This traditional cake has been jazzed up with lots of ginger – you'd never know it's gluten-free and dairy-free. Perfect for weddings and Christmas
Ingredients
- oil, for greasing
- 100g each dried currant, sultanas and raisins
- 225g each semi-dried fig and prunes, roughly chopped
- 200g tub crystallised ginger
- 100g stem ginger, from a jar, chopped
- 2 tbsp stem ginger syrup
- 4 tbsp Cointreau
- 1 tsp each ground ginger and mixed spice
- zest 2 lemons
- 150ml olive oil
- 175g light muscovado sugar
- 4 eggs
- 225g gluten-free flour
- 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
For the topping
- 4 tbsp apricot jam
- 1 tbsp Cointreau
- 450g mixed fruit, including figs, prunes, date and apricots
Method
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Heat oven to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1. Lightly oil a 71⁄2cm deep, 25cm round cake tin, and line it with a double layer of baking parchment.
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Mix the dried fruits, ginger and syrup, Cointreau, spices and lemon zest. Put the olive oil, sugar and eggs in a bowl, whisk together until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and tip in the fruit. Fold and stir together well.
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Spoon the mixture into the cake tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 2-21⁄2 hrs, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover with foil if the cake begins to over-brown. Take from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Remove, leaving the baking parchment in place until you decorate.
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For the topping: warm the jam and Cointreau together until the jam is liquid, allow to cool. Arrange the fruit on the cake and brush with the jam.