Gluten Free Christmas Cake

[PurpleAndTurquoise]

I am planning on making our Christmas cake in half term. This year it needs to be gluten free.
Can I just use my normal recipe I have used in the past (pre DD Coeliac diagnosis) and substitute with gluten free flour?
All the online recipes I have found seem to use an assortment of different flours that seem very complicated and I also don't have or even know where to buy eg brown rice flour, polenta flour and chestnut flour.

Also are gluten free Christmas cakes horrible? My baking so far has all looked lovely but tasted awful! Poor DD, baking used to be her thing.

Wish CoeliacUK had a forum!

All Christmas cakes are horrible. Imo coeliac disease is a excellent excuse not to have to eat one. The normal stuff is dry and horrible, the gluten free version is even worse.

Doves Farm are the best GF mixes I've come across. You can use them as a straightforward substitution for wheat flour in most cake recipes, but have to add about 1tbsp extra liquid per ounce of flour. The extra liquid makes the batter runnier than 'feels' right, but it bakes beautifully.

You can certainly make a regular fruitcake with Doves Farm self-raising flour. I would use your regular recipe, perhaps soaking the fruit for longer, and adding fruit juice, tea or milk to the mixture.

MIL's Pineapple Fruitcake

150g brown sugar
300g mixed dried fruit
100g glace cherries (rinsed, dried and chopped)
100g butter/marg
150g tinned pineapple (drained, chopped fine)
250ml pineapple juice

Mix together and boil for 10mins. Leave to cool.

Add:
2 eggs
200g Doves Farm self raising flour

Mix well. Put into double-lined cake tin and bake at 160C.

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 h for 9" round cake tin
2 - 2 1/2 h for 8" round cake tin

Heavenly!

You don't really taste the pineapple. I like to replace some of the mixed fruit with dried cranberries and extra chopped peel.

Personally I would go to Marks and Spencer and buy your DD a small Christmas pudding then make your usual one.

GF is a b*** to bake with, expensive and rarely tastes ‘normal’. Can it be done?...yes! Is it worth the hassle and potential it will turn out badly?...your call.

Marks has pretty much the best range on the UK market.

Coeliac here - M&S every time!

Thanks everyone. Well I don't think I will bother with the whole chestnut flour thing then!
Making a Christmas cake is a family tradition and DD gets upset by having to have separate GF things so I think I might give it a go with my normal recipe, substitute Dove flour, plus a bit of extra liquid. If I add enough brandy I should think it will taste ok
Thanks for the advice. Doing my weekly online shop now.