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. 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.

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. 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. Now take a large roomy bowl, sift in the flour, then add the caster sugar, ground almonds, salt, butter, eggs and brandy and, using an electric hand whisk, whisk everything thoroughly for about a minute until smooth and creamy. Now fold in all the fruits, the nuts, grated zests and the lemon juice.When they are absolutely cold, place one cake on a serving dish and spread with lemon curd and whipped cream, then place the other cake on top and dust generously with sieved icing sugar. 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. Next add the syrup mixture to the flour and spices, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon, and when the mixture is smooth, beat in the egg a little at a time, followed by the bicarbonate of soda and milk. Now pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on a lower shelf so that the top of the tin is aligned with the centre of the oven for 1¼–1½ hours until it’s well-risen and firm to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out. 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. 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.

All you do is sift the flour 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 (except the strawberries). 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. 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. 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.

More Delia's Cakes recipes

Dried fruits: We have discovered a supplier who will provide everything you need with superb quality, for example pinhead currants, which are smaller and contain fewer seeds, Lexia raisins which are made from dried Muscat grapes, whole candied peels and many others.