Simple Christmas Fruit Cake

Makes 1 Christmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients

• 175g raisins 

• 350g currants 

• 500g sultanas 

• 450g glacé cherries (rinsed, dried and halved)

• finely grated zest of 2 oranges

• 150ml sherry 

• 250g butter (at room temp)

• 250g light muscovado sugar

• 4 eggs (medium)

• 1tbsp black treacle

• 75g blanched almonds, chopped

• 1 1/2tsp mixed spice

• 60g gluten free self raising flour

• 120g gluten free plain flour 

• 40g ground almonds 

Method

• Put all the dried fruit in a container, pour over the sherry and stir in the orange zest. Cover with a lid, and leave to soak for 3 days, stirring daily. 

• Grease and line a 23cm (9in) deep round tin with a double layer of greased greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 140C/120C Fan.

• Measure the butter, sugar, eggs, treacle and almonds into a very large bowl and beat well. Add the flours and mixed spice and mix thoroughly until blended. Stir in the soaked fruit. Spoon into the prepared cake tin and level the surface. 

• Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 4ish hours or until the cake feels firm to the touch and is a rich golden brown. 

• Check after 2 hours, and, if the cake is a perfect colour, cover with foil. 

• A skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin. 

• When cool, pierce the cake at intervals with a fine skewer and feed with a little extra sherry. 

• Wrap the completely cold cake in a double layer of greaseproof paper and again in foil and store cool place for up to 3 months, feed at intervals with more sherry. (Do not remove the lining)

• Decorate however you wish.