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ALLERGY FREE CHRISTMAS CAKE

Based on Nigella's Easy Action Xmas cake, but adapted for my clients with food sensitivities, and chestnut puree not found in NZ. Probably changed so much she won't recognize it, but it has been a wonderful base and is so forgiving of any changes - everybody loves it!

Ingredients

  • Gluten Free
  • Vegetarian
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup brandy, rum or extra water
  • Juice of one orange
  • Rind of the orange, plus rind of a lemon, finely grated
  • 170g butter or coconut oil
  • 1 cup shakkar or other unrefined sugar (or can leave it out altogether)
  • 2 tsp mixed spice & 1 tsp ginger (or other spices of your choice)
  • 900g-1kg dried fruit. Use a packeted mix, or choose your own mix, eg: 250g raisins, 250g sultanas, 150g prunes, 150g figs, 100g dates, 100g cherries
  • 1 cup ground almonds
  • 1/2 cup white rice flour

PLUS:

  • 1/2 cup arrowroot (gluten free version) OR ½ cup coconut flour (starch free version)
  • 2 tsp pectin, guar gum or xanthan gum
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3 large or 4 small eggs

Method

  1. Finely chop the dried fruit.Take a large pan, and melt together the first 9 ingredients. Add the fruit & simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring often, till the fruit has soaked up all the liquid (though some of the oil may not soak up, especially if using coconut oil). Leave to stand for 30 minutes, while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
  2. The full recipe fills an 8" x 8" (20cm x 20cm) square tin, or make a half-mix & bake in a loaf tin. Line tin with a double layer of brown paper, which comes to about double the height of the tin. Then line with a double layer of baking paper.
  3. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well. Beat up the eggs.
  4. When the fruit mix has cooled to lukewarm, stir through the beaten egg. Then stir through the dry ingredients. The mixture should be a thick batter and quite hard to stir. If it's too runny, add a little more rice flour, arrowroot or coconut flour. Spoon the mixture into the pan, and bake at 150C for 1.3/4 - 2 hours for the full recipe, or 1.1/2- 1.3/4 for the half recipe. Use the usual skewer test, or listen - when it stops sizzling, it's ready.
  5. (Optional: Before cooling, pierce small holes in the top of the cake with a skewer, then carefully pour 2 Tbls brandy over the top).
  6. Cool completely before removing from tin. Wrap in some baking or greaseproof paper, then in a tea towel and store in the bottom of the fridge.

Please note:

While all of Nigella 's recipes are of course tested extensively, nigella.com do not test any of the community recipes, so cannot verify the results or answer queries concerning them.

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