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Healthy Christmas Fruit Bundt Cake – Light, Festive, and Full of Flavor

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients
  

  • Whole-wheat pastry flour (or white whole-wheat flour)
  • Almond flour
  • Baking powder and baking soda
  • Fine sea salt
  • Ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and allspice
  • Olive oil (light or extra-light for neutral flavor)
  • Plain Greek yogurt (2% or 5%)
  • Eggs
  • Pure maple syrup or honey
  • Brown sugar or coconut sugar (small amount)
  • Vanilla extract and almond extract (optional, but lovely)
  • Oranges (for zest and juice)
  • Lemon (for zest)
  • Assorted dried fruit (raisins, golden raisins, chopped dates, dried cranberries, dried apricots)
  • Chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
  • Unsweetened apple juice or orange juice (for soaking fruit)
  • Dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs (optional)
  • Powdered sugar (optional, for a light dusting)
  • Nonstick spray and a little flour for the pan

Method
 

  1. Prep the pan and oven. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan well with nonstick spray, then dust lightly with flour. Tap out the excess.
  2. Soak the fruit. In a small saucepan, warm 1 cup unsweetened apple or orange juice. Remove from heat and add 1½ cups mixed dried fruit. Let soak 15–20 minutes, then drain well and pat dry with paper towels so the cake doesn’t get soggy.
  3. Whisk dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk 1½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour, 1 cup almond flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 1½ teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon allspice.
  4. Mix wet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk ½ cup light olive oil, ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt, 3 large eggs, ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey, ¼ cup brown or coconut sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional), the zest of 1 orange and ½ lemon, plus 2 tablespoons orange juice.
  5. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix; a few small lumps are okay.
  6. Fold in add-ins. Stir in the drained dried fruit and ½ cup chopped nuts. Add ¼ cup dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs if using. The batter will be thick but spoonable.
  7. Fill the pan. Spoon batter into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan gently on the counter to release air bubbles.
  8. Bake. Bake 40–50 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. If the top is browning too fast, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
  9. Cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing to keep the crumb tender and neat.
  10. Finish. Dust lightly with powdered sugar for a snowy look, or drizzle with a simple orange glaze (¼ cup powdered sugar mixed with 1–2 teaspoons orange juice) if you want a touch of sweetness.