Grain Free Christmas Cake GF SCD

We love Christmas Cake, especially with cheese. This year I've made a gluten-free egg-less cake and another one suitable for the SCD. We've still got some of a gluten-free cake I made last year, the one with too much brandy! When the tin is opened you can smell the aroma at the other end of the house! I don't like to feed the SCD cake so it's made a week before Christmas.

This is the first time I've made this cake and it looks good. I messed around with my recipe and although it's not smooth on top like a cake made with flour, it smells wonderful and I'm quite confident that when it is opened next week it will be luscious!

Christmas cake GF SCD

150g raisins
100g organic sultanas
100 g mixed dried berries
4 tblsps + 2 tsps whisky
50g walnuts
50g sliced almonds
50g organic apricots
85g organic dates 
grated rind one unwaxed lemon
grated rind one unwaxed orange
225g almond flour
60g butter
80ml honey
3 eggs
2 small ripe pears
½ tsp bicarb
2 tsps lemon juice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp sea salt

The night before you make the cake put the raisins, sultanas and dried berries into a bowl and pour over the four tablespoons of whisky. Cover with cling film and give it a shake every time you walk past!

• Set the oven to 140°C.
• Line a 15cm round tin with double thickness greaseproof paper or a 2lb loaf tin. This mixture would actually fit an 18cm round tin, I think, but would turn out to be shallow compared to the one cooked in the smaller tin. I actually made a 2lb loaf tin cake and a small 1lb loaf tin cake from this recipe.
• Peel and slice the pears then chop in a processor.
• Stir into the soaked fruit. Chop the dates and add to the fruit mix.
• Chop the apricots until they make a paste and add to the bowl.
• Measure out the ground almonds (almond flour) and tip into the bowl with the salt, spices and bicarbonate of soda.
• Chop the walnuts and add to the bowl with the flaked almonds. Give everything a good stir.
• Wash and grate the lemon and orange rind into the bowl.
• In another bowl cream the butter and honey.
• Whisk in the eggs then pour into the dried fruit mix and stir well.
• Add the lemon juice then quickly spoon into the prepared tin and place in the  bottom of the oven. Cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper.
• Bake for between 1½ hours and 2¼ hours. The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean and the top of the cake is firm and springs back when lightly touched. The 2lb loaf tin cooked in 1½ hours, the smaller one in 1 hour. Pour over a couple of teaspoons of whisky and let it cool in the tin. Cover with foil to keep the top of the cake from crisping up.

To store, I wrap mine in a double piece of greaseproof paper and wrap with foil. I then put it into a freezer bag and store in the fridge.