Gluten-free Christmas cake
A dense, boozy gluten-free Christmas cake packed with fruit and spice, brushed with apricot jam and finished with marzipan (icing optional).
This is a proper, boozy gluten-free Christmas cake — dense, warmly spiced and studded with soaked fruit. It's the kind of cake you make with a glass of something warming in hand and then forget about for a little while so the flavours can mingle.
Soak the fruit a day ahead, bake low and slow, then brush with apricot jam and cover in marzipan. If you like the full festive look, add royal icing; if not, the marzipan alone makes a handsome cake that keeps brilliantly.
Ingredients
- 450 g mixed dried fruit — sultanas, raisins, currants and chopped dates or figs
- 100 g glacé cherries — halved
- 200 ml brandy — plus extra for 'feeding' if you plan to mature the cake
- 225 g unsalted butter — softened
- 225 g light muscovado sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 150 g gluten-free plain flour — use a blend suitable for baking
- 75 g ground almonds
- 5 ml baking powder
- 10 ml mixed spice
- 0 ml salt
- 1 large orange — zest and 2 tbsp juice
- 10 ml vanilla extract
- 85 g apricot jam — warmed and sieved if preferred
- 500 g ready-made marzipan — to cover the cake
- 500 g ready-made royal icing — optional, to finish the cake
Equipment
- 20 cm deep round cake tin
- wire rack
- electric whisk (optional)
- mixing bowls
- rolling pin
Instructions
Put the mixed dried fruit and halved glacé cherries into a bowl. Pour over the brandy, stir, cover and leave to soak at room temperature for 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 150°C fan/170°C conventional. Line a 20 cm deep round cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment and grease the sides with a little of the unsalted butter.
Cream the softened unsalted butter and light muscovado sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, 3–5 minutes with an electric whisk or 6–8 minutes by hand.
Beat the large eggs in a small bowl. Add them to the creamed butter a little at a time, beating well between additions. If the mixture looks like it might curdle, add a tablespoon of the gluten-free plain flour while you beat the eggs in to help stabilise it.
Sift together the gluten-free plain flour and baking powder into a bowl, then stir in the ground almonds, mixed spice and salt. Fold the dry mix into the creamed mixture along with the orange zest, 2 tbsp orange juice and the vanilla extract until just combined.
Fold in the soaked mixed fruit and glacé cherries together with any remaining brandy from the soak so the fruit is evenly distributed.
Tip the batter into the prepared tin, level the top with the back of a spoon and bake at 150°C fan/170°C conventional for 2 hours 30 minutes. Check after 1 hour; if the top is browning too quickly, loosely tent with foil for the remainder of the bake.
Remove the cake from the oven and leave to rest in the tin for about 15 minutes, then lift out using the parchment overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
Warm the apricot jam gently until runny (briefly in a small pan or microwave) and brush a thin layer over the top and sides of the cooled cake to act as glue for the marzipan.
Dust the work surface with a little gluten-free plain flour, roll the ready-made marzipan to about 3–4 mm thick and cover the cake, smoothing the sides and trimming the excess. Press a little at the base to seal.
If you want a traditional white finish, roll out the ready-made royal icing and cover the marzipan, or pipe decorations. Allow any icing to set completely before storing.
Store the cooled cake in an airtight tin. If maturing, add a tablespoon of brandy to the surface once a week for up to 4 weeks to 'feed' the cake and deepen the flavour.
Tips
- Soak the fruit for the whole 24 hours — this is where most of the flavour comes from. Use orange juice if you prefer a non-alcohol version.
- If the top browns too quickly while baking, tent loosely with foil after the first hour to prevent burning while the centre cooks through.
- Warm the apricot jam and sieve if necessary so it makes a smooth adhesive layer for the marzipan; this avoids lumps showing through.
- To avoid the batter splitting when adding eggs, add them gradually and use a spoonful of flour if the mix looks unstable.
- Make ahead: the cake keeps for weeks in an airtight tin and improves with a little weekly 'feeding' of brandy.
Substitutions
brandy → dark rum or orange juice (same quantity)
Stays closeready-made marzipan → homemade marzipan made from 250 g ground almonds and 250 g icing sugar (adjust texture with a little egg white or water)
Stays closegluten-free plain flour → finely ground oat flour (150 g) — only if certified gluten-free
Noticeably differentlight muscovado sugar → dark brown sugar (same weight)
Stays close
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 850
- Calories
- 7 g
- Protein
- 110 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 68 g
- Sugar
- 150 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make this cake without alcohol?
Yes — use orange juice or apple juice to soak the fruit and for the weekly 'feeding' use more juice. The cake will be less boozy but still very tasty.
How do I know when the cake is cooked?
Insert a skewer near the centre: it should come out with a few moist crumbs, not raw batter. The cake will be firm to the touch and pull away slightly from the tin edges.
Can I freeze this cake?
Yes. Wrap slices or the whole cooled cake in several layers of cling film and foil; freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before bringing back to room temperature.
Do I have to ice it with royal icing?
No — marzipan alone is traditional and delicious. Royal icing is optional if you prefer a snowy finish or want to pipe decorations.
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