Fruit Cake (English Style - Gluten-Free)

This recipe comes to us from Chris Kranzler.

This is a deliciously different fruit cake, packed with glace fruit, dried fruit and nuts and is delicious and easy to bake wheat/gluten free! I have had loads of comments about this cake from my American friends who dont believe any fruit cake can be delicious - but they have all agreed this one IS DELICIOUS!!! I use it as an English Christmas cake and decorate it with marzipan and icing, but my family love it also as is and eat it sliced any time of the year.

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8 oz glace cherries
2 oz chopped candied peel
3/8 cup rum or orange juice
1 teaspoon butter
freshly grated rind of one lemon
½ cup seedless raisins
7 oz stoned dates, chopped
5 oz walnuts, chopped
5 oz almonds, chopped
1 cup gluten free flour - any combination will work, I use Bette Hagmans
bean flour mix or her feather light rice flour mix.
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten well

Put the cherries and candied peel in a bowl and cover them with rum or orange juice. Leave to soak for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the cherries and candied peel, and reserve the rum or orange juice. Preheat the oven to cool 300F (Gas Mark2 or 150C). Grease a deep, loose-bottomed 8in cake tin (a large loaf tin works too), line it with greaseproof or waxed paper and grease that as well.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cherries, candied peel, lemon rind, raisins, dates, walnuts and almonds with a wooden spoon. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the bowl and mix well so that all the fruit is covered with flour mixture. Lightly stir in the beaten eggs and be careful to not over mix. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Place the cake in the oven and bake for 1 ¾ to 2 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top of the cake begins to brown too quickly, loosely cover it with aluminum foil. Remove the cake from the oven and pour on the reserved rum/orange juice while the cake is still very hot. The rum will make the cake sizzle and glaze the top nicely, the orange juice does not sizzle quite so much but still gives a nice glaze and seal. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. When cold remove the greaseproof or waxed paper.

Voila - a great fruit cake which can either be eaten as is, or to make a English Christmas cake iced with marzipan and royal icing!!