Gluten free Christmas Cake

Christmas Cake (makes 1 20cm round cake)

Ingredients
450g (15.8 ounces) currants
200g (7 ounces) sultanas
200g (7 ounces) raisins
100g (3.5 ounces) chopped glace cherries
100g (3.5 ounces) cut mixed peel
75g (2.6 ounces) chopped almonds
3 tbsp brandy
350g (12 ounces) plain gluten-free flour
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp salt
275g (9.7 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
225g (9.7 ounces) soft brown sugar
5 large eggs
zest of one lemon
zest of one orange

Cooking instructions

1. Place all dried fruit in a bowl, pour over brandy and cover. Leave for 12 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 150 deg C (300 deg F).
3. Grease and line tin with baking parchment.
4. Wrap newspaper/brown paper around tin and secure with bakers twine.
5. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until the mixture turns a pale colour.
6. Beat in eggs slowly on medium speed.
7. Sieve flour, salt and spices into mix slowly on low speed.
8. Fold in soaked fruit, almonds, lemon & orange zest until well mixed.
9. Pour mixture into tin, level with spatula.
10. Place sheet of grease proof paper on top, with small circle missing from centre.
11. Bake for 3 hours and 15 minutes on middle shelf.
12. Place cake on a wire rack to cool.
13. Remove cake from tin.
14. Pierce cake several times with skewer.
15. Pour 3 tsp of brandy over the top of the cake (feeding).
16. Wrap in baking parchment.
17. Wrap in foil / store in airtight container
18. Feed at regular intervals over the next few weeks.

After at least a few weeks comes the fun part! Decorating it.

Have a sweet day!