Christmas Cake Part 2 - Getting sticky!

The Autumn Half-term break is over. The girls and I had a lovely week crafting, pumpkin carving and most importantly baking the Christmas cake, but now they are safely back at school and I can get onto the computer and type without interruption.

Here's a reminder of the ingredients:

510g Currants

225g Raisins

225g Sultanas

120g Dried ('ready to eat') Prunes

120g Glace Cherries

20g of Candied peel OR 60g of Peel and 60g of Crystallised Stem Ginger

Zest of 1 Lemon

280g Gluten free flour (I use 140g of Dove farm Plain White Gluten Free and 140g of Doves Farm Rice flour)

half a level teaspoon of Xanthan gum (unless you are using a flour blend that already contains it) 

half a level teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, mixed spice and ground ginger

A pinch of salt

280g of dark soft brown sugar

6 fresh eggs (large)

265g Pure Salted Butter (Don't use 'spreadable butter')

1 tablespoon of Black Treacle

3 tablespoons of Brandy plus more later

3 tablespoons of Cointreau plus more later!



I'm going to break this recipe into two halves, making this cake is going to take a couple of hours plus four and a half hours to cook and you may not be lucky enough to get it all done in one go. Stage 1 can be done the day before and sealed in freezer bags before you get on with Stage 2 the next day.

Stage 1 -  It's all in the preparation.

Let's start with the raisins, sultana, currants and prunes. Get a clean washing up bowl and half fill it with cold water, put the dried fruit in and gently give it a swoosh about, this will help to remove the oils used in it's preparation and give you a chance to pick out any less than perfect specimens, in particular look out for stalks that have been left on. If your fruit is particularly oily you may need to strain off the water and repeat the process. I have been known to do the first rinse with the tiniest spot of washing up liquid if the fruit have been very oily or in the days when all the fruit had palm oil on it (it was either that or no cake). When you are happy that you've removed as much oil as possible tip the bowl into a colander in the sink and dry by gently pouring out over a clean tea towel and patting dry or alternatively stick it in the salad spinner.

Now the cake tin. Having selected your tin (9inch round or 8 inch square) you need to cover the outside in a double layer of brown paper. With a square tin put an extra layer on the corners to reduce the risk of burning. My round tin has a double layer base so I don't bother covering that, if yours doesn't you've got some tricky wrapping to do! I secure the paper with the string but you could use staples to hold it together, just be careful later on. Experience has also taught me that if you are careful not to get any mixture on the paper later on then you can use the brown paper case for a couple of years! You also need to make a 'lid' of brown paper to go on later, so turn the tin over and draw around it then cut it out.

It's a little known fact that gluten-free baking likes to stick like glory to the tin, I ALWAYS line the tin with a double layer of greaseproof paper that I've completely smeared in butter/margarine. All this extra padding will help your cake not to get burnt edges. I also cover the brown paper lid in greaseproof so that if it touches the mixture that doesn't stick either. However DON'T grease until baking day - you don't want it going rancid over night.

You are now going to need a large bowl however if you are doing stage one and two on the same day save your very largest bowl for the next bit assuming you don't have two exactly the same size! Use the smaller of your large bowls first, placing into it your washed fruit chopping the prunes into quarters as you go. Chop the cherries and add them, add the lemon zest too and your peel (or mixed peel and stem ginger). 

Onto the fruit sift your flour, salt, the spices and half a teaspoon of xanthum gum if your flour does not contain it. Gently mix until all the fruit is evenly covered. 


If you need to stop here then bag up the fruit into freezer bags and put your cake tin somewhere where the kids wont take the paper to draw on!

Stage 2 - Ready, steady, bake!

Heat your oven to gas mark 1 or 140 C and grease the paper in the tin.

Take your very largest bowl (mine is original Cornish ware inherited from my husband's Granny - I know you are jealous!!) and cream the butter and and sugar together until they are light and fluffy.

In a jug whisk together the eggs and the treacle (top tip on treacle, warm the spoon, wipe the smallest amount of oil across the inside and outside of spoon end and move quick!) then add this mixture slowly to the creamed mixture whisking all the way.

It is traditional at this point to let the kids lick the whisks, two very important points you should note, 1) eject them from the mixer first! 2) this mixture contains raw egg which isn't great for vulnerable people, especially small children or the elderly (I selflessly take the risk for them and lick them myself!!)

Now carefully fold in all the flour and fruit mixture then add one and a half tablespoons of brandy and one and a half tablespoons of Cointreau and stir gently. (My tablespoons here tend to be a bit 'whoops, that was a bit over', it all adds to the individual flavour!) The rest of the alcohol will be used after baking and is not intended to be consumed by the cook just yet!

Pour the mixture carefully into your well prepared tin and place in the middle of a preheated oven at gas mark 2 for a VERY long time. 

Now settle down with the kids and watch them lick the mixing bowl and spatulas clean!

After about 2 1/2 hours pop that lid over the top and if you're doing a square cake rotate the tin every half hour from here on. Keep baking until a skewer comes out clean which is ABOUT 4.5 hours however at such low temperatures this timing is VERY flexible and if you have a fan oven you may have to reduce this to 3.5 hours. (If you have the chance turn the fan off and throw an ice cube onto the floor of the oven every time you check the cake to keep the humidity up).

Once your cake has cooled spike the top over with a skewer and evenly pour on another one and a half tablespoons of Brandy and one and a half tablespoons of Cointreau. After this has soaked in remove the cake from the tin, peal off the greaseproof, wrap in a layer of clingfilm and place into an airtight tin or box. 

You should 'feed' the cake at least once more with the same amounts of brandy and Cointreau before you ice it. But for now put your feet up and relax, you've earned it!