Organic Festive Cake Wrapped For Friends
My cooking philosophy is to be able to offer recipes for all interests. I am not a qualified nutritionist but I do understand that for some dairy, wheat, sugar etc are all intolerable and can cause dietary problems. So this delicious all organic cake is for those who wish to still enjoy ‘the same food’ as others but of course, fit within their dietary needs.
This cake recipe I dedicated especially to my dear daughter, and share with you my friends.
Happy Festive Season to you all.
Ingredients
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Fruit Cake
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1 kg luxury dried fruits- raisons, currants, sultanas, chopped pitted prunes and apricots
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50g almonds- chopped (optional)
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150ml of quality whiskey- or fresh juice lemon and orange
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150g coconut oil- firm
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225g sugar- castor, coconut or soft brown
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3 organic eggs- large
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125g plain brown gluten free flour- sieved
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90g self raising white gluten free flour- sieved
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1 tbsp mixed spices- cinnamon, cloves powder, nutmeg
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1 lemon- zest only
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1 orange- zest only
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Decoration
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Few additional blanched whole almonds
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Festive ribbon
Instructions
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Prepare dried fruit:
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01 First clean all fruit by washing well in plenty of cold water; place in either a large bowl or colander and run under plenty of cold water.
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02 Chop apricots and prunes into small bit size pieces (use a food processor if in a hurry!)
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03 Place in a large bowl and add whiskey or citrus juice. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and leave in a cool place for 48 hours.
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Before baking prepare cake tin:
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04 Use a 20cm round or square cake tin, lined with double layers of non stick baking paper, including an extra round circle or square for the top, which has a small hole cut out at the centre the size of your thumb.
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Make cake:
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05 Beat coconut oil and sugar together until thick and creamy.
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06 Add eggs 1 tbsp at a time and beat well into the creamed coconut mixture.
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07 Now add in alternative amounts stir in the soaked dried fruits, nuts, sieved flour and spices.
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08 Add zest of orange and lemon and mix well.
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09 Place the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin.
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10 Smooth the top, allowing a slight indentation in the middle, decorate with a few whole blanched almonds, and gently cover with the baking paper top, aligning the cut piece to sit centre.
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Cook:
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11 Bake cake slowly on the lower shelf of your oven and after 4-4½ hours check cooked by placing a skewer into the middle of the cake. If cooked the skewer will come out clean, and if not, put back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so and check again.
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12 When cake is ready, remove from oven and cover with clean tea-towel and leave to cool in the tin.
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13 When cold remove from tin, keeping original lining, wrap well in extra non-stick paper and several thick layers of newspaper. Store in a cool, dark place until required. Cake will keep a couple of weeks like this.
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Decorate:
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14 Unwrap cake and place on a decorative cake board. Tie with an attractive ribbon and bow or add a decoration of your choice. If you wish to add marzipan and icing go ahead.
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15 If sharing as a gift for someone special, wrap with cling film and tie with a festive bow (as in main photograph).
Notes
Always top cake with a circular lid of double non-stick paper with a hole in the centre – allowing steam to escape, enhance even cooking and prevent burning. I always recommend wrapping the cake in newspaper rather than foil, as this allows the cake to breathe whilst maturing and preventing ‘sweating’ which would end in a soggy wet cake. Play around with different types of dried fruit – if you want to put in dates or figs go ahead, just as long as the total weight is the same.
