Just the thing!

When you've been out in the snow doing this....
 

 

what you need is a slice of this...

And I've finally found a tea loaf recipe which contains 'normal' ingredients, tastes delicious and is gluten free:

N.B. Start the day before you intend to bake, as the fruit mixture needs to soak for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight

Ingredients: 

• 175g dried mixed fruit (I added dates, apricots and cranberries to a basic 'dried fruit' mix)
• 150ml hot, strong black tea
• 200g Gluten-free self-raising flour
• 50g ground almonds
• 100g light soft brown sugar
• 1tbsp golden syrup, melted
• 50g chopped mixed nuts
•  Finely grated zest of orange
• 1 level tsp ground mixed spice
• 2 medium eggs
• 2tbs sunflower oil
• 150ml milk
• 500g loaf tin, buttered or lined with baking parchment
• Butter to serve (optional)

 Method:

1. Place the fruit in a bowl and pour the hot tea over. Cover the bowl and leave overnight for the fruit to absorb some of the tea.
2. Set oven to gas 3 or 160C
3. Tip the flour into a bowl and stir in ground almonds, sugar, nuts, orange zest and mixed spice
4. Add the syrup, egg and sunflower oil to the fruit mixture and tip this into the dry ingredients. Stir well adding enough milk to make a soft dropping consistency.
5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Place the tin in the centre of the oven.
6. Bake the cake for about 1 hour or until it has risen and feels firm to the touch in the centre.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for about 10 mins. Turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
8. If required the cake will freeze for 1 month (Ha! Colin will be lucky to see it let alone freeze it!)

Then sit back in front of the fire and enjoy!!