Dundee Cake
A lighter Scottish fruit cake with orange peel, finished with rings of whole blanched almonds.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 2 hr
- Total
- 2 hr 25 min
- Makes
- one 20 cm cake
- Difficulty
- Medium
Dundee cake is lighter than a dark Christmas cake, with sultanas, currants and orange peel, and it is instantly recognisable by the concentric circles of blanched almonds on top. It is usually linked with the Keiller marmalade business in 19th-century Dundee, which is why many recipes include orange zest or a little marmalade.
Ingredients
- 175gunsalted butter, softened
- 175glight muscovado sugar
- 3medium eggs
- 225gplain flour
- 1tspbaking powder
- 1tspmixed spice
- 2tbspground almonds
- 450gmixed sultanas, currants and raisins
- 50gcandied mixed peel
- 1orange, finely grated zest
- 1tbsporange marmalade, optional
- 50gwhole blanched almonds, for the top
Equipment
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Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 150°C / 130°C fan / gas 2 and line a 20 cm deep round tin. Beat the butter and sugar until pale, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the flour, baking powder, spice and ground almonds, then the dried fruit, peel, orange zest and marmalade.
Photo: ElinorD · CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - 2
Spoon into the tin and level the top. Arrange the whole almonds in circles on the surface without pressing them in. Bake for 1½–2 hours, until a skewer comes out clean, covering loosely with foil if the almonds brown too quickly. Cool in the tin.
Photo: Nadiatalent · Public domain
Tips
Keeping: wrapped in baking paper and foil, it keeps for 2–3 weeks and is best after a few days.
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If it goes wrong
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit sank to the bottom | Batter too soft | Make sure the butter is soft but not melted, and toss the fruit in a spoonful of the flour |
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