Sugar free Christmas cake

I'm planning on making a low or sugar free Crimbo cake this year. Looking at the net, there are plenty of worthy recipes with no fat or gluten either but I don't think they'd be much good. Probably heavy and prone to mould. I'm planning on using stacks of dried fruit (as usual) but keeping the egg, butter, flour, alcohol etc content the same as usual.

Apart from sweetening, what function does sugar have in a cake? Is it essential to the texture? Should I replace some of it with a bit of honey, or grated carrot, or apple?

I'm going to make almond icing with sugar as usual, and use white icing as I peel that off before eating anyway, it's only there for the looks.

 

My better half makes a lovely sugar free fruit cake.
6 0z flour
3 teaspoons Baking powder
2 oz ground almonds
2 teaspoons Mixed Spice
1 lb mixed fruit
4 0z Dates
4 oz apricots
grated rind of an orange
1/2 pint of water (alcohol if required added to make up the water)
2 tablespoons of Orange juice

Soak fruit over night in liquid
Add dry ingredients and stir well
2 lb loaf tin. for 1 and 1/2 hours at 160 c. Cover for the last hour.

Freezes well too.

Can use any combination of dried fruit that you choose.

 

I'd have liked to have tried that Palustris but mine are in the oven as i type....still might give it a go though

 

Sorry, should have posted it this morning, but she was out and I could not find the recipe in her folder.
It is a very filling cake.

 

As all good Xmas cakes are! Sounds like a great recipe, exactly the sort of thing I was planning, except mine will also have butter in - does Mrs P ever put butter in?

How does the cake compare with conventional recipes in terms of texture, taste, cutting and keeping qualities?

I normally do a Nigella recipe boiled Xmas cake, extremely easy.
http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/easy-action-christmas-cake

 

No butter, this is classed as a Vegan recipe. She uses Apple juice instead of orange as I cannot take Citrus fruit.
We keep it in a Tupperware type box and it lasts for months (or it would if we did not eat it!). But if it looks as if we are going to not have the chance then it goes in the Freezer.
Texture is harder to describe. I like a soft cake (no teef) but by adjusting the flour you could make it into a firmer cake. Texture determines the slicing ability of it. Certainly as she makes it, it is easy to cut the small slices that we can manage.

 

All sounds brilliant, I think I'll make it and just chuck some butter in. Ta.