Full question
I make many of Nigella’s wonderful chocolate fruit cakes every year to give to family and friends but this year need to make a gluten free version. Can I just substitute gluten-free flour for the amount of plain flour specified in the recipe or is there another method? Thank you!
Our answer
Nigella's Chocolate Fruit Cake (from FEAST) is a moist fruit cake that has the advanatage of not needing to be matured and is often liked by those who don't like a traditional rich fruit cake. It is made with a combination of ground almonds (almond meal or almond flour) and plain (all-purpose) flour but should convert to gluten-free flour.
As gluten-free flours can absorb more liquid, we would suggest slightly changing the ratios of flour and almonds and using 100g (¾ cup) gluten-free flour plus 125g (1¼ cups) of ground almonds. The baking time should be about the same and the cake is baked when a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean or just with a couple of crumbs on it (but not uncooked cake batter). However, as we have not tried the cake in gluten-free form, we are unable to guarantee the results. You may also like to consider Nigella's Gorgeously Golden Fruit Cake as a gluten-free option.
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