Recipe: Dairy & Gluten Free Cathedral Christmas Cake

As we count down the weeks until Christmas, the UnserHaus team are sharing their Christmas family food traditions. Here’s Brigitte‘s recipe for Dairy & Gluten Free Cathedral Christmas Cake.

This is a delicate treat with all of your favourite Christmas flavors. Sliced thinly, the lovely fruits and nuts create the special surprise of a stained glass window.

Makes: Two loaf sized cakes (23-25cm tins)
Difficulty Level: Easy
Ready In: 15 minutes prep, 1 hour 20 minutes baking
Appliance/cookware: NEFF Convention oven

Ingredients

1 cup brazil nuts
1 cup almonds
¾ cup red glace cherries
1 cup dried apricots
¾ cup crystalized ginger
¾ cup cranberries
¾ cup dried pineapple
½ cup dates
¼ cup brandy
6 eggs
2 vanilla bean pods
½ cup raw sugar
½ cup dutch cocoa powder
3 cups almond flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat NEFF oven CIRCO THERM 150°c / Convention Fan Bake oven 150°c
Line two loaf tins (23-25 cm) with baking paper.

1. In a large mixing bowl add all your nuts and fruits. If some of the fruits are quite big cut them in ½. Your brazil nuts should be the size to guide you.
2. Pour over the brandy and let this mixture sit while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Cut the vanilla pods length ways in half and scrap out the seeds.
4. In another mixing bowl add the vanilla, sugar and eggs and whisk well to combine, add this to the fruit and nuts and mix thru.
5. Add to the fruit egg mixture the almond flour, cocoa, salt and thoroughly mix making sure all ingredients are well combined.
6. Place even amounts into the 2 loaf tins and smooth over the tops with a spatula.
7. Bake in the oven for 1hour cover the top with foil and bake a further 20 minutes.
8. Gently remove from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
9. For the best result once cooled wrap in baking paper and foil and leave a couple of days to firm before thinly slicing.