This Fruit & Nut Gingerbread Slice is everything you want in a festive bake: deep syrup warmth, fragrant gingerbread spice and a generous scatter of fruit and nuts in every bite.
If you want something festive without the stress, this Fruit & Nut Gingerbread Slice is the one. It’s a simple mix-and-bake recipe, but it tastes like Christmas: warm spices, dark sweetness and fruit and nuts in every bite. Even better – it keeps beautifully (and honestly tastes better the next day), so you can bake it ahead for busy December days.
Ingredients to use
Most ingredients are easy to find, but if you aren’t familiar with date syrup, here’s some info about this naturally sweet ingredient:
What it is: A thick, dark syrup made from cooked and strained dates (often just dates + water).
- Flavour: Naturally sweet with a caramel-toffee, molasses-like depth – great in gingerbread and spiced baking.
- Texture & role in baking: Adds moisture as well as sweetness, so baked items can stay softer for longer.
- How to use it: Swap it in anywhere you’d use molasses, treacle, honey or maple syrup (it’s ideally great added in spice cakes, granola and dressings).
- Nutrition note: It’s still a sugar, but it can contain small amounts of minerals from dates and is often less refined than white sugar.
GOOD TO KNOW!
Gingerbread slice was originally made as a “travel cake.” The syrup/treacle (and later molasses) plus the warming spices helped it keep well for days or even weeks, so versions of gingerbread were popular for journeys, markets and festivals long before it became a Christmas treat.
Fruit & Nut Gingerbread Slice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 120 g unsalted butter
- 50 ml date syrup (or molasses but use 50% less)
- 50 ml maple syrup
- 30 g dark brown sugar
- 125 ml milk
- 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
- 120 g store-bought or homemade gluten-free plain flour
- 1 tbsp gluten-free baking powder
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- 110 g ground almonds
- 1½ tbsp store-bought or homemade gingerbread spice blend
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large orange, zest only
- 2 large green apples, unpeeled and grated
- 150 g mixed whole nuts (hazelnuts, almonds & walnuts)
- 50 g sultanas
- 2 tbsp Cointreau or orange juice
- Icing sugar, to sprinkle on the baked slices
Instructions
Preparation
- In a small bowl, soak the sultanas in Cointreau or orange juice for 20 minutes. Set aside and prepare the slice batter.
- Gently melt the butter, syrups and brown sugar in a small saucepan.
- Whisk in the milk, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, xanthan gum, gingerbread spice and bicarbonate of soda.
- Mix in the orange zest, grated apple, whole nuts and sultanas (drain them from the soaking liquid and discard the liquid).
- Add the butter mixture & lightly beaten eggs and fold in thoroughly, making sure no flour streaks are visible.
- Line a square baking tray with baking (parchment) paper and pour the gingerbread mixture into the tray, spreading it out evenly.
Baking
- Bake on the middle shelf in a preheated oven at 160°C fan-forced (180°C/350°F) for 30 minutes. The slice is ready when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Allow the slice to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before removing it.
Serving
- Once cool, cut evenly into 7 x 3 cm slices.
- Generously dust the tops with icing sugar.
- Serve straight away or store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- Keeps for up to 3 days.
- Suitable for freezing.
Exceeded expectations! I love this recipe. The Fruit and Nut Gingerbread was hard to stop eating, even after 3 slices (though I managed). Perfect level of sweetness (not overly sweet) and pleasingly moist. Will definitely keep this in rotation over the holidays.
Wow! Thanks Laura! I am so happy you couldn’t stop eating…in a good way! Happy Holidays!!