Gluten-Free Christmas Fruit Cake (No Alcohol)

Ingredients

• 750 g mixed dried fruit (raisins, sultanas and currants), labelled gluten-free
• 100 g glacé cherries, labelled gluten-free, halved
• 50 g candied orange peel, labelled gluten-free
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 150 ml strong black tea, hot
• 175 g butter, softened
• 175 g dark muscovado sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp black treacle
• 125 g white rice flour
• 50 g ground almonds
• 50 g tapioca starch
• 1 tsp psyllium husk powder
• ½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves

Method

1. The day before, mix the dried fruit, cherries, peel, orange zest and juice with the hot tea. Cover and leave overnight so the fruit soaks up the liquid.
2. Heat the oven to 150 °C (130 °C fan). Line a deep 20 cm round tin with a double layer of baking paper and wrap a band of brown paper or newspaper round the outside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the treacle.
4. Whisk the rice flour, ground almonds, tapioca starch, psyllium, baking powder and spices, then fold them in. Fold in the soaked fruit and any liquid left in the bowl.
5. Spoon into the tin, level the top and make a slight dip in the middle. Bake for 2¼–2¾ hours, until a skewer comes out clean. Cover the top with foil if it darkens too quickly.
6. Cool completely in the tin. Wrap in baking paper and foil and keep in an airtight tin in a cool place for up to 6 weeks. Decorate just before Christmas if you like.

Gluten-free check: Buy rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, sorghum flour and psyllium husk labelled gluten-free – naturally gluten-free flours are often milled alongside wheat. Some dried fruit is dusted with flour to stop it sticking, and glacé cherries and candied peel can contain glucose syrup from wheat – buy them labelled gluten-free. Use single spices rather than 'mixed spice' unless that is labelled gluten-free, and gluten-free baking powder. If you decorate with marzipan or icing, check those labels too.