You will need a deep, 20cm-diameter round cake tin with a removable base, lined with lightly buttered baking parchment. Mary Berry says you need 675g of paste to cover the top and sides of the cake. My love of marzipan requires a slightly more generous layer. It takes 300g of almond paste to ice the top of a 20cm round cake. Less if you want a thin layer. The sides take a further 500g. Only you know how much you like almond paste. Thanks to Vanessa, one of my readers: I’ve made this several times using gluten-free flour, I just add a teaspoon of baking powder and twice as much milk, as I find gluten-free flour tends to absorb more moisture. How do you make a vegan Fruit Cake? The beauty of this cake is that you can use whatever dried fruit you have, add nuts and cherries - anything you like or have. The only thing you have to remember is to keep the total weight to 400g (14oz). Secret Ingredient Making the cake: Set the oven at 140C fan/gas mark 3. Using a food mixer and a flat paddle beater attachment, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Don’t forget to push the mixture down the sides of the bowl from time to time with a rubber spatula. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until light brown, then cut each one in half.

After spending hours reading recipes for paleo baked goods and borrowingthe best bits of all of them, I finally got busy in the kitchen and created this amazing dried fruit and nut breakfast loaf. It’s completely Pesach friendly, and contains no chametz, kitniot, or gebrokhts of any kind. Yes it is, BUT cakes can turn out dry for a number of reasons, mostly to do with the bake time and temperature. Unfortunately what the thermostat says may not be accurate!

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Making the paste: I make my own almond paste in a deep, wide mixing bowl, my biggest in fact. This is because no matter how careful I am, the icing sugar, when sifted, tends to fly everywhere. I do sift the sugar too. Bring together into a ball, then turn out on to a wooden board dusted lightly with icing sugar. Roll into a fat cylinder or cake and wrap in kitchen parchment or clingfilm.

I often make an Everyday Fruit Cake to take with us when we go on holiday because it travels well and keeps for a week. It's the ideal cake with a cup of tea when you've been out for the day. We're off to the coast in a couple of weeks and the sea air, combined with lots of walks, always makes me hungry. In fact, now I'm wondering whether to take two. Key ingredients Dried fruit Chocolate Egg shell made with Cadbury Dairy 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤, dried grapes and 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤**, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea), Dried Grapes, Chopped 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬, Emulsifiers (E442, E476), Flavourings, **The equivalent of 426 ml of Fresh Liquid 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 in every 227 g of 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Chocolate, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Chocolate: 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Solids 20 % minimum, actual 23 %, Cocoa Solids 20 % minimum, Contains Vegetable Fats in addition to Cocoa Butter Cadbury Dairy 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Fruit & 𝐍𝐮𝐭 sharing bar 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤**, Sugar, Dried Grapes, Cocoa Butter, 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬, Cocoa Mass, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea), Emulsifiers (E442, E476), Flavourings, **The equivalent of 426 ml of Fresh Liquid 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 in every 227 g of 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Chocolate, 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Chocolate: 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Solids 20 % minimum, actual 23 %, Cocoa Solids 20 % minimum, Contains Vegetable Fats in addition to Cocoa Butter If you don't have a loaf tin, you can make this fruit cake in an 18cm (7-inch) round deep tin or a 15cm (6-inch) square tin. What makes these cakes unique is the incredible flavor rendered from the dried fruits soaked in a good dose of fruit juice. This way, they are naturally sweetened and exceptionally moist besides a balanced flavor that can make any cake lover drool over them instantly. Protip— Soaking dried fruits in juice makes them more succulent and flavorful. You can soak the dried fruits for 2 days (if you choose to soak them in juice). This will make the fruits absorb the flavors abundantly.

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the ground almonds. Break the egg into a small bowl and beat lightly for just long enough to mix the white and yolk. I find the mixing easiest using a food processor with a flat paddle. Add to the almonds and sugar, then introduce enough lemon juice, little by little, to bring the mixture to a stiff, smooth paste firm enough to roll. Covering the top: Roll out the remaining almond paste with a rolling pin on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Using the base of the cake tin as a template, cut a disc of paste that fits the top of the cake. Brush the surface of the cake with apricot or gooseberry jam (you need a tart fruit to contrast with the sweet icing), then lower the almond paste into place. Smooth flat with the palm of your hand or, using very light pressure, with a rolling pin. I do usually make two at a time and freeze one. When there are only two of us at home I often cut them in half and freeze three halves. That way I'm certain the fruit cake always tastes fresh. I keep it in the fridge, which isn't essential, but it does keep the cake moist. How to make it gluten-free