Best Gluten-Free Fruit Cake (Farmhouse Style)

A slice of Gluten-Free Fruit Cake on a plate in front of the rest of the cake

4.90 from 19 votes

Best Gluten-Free Fruit Cake (Farmhouse Style)

Fit for any occasion this delicious Gluten-Free Fruit Cake recipe is packed with juicy sultanas, raisins, glacé cherries and mixed peel. This is a farmhouse style family fruit cake which has a light sponge packed with plump and juicy dried fruit that is humble enough for a simple tea time or can be easily decorated to suit a more special gathering. No xanthan gum is needed.

Prep Time20

Cook Time2 15

Resting Time1

Total Time3 35

Course: Cake

Cuisine: British

Servings: people

Calories: 487kcal

Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

100 g glacé cherries roughly chopped
100 g sultanas
100 g raisins
50 g mixed peel
1 orange
1 lemon
150 g unsalted butter room temperature
150 g caster sugar
2 eggs medium
80 g sweet rice flour
60 g oat flour
30 g ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
100 g apricot jam
extra glacé fruit and almonds for decorating

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/ gas mark 3. Line and grease a 6 inch diameter x 4 inch round cake tin.
Soak the glacé cherries, sultanas, raisins and mixed peel in the zest and juice of the orange and lemon for at least an hour.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer or in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time and mix in until fully combined.
Whisk the flours, ground almonds, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl then beat into the batter.
Add the soaked dried fruit and mix in well.
Pour into the cake tin and place in the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes then turn the oven down to 150°C/130°C fan/gas mark 2 and bake for a further 1¾ hours.
Remove from the oven, carefully insert the cake out of the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Pour the apricot jam into a small saucepan and heat until the jam is runny.
Brush the cake all over with the apricot jam then decorate with more glacé fruit and whole almonds if you wish.

Video

Notes

Adapted from Eric Lanlard’s Light Fruit Cake from his book Home Bake.
For some really special additions try using Homemade Glacé Cherries and Homemade Mixed Peel.
Make sure the butter comes to room temperature before creaming with the sugar.
The eggs used in this recipe are medium size, 60g with shell and 50g without shell. If you can't get hold of medium eggs I suggest you weigh the amount.
This recipe calls for the UK ingredient labelled 'ground almonds' which is blanched and ground whole almonds (without their skin). In the US this kind of flour is sold as almond flour. To make sure you know which almond flour you are choosing then check against this article The Difference Between The Almond Flours.
If you are intolerant to oat flour you can substitute with millet or sorghum flour. There will be a slight difference in flavour.
Store the cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
This cake freezes really well for up to 2 months. I recommend freezing before you brush with the apricot jam.

US customary measurements

These US measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups

Nutrition information

Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.

The nutrition serving is for 1 slice of cake.

Nutrition