Going back to the days when I sold fruit cakes at the Altona market, this Gluten Free Glace Fruit Cake had to be one of my best sellers.  Maybe because it looks festive but more so because it tastes amazing.  It’s rich and delicious and a small slice goes a long way. Now I know of one person who ate a 10cm x 10cm cake in one sitting (he,he,he) and all I will say is that it would be very easy to do because it is so addictive.
     This cake is great to give as a gift and I tend to make them in 10x10cm square tins or mini loaf pans. This recipe makes 1 x 9″ square cake  or 6 mini loaf pans (14cm L x 7cm W x 5cm H) and 6 oval friands (8 x 5.5 x 4cm H) there’s a few gifts there!
     And whats even better is they keep really well too. I had one wrapped in cellophane so I put it at the back of the fridge and pulled it out 12 months later and it tasted as fresh as the day it was made.

Now I don’t usually use white sugar but unfortunately glace fruit is made with white sugar hence why this is a special treat cake and not something you would have on a regular basis (unless you opted to leave the glace fruit off the top.
     This Gluten free glace fruit cake is also free of grains and dairy, so that is a bonus. Now the other bonus is you don’t need to be soaking the fruit for weeks or months. Up to a week is plenty, just give it a daily stir! I hope this will become one of your favourites as it is ours. Happy baking!

GLUTEN FREE GLACE FRUIT CAKE

INGREDIENTS – FRUIT BLEND
3 cups (500 grams) Sultanas
2 cups (350 grams) Raisins
1¾ cups (250 grams ) Currants
1 cup (200 grams) Glace Cherries, cut in half
¾ cup (125 grams) Mixed Peel
1 cup (250 ml ) Brandy (can use sherry)

INGREDIENTS – CAKE

¾ cup firm Coconut Oil
¾ cup Sugar- either panela, rapadura, coconut or raw caster
2 tablespoons Marmalade ( I use my homemade marmalade)
4 Eggs
1 cup Cassava Flour
¾ cup Coconut Flour
1 teaspoon Ginger Powder
1 teaspoon Mixed Spice (for Cakes)
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Extra coconut oil or olive oil for greasing tin/tins

INGREDIENTS – TOPPINGS

800 grams Glace Fruit (mixture of cherries – red/green, oranges, apricots, pineapple, pears, figs, peaches, etc)
1 tablespoon Gelatine Powder
3 Tablespoons Boiling Water

Extra Brandy for tops of cake 1-2 tablespoons)

METHOD – FRUIT BLEND

Put  into large bowl sultanas, raisins, currants, glace cherries, mixed peel and brandy. Stir to combine, put lid on and give it a stir once a day for up to one week. *You can leave longer if you choose.

METHOD – CAKE

Preheat oven to 160 ° C  (140°C fan forced). Grease baking tin/tins with coconut oil and line base and sides with baking paper, extending paper 2cm above tin.

In mixer add coconut oil and sugar and mix until creamy then add jam, whole continuing to mix.  Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl and mixing well.

Add sifted dry ingredients and mix until smooth, then add the pre soaked fruit and stir until its well mixed.

Divide mixture evenly between tins if using more than one and press mixture down so there are no air pockets, smooth tops.

Put in oven and bake for  2½ to 3 hours for 9″ 

10 x 10cm cakes bake for 1½ hours
Friands bake for 50 minutes.

Remove from oven and brush with brandy. Mix together the gelatine and water  until smooth. Arrange glace fruit on top, then brush over with the gelatine. This stops the fruit from falling apart. If tgheres not enough gelatine mixture then make another batch.

Return cakes to oven and bake for a further 30 minutes.

Makes 1 x 9″ cake or 5-6 10 x 10 cm cakes or 6 mini loaf tins and 6 friands