Gluten free, low GI Christmas pudding cake

     

This recipe substitutes low GI apple, prune and apricot for the traditional high GI currants, raisins and sultanas, so it may help people who suffer from digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, which is notoriously sensitive to sugar-laden dried fruit.

If you want to reduce the carb content, substitute 100g of the flour with oat bran.

You could serve this recipe warm with double cream or crème fraiche, as a lighter alternative to Christmas pudding. It also keeps extremely well, if you can resist it!

Ingredients
250g            gluten-free self-raising flour
1 tsp            baking powder (Supercook do a gluten-free version)
150g            xylitol (Total Sweet is the one I use)
250g            butter, softened
3                 eggs
1 tsp            vanilla extract (buy good quality – lasts for ages)
150g            dried apricots, stoned (organic/unsulphured)
200g            prunes, stoned
one large or 2 small Bramley apples, peeled and chopped (should total about 200g)
150ml          orange or apple juice or (replace 50 ml with brandy)
grated peel of 1 orange and 1 lemon
3/4 tsp         ground ginger
2 tsp            cinnamon
1 tsp            mixed spice
100g            ground almonds

Instructions
Grease a 22cm (9”) cake tin and double-line with baking paper.
Heat oven to 160 degrees c
Boil prunes, apricots and chopped apple in the juice for seven minutes, then blitz in a food processor, or chop very finely before you boil.
Beat the softened butter and xylitol with a spoon or electric hand mixer.
Beat in eggs singly, then vanilla extract. (Don’t worry if it curdles.)
Sieve in flour, baking powder and spices, and mix gently.
Mix in fruit, then ground almonds. Spoon into tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 60 minutes. Don’t hang about – the heat from the fruit will activate the baking powder so get it in the oven! It’s ready when a skewer comes out clean. Cooking time will vary – you might need more if you have conventional oven, less in an Aga. Cover the cake to prevent browning – I used butter paper. Cool it in the tin – it’s quite fragile when it first comes out but firms up when cool.

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