Gluten Free Christmas Tunis Cake - Coeliac Sanctuary

https://www.coeliacsanctuary.co.uk/recipe/gluten-free-christmas-tunis-cake

Posted On: 10th November 2023

Traditionally eaten at Christmas, this gluten free Tunis Cake is sure to be a hit at any Christmas get together. Firm gluten free madeira cake, topped with a rich dark chocolate ganache and decorated with marzipan features, what is not to love. This cake is thought to have come from the Edwardian era and is a fantastic alternative to the more popular iced fruit cake, especially if you are not a fruit cake lover.

Ingredients

Madeira Cake
250g unsalted butter, softened and cubed
250g caster sugar
250g gluten free self raising flour
100g ground almonds
5 large eggs
zest of one large lemon

Ganache
250ml double cream
350g dark chocolate

Marzipan Toppings
1/4pk marzipan
Food colouring

Preparation Time: 30 Mins`
Cooking Time: 1 Hour (plus cooling)

This recipe contains

Dairy, Egg, Tree Nuts

Method

1. In a large bowl, place all of your cake ingredients and use an electric whisk to mix together until smooth and creamy.

2. Grease and line a 8in round loose bottomed cake tin, pour in your cake mix and bake in an oven preheated to gas mark 4/180c for 1 hour-1 hour 15 mins - until brown and a skewer pressed into the middle comes out clean.

3. Remove from the oven and allow to go cold in the tin, we need it in the tin to pour the ganache on top. This will take a good few hours, though it doesn't need to be completely cold before you add the ganache.

4. When the cake it cooled, no more than aired to the touch, it's time to add the ganache.

5. Place the cream in a saucepan and warm though, you don't want it boiling, just before it reaches that point is fine.

6. If using blocks of chocolate, roughly chop and add into the cream (I used Bourneville buttons so no need to chop), stir until all the chocolate has melted and you have a thick glossy ganache.

7. Allow to cool for 10 mins, then pour on top of your cake in the tin, level out and then leave to go cold, I chilled mine overnight but it will need leaving a minimum of 6 hours for the ganache to set enough to remove from the tin.

8. Once the ganache is set, remove your cake from the tin.

9. Now it is time to decorate with marzipan, feel free to do whatever patterns or designs you want, traditionally, marzipan fruits are used but you can make any marzipan decorations you feel like. I did a simple holly and berry marzipan topping by colouring about 1/8th pk of marzipan green and another 1/8th red, then cut round a print out of a holly leaf and rolled balls which I then pressed onto of the cake, using a little water to stick where needed.

10. Slice up and serve on its own or with a drizzle of cream! This also freezes well too, simply slice and freeze and naturally defrost as wanted.

This recipe makes 12 slices
Nutritional info per serving