The Dundee Cake is a light fruit cake, believed to have been originally made and commercialized by Keiller’s, a Scottish marmalade company, in the nineteenth century. A cross between the dense and rich Christmas cake and light and airy sponge cake, it can take up to two hours to bake which results in a thick, almost crisp, crust. This recipe, from Frugal Feeding, stays true to tradition and is topped with concentric circles of blanched almonds. It makes a wonderful “last-minute” cake for special occasions as it does not require any frosting or fancy decorations. Just what I need to make mum happy on this Mother’s Day! My best wishes to all the mothers of the world who are real-life superheroes, guiding us towards a brighter future and showering us with unconditional love, understanding and patience.
DUNDEE CAKE
Ingredients:
150g butter, softened
150g caster sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
225g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon whole milk
100g almonds, blanched
125g currants
125g sultanas
50g mixed peel
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
Method:
- Grease and line an 8-inch cake tin with parchment paper. Cream together the butter and the sugar.
- Whisk the eggs in a bowl and incorporate it little by little into the butter mixture with a hand whisk.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold gently until uniform. Roughly chop 60g of the almonds.
- Pop them, along with fruit, peel and zest into the cake batter. Fold, adding milk if it feels a little stiff.
- The batter should be of a good dropping consistency. Spread the batter into the prepared 8-inch tin.
- Flatten the surface and arrange the whole blanched almonds on top of the cake in concentric circles.
- Bake at 150C for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until browned and firm and springy to the touch. Leave it to cool.
- When cake cools to room temperature, turn it out on a serving plate and cut into wedges. Serves 10.
Happy Mother’s Day
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