Delia's Cakes

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Now fold in the lemon zest, semolina and ground almonds until everything is evenly blended. After that, wash the whisk and dry it very thoroughly (so it’s absolutely grease-free) and whisk the egg whites in a roomy bowl up to the soft peak stage. Now take a metal spoon and very carefully and gently fold them into the egg yolk mixture. The gluten free ingredients used were: White flour, plain and self-raising, baking powder, cornflour, cereals, porridge oats (ground in a mini-chopper to replace oatmeal) and polenta.

Then simply add the butter, caster sugar and eggs, and, using an electric hand whisk, combine them for about 1–2 minutes until you have a smooth dropping consistency. If it seems too dry, add a dessertspoon of milk. Finally take a double square of baking parchment with a 50p-sized hole in the centre (for extra protection during the cooking) and place this not on top of the mixture itself but on the rim of the brown paper. Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4 hours until it feels springy in the centre when lightly touched. Sometimes it can take 30–45 minutes longer than this, but in any case don’t look at it for 4 hours. All you do is place the fruits and peel in a bowl, then dissolve the sugar in the hot tea and pour this over the fruits. Then cover with a cloth and leave them to soak – as the fruits absorb the tea they become plump and juicy. When you are ready to make the cake, pre-heat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3, then place the nuts on a baking sheet and pop them into the oven. Give them about 8 minutes to toast, but put a timer on because they burn very easily. Start with the walnuts, which should be fairly finely chopped. Then the pineapple, apricots and cherries need to be chopped roughly the same size as the sultanas. The candied peel, angelica and crystallised ginger need to be chopped smaller.When Delia wrote her book Delia's Cakes in 2013 all the recipes were tested with gluten free ingredients. She was very happy with the results, and although sometimes the cakes might be a little more crumbly, most of the time there is very little difference, particularly with muffins, fruit cakes and biscuits, they are all included in this collection, as well as 4 cake recipes that have no gluten in at all. Squidgy Chocolate, Chocolate and Rum Squares, Chocolate Souffle Cake and Apricot Hazelnut Meringue Cake. Now, using an electric hand whisk, combine them for about 1 minute until you have a smooth creamy consistency. Next, divide half the mixture between the cake cases, then place a strawberry (pointed part uppermost) on top of each one. After that divide the remaining mixture between the cases – making sure the strawberries are covered. Then bake the cakes near the centre of the oven for 15–20 minutes.

Bake the cake for one hour, then place a double sheet of baking parchment over the top so it sits on the liner and turn the heat down to 150°C, gas mark 2 for a further 2 hours. First of all sift the flour and baking powder into a roomy mixing bowl, lifting the sieve quite high to give the flour a good airing as it goes down. While that’s happening, make the strawberry icing. All you need to do is whizz the strawberries to a purée in a mini-chopper, then sieve the purée into a bowl containing the icing sugar, mixing as you go. You may not need all the purée, just enough to give it a good spreadable consistency. Cover the bowl with some damp kitchen paper.When the cakes are cooked (i.e. well-risen and golden), remove them to a wire cooling tray, and when they’re cold, use a small palette knife to spread the icing on top of each cake. You need to leave the icing to set for about 30 minutes. Then top each one with a quarter of a strawberry and finish off with a dusting of icing sugar. First of all, begin by creaming the butter and sugar together in a bowl until they're light, pale and fluffy – an electric hand whisk is best for this. Next, put 12 of the paper cases ready in one of the patty tins, then carefully spoon half of the mixture in equal amounts into the paper cases. Now place the tin on the centre shelf of the oven and bake the cakes for 15-20 minutes or until the centres are springy when lightly touched. Allow the cakes to cool. Then repeat with the second batch.

All you do is sift the flour and baking powder into a roomy mixing bowl, lifting the sieve quite high to give the flour a good airing as it goes down, then simply add all the other ingredients.

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Put all the fruits (see note at foot of method), in a bowl and mix them with the brandy, cover with a cloth and leave them to soak for a minimum of 12 hours. Then beat the egg yolks thoroughly together and add them to the mixture, about a teaspoonful at a time, beating well after each addition. When all the yolks are in, lightly fold in the ground almonds, grated chocolate and milk, using a large metal spoon. Now, in a separate, dry, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites till they reach the soft-peak stage, and then fold them into the rest of the mixture gently and carefully so as not to lose all the air you have whisked in. Finally, add the flour – again, folding that in carefully with a large metal spoon. To decorate, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl o ver a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't actually touch the water. Remove the bowl from the pan and leave to cool for about 5 minutes, then stir in the liquid glucose. Now spread a little of the icing on top of each cupcake and decorate each with a few toasted almonds. When it’s cooked it will be springy in the centre when you press lightly with your little finger. You can leave this cake in the tin till it’s absolutely cold, then remove from the tin peel off the liners and wrap it in parchment-lined foil to store in an airtight tin.