Gluten Free Baileys Christmas Cake

Place the mixed fruit and cherries in a bowl, pour over the Baileys, stir, cover and leave to sit over night. Stir once or twice in that time (don't get out of bed to do it, just when your in the kitchen!)

In the morning mix the fruit well, it will probably be quite thick from sitting and you will probably find no liquid is left in the bottom (don't worry if there is, that's also fine)

In a pan, place the margarine and water, place on a low heat and stir until the margarine has melted.

Pour the margarine and water mix into the fruit and stir, then add in the condensed milk and mix together well.

In another bowl sift together the flour, ground almonds, mixed spice, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder, then fold these dry ingredients into the fruit mix.

Grease and line either a 2lb loaf tin or an 8inch round cake tin and pour in the cake mix. Place the tin in an oven preheated to gas mark 4/180c and bake for about 1hour and 30 mins, or until a skewer pressed into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Once cooked, turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature. At this point you can either wrap in tin foil and let it sit for a few weeks, feeding the bottom with more baileys at least once a week to moisten the cake or if you are impatient you can eat it straight off, it still has the Baileys taste just won't be as strong as it would be if you keep feeding it and let it relax on the run up to Christmas.

When you are ready to decorate whether now or in a few weeks....Level the top of the cake out with a knife or cake wire then spread 1tbsp of apricot jam on the top of the cake.

Roll out the marzipan until a few mm thick and big enough to cover the cake, you don't want it to thick as it will overpower the cake. Trim off the excess with a knife, we only covered the top so just run a knife round the edge, you could cover it fully if you prefer.

On top of the marzipan spread another 1tbsp apricot jam to act as glue.

Place the fondant icing in a bowl, add the 10ml of Baileys and the icing sugar, use your hands to work it together. It will go a little sloppy and also go a beige colour rather than white. The icing sugar will bring it all back together, if it doesn't go back to its original fondant icing consistency add a little more icing sugar until its back to that rollable stage.

Roll out until around half a cm thick and big enough to cover the cake, then place on top, trim off the edges as you did the marzipan. Use the ball of your hand to smooth the top, rubbing gently in circular motions. Decorate the top however you like!