Name: Gluten-free Christmas cakes
Prep time: 65 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 185 min
Ingredients: 2-in-1 basic fruit mix; 1 kilogram sultanas; 300 gram dried currants; 375 gram raisins, chopped; 600 gram pitted dried dates, chopped; 100 gram glace red cherries, quartered; 250 gram glace fruit (such as orange, pineapple, apricot, peach), chopped; 3/4 cup fig jam; 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind; 1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind; 1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon; 1 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger; 2 cup ginger beer; 1 cup dark rum; Christmas cakes; 250 gram butter, softened; 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar; 4 eggs, at room temperature; 1 cup almond meal (ground almonds); 3/4 cup gluten-free plain flour; 1/2 cup gluten-free self-raising flour; half quantity 2-in-1 basic fruit mix; walnuts, pecans, macadamias, blanched almonds, to decorate; 1/4 cup dark rum; 3 metres ribbon or hessian strips

No-one should miss out on Christmas cake, and now you don’t have to with our deliciously moist and rich gluten-free fruit cake recipe.

Ingredients

2-in-1 basic fruit mix

1 kilogram sultanas

300 gram dried currants

375 gram raisins, chopped

600 gram pitted dried dates, chopped

100 gram glace red cherries, quartered

250 gram glace fruit (such as orange, pineapple, apricot, peach), chopped

3/4 cup fig jam

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind

1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger

2 cup ginger beer

1 cup dark rum

Christmas cakes

250 gram butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup almond meal (ground almonds)

3/4 cup gluten-free plain flour

1/2 cup gluten-free self-raising flour

half quantity 2-in-1 basic fruit mix

walnuts, pecans, macadamias, blanched almonds, to decorate

1/4 cup dark rum

3 metres ribbon or hessian strips

Method

2-in-1 basic fruit mix: Combine the fruit, jam, rinds and spices in a large bowl. Add the ginger beer and rum; stir to combine.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap; stand at room temperature for 24 hours or store in a cool, dark place for up to a week, stirring every day.

Christmas cake: Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced). Line the base and sides of 6 deep 10cm round cake pans with 3 layers baking paper, extending paper about 4cm over the edge of the pans.

Beat butter and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition. Transfer the butter mixture to a large bowl; stir in the almonds and combined sifted flours then the half quantity of the Fruit Mix.

Spoon cake mix into prepared pans; smooth the tops. Arrange nuts on the tops. Bake for about 1½ – 2 hours or until cooked when tested.

Brush tops of hot cakes with rum. Cover hot cakes tightly with foil; wrap in clean tea-towels. Cool in the pans overnight. When cooled, turn cakes out.

Decorate cakes with ribbon, if desired.

Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Use a gluten-free ginger beer if making the gluten-free cakes, and check all ingredients are free of gluten.
Test Kitchen tip

How long with this gluten free Christmas cake keep?

The cakes will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 months.

How to prepare the fruit mix

It is easier to snip dried fruit with kitchen scissors. If the fruit sticks to the scissors, spray scissors lightly with cooking oil. This recipe uses a 2-in-1 basic fruit mix. Use a half quantity for the gluten free Christmas cakes and the rest for a Christmas pudding.

Can this recipe be used for one large gluten free fruit cake?

If you don’t have the small cake pans, bake the cake mixture in a deep 23cm round or 20cm square cake pan at 150°C (130°C fan-forced) for about 2½ – 3 hours. You can use 10cm round springform pans, if needed.

Women's Weekly Food

Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.

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