It is easy to make natural, uncooked or cooked fruit cakes for the holidays. First, stock up on dried fruits that have not been sulfured and sugared. Some health food stores carry unsulfured and unsweetened fruits such as dates, apricots, apples, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, figs, raisins, currants, pineapple, papaya and mango. Sulfites are preservatives, which you'll often find in salad bars as well, and many people are allergic to them, particularly asthmatics, who may have a severe reaction if exposed to the sulfites.
Sugar sweetened dried fruits are unhealthy and unnecessary, as the dried fruit is already very sweet but you could add natural sweeteners to the cake if desired as well. Try agave syrup, brown rice syrup or blackstrap molasses instead of the sugar called for in a recipe.
Use whole grain flours such as whole wheat pastry flour, buckwheat (for gluten free), kamut or spelt, to name a few. Substitute coconut butter for the unhealthy fat and try organic vanilla and organic eggs for the healthiest cake choices.
The recipe below is for a natural fruit cake. Another option is to make a special torte called Vinartarta, with whole grain flour, prunes and honey. A version of this can be found in Cook Your Way to Health. The original recipe, which contained white flour and sugar, was given to me by someone from Iceland, and it has been a yearly treat for my family. Eat Away Illness has information about sugar and using natural sweeteners, and all of the recipes use whole, natural foods.
