next weekend as I'm on a roll now :)

That 4 ingredient one looks great for 'everyday'! Fruit cake fans here...

Keep it wonky like that and decorate it with skiing snowmen.