Gluten Free Christmas Cake

I know this post is a bit overdue but then I was a bit overdue making this! Never mind you can eat cake any time you certainly don't need a special day. I got a recipe for a Christmas cake from this blog Frugal feeding and then had to modify it a bit to make it gluten free, less sweet and just a bit different but other than that it formed my base.
I am really pleased with it and it is a definite step up from the Baileys cake I made a couple of weeks ago, so yes you guessed it,  I used baileys again but this time the Aldi version.

Here is the cake...

It filled the tin and had a lovely smell as it baked.

It held its shape well when sliced.

So after refusing treats at peoples houses this last few weeks I am very pleased with this!

Most important it tastes great, I really appreciate now when things come out well after all the disasters I've had with the GF flour.

So here is the recipe and like I said I got the original recipe from Frugal feeding but altered it to meet my needs.  Thanks to Nick for the original recipe. (Nick put sherry and orange juice in his)

Gluten Free Christmas Cake 

500g of mixed fruit

200ml Baileys (or Aldi Irish cream)

200g Bertoli spread

100g brown sugar

1tbsp Golden Syrup

3 free range eggs

200g GF plain flour

2tsp baking powder

2tsp mixed spice

100g ground almonds

100ml soya milk ( or your own preferred)

Method

Heat oven to 150c, place mixed fruit, Baileys, Bertoli, milk, sugar and syrup in a saucepan. Heat gently and stir until spread is melted and allow ingredients to combine a little, remove from the heat. Beat the eggs in a jug, add almonds and spice to pan and stir, mix in the eggs then sift in the flour and baking powder and give it a quick stir through so all is combined but don't over do it. Pour into your lined tin (mine was a 2lb loaf) and cook for 1h 50 minutes.

Now I bought myself a GF fruit cake from Asda a couple of weeks ago, it cost me £2.50 and was a pitiful size, probably a fifth of the size of this one.  So I need to give myself a kick the next time I feel like wasting money like that!

So like I said, I know this is a bit late in the day for your Christmas celebrations but if you have been missing out on the treats and feel like giving it a go it is really easy, tasty and  good value.

Gluten Free Almond Slice with Chia Seeds

 I love almond slice and this is something I have missed since being unable to eat regular cake.  My mum always used to buy the little Mr Kipling ones and although they do not fill much of a gap I did love those little cakes.
This morning as I was up early again with the puppy (he still does not understand weekends!) I thought I would have a go at my own version of it.
I didn't want it to be too sweet as it was going to have jam on it, that would be sugar enough.  I also wanted to look at alternatives to using xantham gum, I'm not a fan of that stuff, I know it will be in the shop bought gluten free items we buy but I would rather avoid it.

Now I read that you can use chia seeds if you soak them in water first, I have these in the cupboard and they are so good for you.  If you don't have any you may need to substitute an extra egg white but I would recommend getting the chia seeds, they are expensive but you only need a small amount.
The recipe was an experiment as most of my food is but I like the end result, it is also quite guilt free due to the goodies inside.  If you were to used fresh fruit like strawberries or peaches on top instead of jam it wouldn't be naughty at all!

Now I had to taste this slice (for quality control of course) at 9.00 this morning! Oh so nice, people just do not get how exciting cake is unless they usually have to go without.

Gluten Free Almond Slice with Chia Seeds

3oz self raising Gluten Free Flour

3oz ground almonds

1oz sugar & 1tsp golden syrup

4oz  Bertolli spread (or any olive spread)

11/2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 2 tbsp of cold water

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla essence

100ml soya milk

flaked almonds for top

strawberry jam

Cream the sugars and the spread in a bowl, then beat in the eggs (add a tiny amount of flour as you do this) set aside the flaked almonds for the top then sift in all the dry ingredients, next add the milk, chia seeds and vanilla essence then fold in gently. Do not over work it. Finally pour into a lined dish or tray, it should be runny, cook on 200 for 20 minutes. 

My dish was 20cm by 25cm the only reason I used that one is I only a have a few and I use the same ones for many dishes. If you use a smaller dish then your slice will be deeper but I think an Almond Slice is supposed to be a bit flatter.

A Recycled Christmas

We ventured out today despite the rubbish weather and went to Wentworth Garden Centre we didn't really need anything it's just not that far and I do love to go and look at all the Christmas decorations.  They were gorgeous and as I was looking at the silver and white selection my husband said 'oh are you finally thinking about changing the colour scheme on the tree?' Well no I'm not and I  really don't see why I would, I mean how fed up can you get with something that is only up for a couple of weeks a year?  Also if I was I certainly wouldn't be buying them on the run up to Christmas.

My current decorations have been used for  the last eight years maybe more. I remember buying them from Matalan after Christmas in the sale and they were ridiculously cheap, if not I wouldn't have bought them as I was quite happy with the red and gold I had before.

So the ones I have now are gold, orange and purple they are biggest at the bottom and gradually get smaller. I love them and complete with gold tinsel they cost about £8.00 for the lot and fill a 7 ft tree!

The ones we were looking at in the garden centre today were gorgeous but they were between £2- £4 per bauble! Let me tell you the queues were long in the Christmas  shop so many people did not find this expensive but that is ok my focus is on how I manage my money. 

  Another decoration that I love that comes out again and again is this little Christmas village that lights up, it used to go on a coffee table but  it sits in front of the fire now and it is very cosy to look at.

I think it looks better in real life, the flash on the camera spoils the effect.

I have a star on my tree that my 16 year old made in Y1 and a couple of baubles at the bottom that they painted when they were tiny. These things did not cost a lot but they are very special I don't think we need to be updating Christmas do you? It should be recycled every year.  

If I did ever need to start again with the decor I would hope that  I could make or purchase it all as frugally as possible.  Some of the best rooms I have seen online have been done with such style,  a lot of imagination and creativity but not cost.

I would recommend looking at the gorgeous Christmas decorations of  junkaholique in fact look at the whole blog, I also love her work shed.  She has lovely touches around her home that spring from recycled items, nature and handmade.  I think these are always the best sources and you get a unique feel. She has some snow scenes in jars which I may have to have a go at, I have some jars I have saved, I was thinking I might use oasis so I can preserve the greenery though, I will have to look around and see what I can find.

We don't have a lot of people to buy for as we all opted out years ago (the family members that is) we buy for the children and a couple of friends and that's it. A  lot less stressful, the wrapping I do use is usually recycled gift bags and we have a few Christmas boxes that we have used for the boys stuff for years now. We carefully fold them down and put them away for the following year. We have had the odd roll of paper but we try not to go over board, beautifully wrapping something for it to be thrown in the rubbish really bothers me. I would urge everyone to use gift bags if they can as people often keep and re-use these. 

There are plenty of ideas on eco wrapping out there and a few here on inhabitat 

Yesterday a quick look in the charity shop resulted in this CD (yes I still buy CD's )

£1 bargain! Some really good tracks on here.