Over Easter I was on a mission to perfect gluten free hot cross buns but I failed. I tried a handful of new recipes and whilst they all tasted great I still wasn’t satisfied with the texture. They all just ended up too dense and lacking the light fluffy texture of normal gluten containing ones. Better luck next year I hope!
I also made a delicious spiced honey swiss roll for our family lunch on Easter Sunday, but sadly I didn’t get the chance to take a photo before it was devoured.
So… fast forward a month (wow time has just flown by) and here we are finally with a new recipe! This cake tastes great, is super easy to make (like most of my recipes) and it’s a delightful twist on the common orange & almond cake often available for gluten free folk in cafes, restaurants etc.
Give me a shout if you end up making it, or feel free to send me your gluten free hot cross bun recipes if you have a really good one!

- 170 g butter, softened
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup self-raising flour (gluten free)
- 1½ cups almond meal
- 150 ml buttermilk
- Juice and zest of 1 small orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g canned sliced peaches equivalent to 4 ripe peaches
- 60 g blanched almonds, roughly chopped
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 3 tablespoons apricot jam
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 9 by 13 inch baking tray with baking paper.
- Using a stand mixer, on medium speed cream the butter and ¾ cup of the sugar together. Then whisk in the eggs one at a time until combined.
- Fold in the flour, almond meal and buttermilk to the butter mixture then add in the orange juice, zest and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Pour the cake mixture into the baking tray and add the sliced peaches and chopped almonds on the top as desired.
- Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Whilst the cake is baking prepare the glaze (step 6).
- Heat the lemon juice and apricot jam in a small saucepan over low heat until the jam has melted. Then strain through a fine sieve and brush the glaze over the cake whilst the cake is hot.
- Allow the cake to cool in the baking tray then slice and eat!