Emma’s Christmas Cake
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Christmas Cake
Gluten Free, Dairy Free: Emma’s Christmas Cake Recipe
I love fruit cake, but Christmas Cake is another level of goodness! This cake is surprisingly easy to make! Don’t let the long list of ingredients put you off! The dried fruit I use are our family favourites, but you can also use the ones that you love.
Ingredients for the soaked fruit:
200 g dried apricots
150 g dried figs
75 g dates
75 g preserved ginger in syrup
150 g raisins
100 g dried blueberries
100 g dried cranberries
3 tsp vanilla extract
150 ml brandy or cranberry juice
Ingredients for the cake:
300 g dairy free butter (plus extra for greasing)
275 g dark muscovado sugar
150 g ground almonds
100 g gluten free self-rising flour or our General All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
100 g buckwheat flour
2 tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
4 eggs
1 tbsp black treacle
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp psyllium husk
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Grated zest of 1 orange
100 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
Optional:
Extra brandy for feeding the cake
Ingredients to decorate:
800 g marzipan
800 g fondant icing
Icing sugar for dusting
3 tbsp apricot jam
Method for the soaked fruit:
I like to soak the fruit at least 24 hours before I make the cake.
Chop or cut with scissors the dried fruit up into small chucks.
Place all the ingredients for the soaked fruit into a bowl and pour over the cranberry or brandy.
Cover and leave to soak overnight.
Stir occasionally.
Method for the cake:
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
Grease the cake tin and double layer with baking parchment.
Ensure that you have two lengths of parchment to fit round the inside of tin. These lengths need to extend to 5 cm above the rim of the tin. I also use 2 layers of baking parchment circles in the base of the tin.
Place all the ingredients (except for the orange juice and extra brandy) into a mixing bowl. I use a stand mixer for this.
Mix in the orange juice and finally combine the soaked fruit with any remaining juices.
Combine until mixed and then spoon into the prepared tin and level the surface of the cake.
Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
At the 30 minute stage, lower the oven temperature to 150°C / 140° Fan / 300°F / Gas Mark 2.
Bake for a further two hours and remove when the cake is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Please Note: If the cake appears to be browning too much during the cooking process then cover the top with foil.
Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin and pierce all over with a skewer.
Brush the top and sides of the cake with 50 ml of brandy.
Once this has been absorbed, wrap the cake in a fresh layer of baking parchment and a double layer of foil.
Ideally you can allow your cake to mature for a few weeks. It will store for a couple of months if stored in a cool place. Feed it with brandy every week, brushing it all over.
Don’t feed the cake the week before you are decorating it!
Method for decorating the cake:
Using a piece of string or ruler, measure from the bottom of one side of your cake, across the top and down the other side. This measurement will be used as a guide for the marzipan and icing.
Warm the apricot jam with 2 tsp of water. You can do this over a low heat or in the microwave. Remove any lumps by pushing through a sieve with a wooden spoon before brushing the bottom and top of the cake with a little of the apricot glaze.
Dust a work surface with a little icing sugar and roll out the marzipan into a circle a little larger than the measurement that you took of the cake.
Using the rolling pin, lift the rolled marzipan up and place over the cake.
Press the marzipan gently down until the cake is covered. Trim the marzipan around the base of the cake with a sharp knife.
Repeat the process with the icing sugar. Dust a work surface and roll out fondant icing to slightly larger than the measurement required. Using the rolling pin, lift the icing up and place over the cake. Press the icing gently down until the cake is covered.
Continue decorating as you wish. This cake looks magnificent with just icing or with Holly and other decorations on it. Make it your own!
Additional Notes:
Change the fruit in this cake to make it uniquely yours. My family won’t eat candied peel and so I leave it out of this recipe. If you love it then put it in and swap something else out.
If you prefer a bit more spice then add in some extra cloves, ginger or grated nutmeg.
This can be frozen and kept in an airtight container.
Equipment Used:
20 cm round deep cake tin
Cooling rack
Spoon
Bowls
Pan
Measuring Scales
Rolling Pin
Sieve
Food Processor or Blender.
