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Christmas Cake – No Need to Age (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Christmas Cake
Cooking Method
Cuisine
Courses
Difficulty Intermediate
Time
Prep Time: 20 min Cook Time: 3 hour Total Time: 3 hrs 20 mins
Servings 14
Best Season Winter
Ingredients
    For the cake:
  • 500 grams sultananas
  • 125 grams fresh cranberries
  • 125 grams mixed peel
  • 150 grams glace cherries
  • 225 milliliters cranberry juice
  • 75 milliliters orange juice
  • 100 milliliters port
  • zest from one orange
  • 30 grams treacle
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 200 grams dairy free spread
  • 200 grams dark brown sugar
  • 250 grams gluten free plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 75 grams walnuts (chopped)
  • 5 eggs
  • For decoration:
  • 1 sheet of marzipan
  • 1 sheet of ready rolled fondant icing
  • 3-4 tablespoons apricot jam
  • cake toppers of your choice
Instructions
  1. In a large pan place the sultanas, cranberries, mixed peel, cherries, cranberry juice, orange juice, port, zest, treacle, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg
  2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes
  3. Remove from the heat and allow the fruit to soak for at least one hour (overnight if possible)
  4. Preheat the oven to 140 oC
  5. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin
  6. In a large bowl mix together the dairy free spread, sugar, baking powder, flour, xanthan gum and eggs
  7. Stir through the fruit mix (including any residual liquid) and the chopped nuts
  8. Pour into the cake tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 3.5 hours (I covered the top of my cake with tinfoil for the last hour of baking to stop the top getting burnt)
  9. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely
  10. Trim the top of the cake to make it an even and flat surface to ice
  11. Spread the apricot jam over the cake and cover with the marzipan sheet
  12. Allow the marzipan time to settle (overnight if you have time) before draping the fondant icing on top
  13. Decorate the cake with any christmas decorations you have
Keywords: gluten free baking ideas