My first ever Christmas cake and I am very pleased. Soaked the fruit in brandy for a couple of days before and added some brandy via syringe a week or two after baking. Thank you - sometimes I find GF baking a bit over sweet it this is lovely.

I made this cake for the second time,more moist more fruit which was left overnight and days.Made a small one for a friend,i await to see what she things.p wing

I have never had much success making any sort of fruitcake before but this is a winner! I omitted the glace cherries (not a big fan), and used 500g mixed dried fruit with candied peel plus 100g dried cranberries. Also swapped the lemon zest and juice for orange. I pre-soaked the fruit in about 80ml brandy and I definitely wouldn't consider making it without soaking the fruit first. Also added 1/4tsp xanthan gum. Baked for 2 hours at 130C and it is totally delicious! Will definitely make again and no one would ever know it's gluten free into the bargain :)

Well into my 6th decade and never made a Christmas cake until 2020! This gluten free cake is magnificent. I cannot recommend it highly enough. A delight to take the time to fully embrace gadget free! Not at all heavy or over-rich. Extremely tasty. I dug out my mother's old cookery book for advice on adding brandy after cooking... wonderful! I will definitely make again next year!

First time I have found a recipe that nearly matches a "normal" cake I have made for 30 years, and still have to make for the rest of the family. Instead of the lemon I used orange zest and juice, guessing the amount that equalled juice from a lemon. I replaced the apple juice with one tbsp of orange juice and one of brandy, to give a little taste. I don't normally adapt recipes but added a little black treacle (about dessert spoon) as in my normal cake, and it turned out lovely, fruity and moist. Cooked at 130c fan for about 2 hours, until it smells done and test with a skewer. Mum likes it too, also Coeliac and she doesn't normally like fruit cake. A recipe to keep along with a few other freee recipes, thankyou.

This is a really good recipe and make a fantastic cake. Would be really helpful if the oven temperature was at the beginning of the recipe.

It’s in the oven so we will see what happens. But it says pre heat oven but to what temperature. I’ve guessed at 180 so my figures are crossed

Followed the instructions to the word and this cake turned out absolutely fine., if a bit crumbly. Then, as the Doves Farm FREEE plain white flour doesn't contain any Xantham Gum, I added 1/2tsp and this improved the texture. The taste is incredible! I even did the decoration, which really adds the finishing touch to what is already a great cake.

Hi made this yesterday and it turned out great but I'm wondering if it'll keep til Xmas? I wasn't organised enough to buy the marzipan yet so I thought maybe put it in the freezer?

Fab recipe! Just made and cake is perfect! Definitely recommend x

I made this cake before Christmas, it was so lovely I had to make another! The flavour is beautiful. The only change I made was to replace the cherries with chopped apricots as we're not cherry lovers. Just super, we like it better than my old glutinous recipe. Well done DOVES FARM.

I am about to make this cake for the first time. I'm worried about it not rising because it's just plain flour, not self raising. Any tips?

Can this recipe be made nut free?

Is it necessary to add the ground almonds to this recipe

Just made this cake for the first time. Lisa Spooner asks about Gluten Free Glace Cherries. Morrisons Culturefruit Glace Cherries are Gluten Free.On offer at £1 for 200g at the moment.Not sure if I did the Almonds right, it just says Almonds and I used ground without thinking.Maybe the ingredients could be a bit clearer and amended?

Hi David, Thanks for your comment. As you can see we have amended the recipe to say flaked almonds or ground almonds.

Where would I buy gluten free glace cherries? This is one ingredient I miss baking with, because glace cherries generally contain gluten and I've been unable to find a brand that is gluten free.

Absolutely loved this cake! I added chopped stem ginger to the dried fruit mixture. The cake was moist and delicious even after cutting. Kept well. Will be making this every Christmas from now on!

Have just made this as my first ever gluten free cake, it smells incredble, nibbled a bit to try from the bottom, already delicious and hopefully better after storage. Added grated apple, cranberreies and sour cherries. Substitued cranberry juice instead of brandy as this is intended for person who doesnt indulge in alcohol, will post on final tasting after xmas

Made this in a square tin as a Wedding Cake. All fruit was substituted with Island Mix + dried goji & cranberries. SStandard white marzipan on home made Apricot Jam. Ready to roll white icing & got lots of pink & red roses & buds plus some silvered roses finished with a red & pink ribbon (both of them previously married so no need for white.) The bought cake was O.K. but mine was finished on the Wedding Day. Can sed a photo if you like!!

Made this for my mum who is coeliac. Absolutely gorgeous cake lovely flavours! Only problem i had was the icing was too runny had to wait ages for it to set before i could put the ribbon on but wasn't sure what I'd done wrong as followed the instructions and used exact ingredients. Overall a beautiful cake and would definitely make it again!

Tried this recipe on the family this year as my mum and I have problems with gluten and wheat none of them realised and they all enjoyed it. I fed it with cherry brandy and it was very moist and tasty. Would definitely use this again at other times of the year also.

I decided to make this cake as there were so many great reviews, however, my cake did not turn out as good as the others. I scaled it down for a 7" tin; I have done this before with cakes and they turned out fine. Not sure what happened, it's tasted very fruity but not 'cakey' enough and had a strange aftertaste. Very disappointed : ( will have to buy a cake instead now.

Hi, I want my cake to be alcohol free but still have the taste of the brandy. Will the alcohol evaporate during cooking while leaving the taste or is it best not to risk it?

I made this cake from a recipe published in Free from Christmas Heaven by Anthem Publishing. Unfortunately there was an error in the oven setting which showed 180 degrees not 130! I should have known you don't cook a fruit cake on 180 degrees for 2 hours! Needless to say I will use the web recipe next time!

Hello, I was just wondering how many weeks before Christmas people made the cake, and what this brandy feeding really entails! Can you make it and not add extra Brandy?

Dear Cassandra, you should be fine to make the cake now using Gluten Free flour but would suggest that you follow the same storage guidelines as you would a standard Christmas cake. Suggested guidelines for storing the cake would be to wrap the cake in a double layer of greaseproof paper and then in double foil. Secure it all with an elastic band, then keep it in an airtight container till needed. If you like a well-brandied cake, a little 'feeding' of the cake at odd intervals (say, weekly) before Christmas will add an extra dimension to it. This is done by making small holes in the top and bottom of the cake with a darning needle, then spooning over teaspoonfuls of brandy to soak in through the holes and permeate the cake. The traditional coat of almond icing (marzipan) should be put on the cake a week before you want to ice it, to allow its oiliness to dry out. Cover the marzipan surface with a clean tea cloth and store out of the tin or container. If you have leftover slices of Christmas cake, you can freeze them for a later date. Simple wrap them securely in several layers of plastic wrap, place in an airtight container and store in the freezer. We hope you find these tips are of help. All the best from Doves Farm

Greetings from down under - Excellent cake. I removed the mixed peel and added cranberries and finely chopped apricots - Oh and I added the grated apple as suggested by Sheila below - it was moist and delicous and my family didn't realise it was gluten free!!!

Excellent cake. Good balance of fruit and nuts. Moist. I soaked the fruit overnight in brandy. I used half ground almonds and half flaked almonds. Hadn't got soft brown sugar so used 100g caster and a 25g mix of muscavado and black treacle. It won't make it to Christmas but I shall now make this fruit cake on a regular basis. Recommend.

WE MADE SOME SMALL CAKES, WILL THEY KEEP UNTILL CHRISTMAS? HOW SHOULD THEY BE STORED? THEY LOOK GOOD, HAVN'T TASTED YET!!!!!

See our FAQs for full details: http://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/customer-service/faqs/baking-faqs/#A7

I doubled the recipe ingredients, soaked the fruit in brandy and added a little more ... used a 23cm (9") tin and cooked it for an extra 1hr 10mins - good colour, moist, tasty - excellent result!

YUM YUM....made 2 of these cakes this xmas..first one didnt make it to xmas to get iced...2nd one i changed a little...I used ground almonds, plus extra orange juice with the brandy..4 tablespoons in all...the cake was moist and gorgeous..oh and a grated apple mixed into mix at the end ..a fabulous moist xmas cake..

Does this cake require a raising agent - baking powder, made mine and it's looking a bit flat. Thanks.

Fruit cakes do not traditionally contain a raising agent. Christmas cakes are more dense by nature but because of this last much longer than something like a sponge. This cake will stay moist for longer, especially if fed a few times with brandy or sherry in the run up to the celebration event.

Didn't read your comments Ann-Marie till after I posted mine, which more or less answers my question - thanks.

Have just made this cake and wrapped it in grease proof paper and tinfoil, will it keep ok till Christmas and can I feed it now and again with a drop (or 2) of brandy? It smells absolutely delicious and filled the house with Christmas smells when it was cooking!

I used this as the base layer of a two tier cake for my sis-in-law's 50th. I found it to be rich and moist. I did make it a month beforehand, and fed it brandy twice. No-one knew that it was GF. Have made this several times too, just because I loved it.

I used this recipe last year and it was a huge hit, i made a few little changes. I work in a kitchen that specializes in gluten free food and the customers loved it. I made christmas cake ice cream hmmmm

i amde this cake simple easy to do , but found a little dry, so i removed the cherry and mixed peel and added 200g more fruit, an orange instead of lemon and soaked fruit in the brandy. perfect

I adore Christmas cakes,and (finally!) this is the perfect recipe. Kinda dry, in a good way and kept well for over 2 weeks. Make and ice this cake people!

The first one I made was a little dry & I cheated & used ready made icing. However the 2nd one I soaked the fruit in the brandy overnight. Worked wonders...hic!!

With this Christmas cake, there is no mention of leaving the cake to mellow, is this necessary with this recipe