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Brimming with dried fruit, almonds and glace and cherries, this gluten-free Christmas cake is just as delicious as a traditional cake.
Ground ginger and mixed spice add a delicate festive flavour, while the addition of milk ensures the cake stays moist – all too often a problem when it comes to gluten-free bakes. Speedier than following a classic Christmas cake recipe (opens in new tab), this gluten-free version takes under two hours to bake. Remember that gluten-free cakes and biscuits tend to go stale more quickly than their regular counterparts, so it’s best to eat this one within a couple of weeks.
Ingredients
For the gluten-free Christmas cake
- 350g mixed dried fruit
- 100ml brandy or orange juice
- 150g butter, softened
- 150g soft light brown sugar
- 3 eggs, beaten
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 50g blanched almonds, chopped
- 50g glace cherries, halved
- 2tsp vanilla extract
- 150g gluten-free plain flour
- 1½tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 2tsp ground mixed spice
- 1tsp ground ginger
- 100ml milk
For the icing
- 5-6 tbsp apricot glaze or sieved apricot jam
- 750g white marzipan
- 1kg of packet white sugarpaste
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Place the dried fruit in a bowl with the brandy or orange juice and leave to soak for 2 hrs or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Grease an 18cm round deep cake tin and line the base and sides with a double thickness of baking paper.
- Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little of the flour if the mixture begins to curdle. Add the soaked fruit, orange zest, almonds, cherries and vanilla extract.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and spices and fold into the mixture with the milk. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface.
- Bake for 1½-1¾ hrs until golden, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 15 mins then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Finally, ice your Christmas cake (opens in new tab) with apricot jam, white sugar paste and marzipan.
Top tip for making this gluten-free Christmas cake
Mix it up by replacing half the dried mixed fruit with finely chopped dried apricots and dates.
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Mary Berry’s fruit cake (opens in new tab)
Christmas cake decorations (opens in new tab): Ways to decorate your Christmas cake
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