Читать книгу Cake Angels Text Only: Amazing gluten, wheat and dairy free cakes - Julia Thomas - Страница 22

My mother used to bake this cake every Christmas and I can vividly remember the kitchen being filled with the heady smell of baking fruit and spices. It is the best fruit cake I have ever tasted, and my customers must agree because I sell out every year!

serves: 8 to 10

preparation: 30 minutes

baking: 2½ hours

cooling: 1 hour 20 minutes

freeze: Yes, before icing

300g (10½oz) dairy-free spread

300ml (10fl oz) cranberry juice

300g (10½oz) runny honey

175g (6oz) dried sour cherries

175g (6oz) glacé cherries

350g (12oz) raisins

325g (11½oz) sultanas

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150g (5½oz) wheat- and gluten-free plain flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

150g (5½oz) ground almonds

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

100g (3½oz) candied mixed peel, finely diced

Brandy, for feeding

675g (1½lb) almond paste or marzipan

675g (1½lb) Dr. Oetker ready-to-roll icing

equipment

20cm (8 inch) deep round cake tin

* Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/Gas 3. Grease the cake tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.

* Melt the dairy-free spread, cranberry juice and honey in a large heavy-based saucepan.

* Stir in the sour cherries, glacé cherries, raisins and sultanas, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes, when the fruit should be plump and luscious.

* Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. The mixture will fizz furiously for a while. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

* Fold the flour, xanthan gum, ground almonds, nutmeg and candied peel with a large metal spoon into the fruit mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and level with the back of a dessert spoon.

* Tear off a piece of baking parchment large enough to cover the top of the tin and halfway down the side of the tin. Cut a small circle out of the middle of the paper. Lay the paper over the top of the tin and tie it in place with string. Wrap a sheet of brown paper round the tin again, tying in place with string. This is to protect the cake during the long baking time. Place on a baking tray because a small amount of grease will seep out the bottom of the tin.

* Bake in the preheated oven for 2½ hours or until a metal skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool for 1 hour.

* Run a knife round the collar of the cake, remove the cake from the tin and leave to finish cooling on a metal cooling rack.

* When completely cool, pierce the surface of the cake with a metal skewer and feed with a couple of tablespoons of brandy.

* Wrap the completely cold cake in a double layer of baking parchment and again in foil and store in a cool place, feeding at intervals with brandy. (I like to feed my Christmas cakes with 2 tablespoons of brandy every other day for two weeks before icing.)

* A week before Christmas, cover the whole cake or just the top of the cake with almond paste or marzipan.

* Leave at least a day before covering with ready-to-roll icing and decorating.

tip: You can make this cake up to a month in advance, storing in a cool place and feeding regularly until you are ready to cover it in almond paste and icing. If you don’t like almond paste or icing, this cake tastes just as good with a light dusting of icing sugar.