Gingered rich fruit cake

800 kcal or less alternative apricot jam cake christmas coeliac cointreau currant currants date dates diet fig figs for a crowd ginger gluten free cake gluten-free fruit cake healthy lemon lemons over an hour special stem ginger stem ginger syrup wedding wheat-free

N/A

Source

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

4 tbsp apricot jam

1 tbsp Cointreau

450g mixed fruit, including figs, prunes, date and apricots

Method

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.

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.

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.

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.