Read on for my recipe for Dundee cake

Since tomorrow is Burns Night I thought I should share a Scottish recipe with you today. Now I’m not going for anything haggis related, since I’ve already done that, instead it’s cake. Dundee cake to be precise. This Queen of Scottish baking has a fascinating history and deserves a place on any table.

The Scottish city of Dundee is famous in food production from way back. A woman called Janet Keiller and her family founded a dynasty dating back to the late 1700s that would rival that of the famous Cadburys and Rowntree of England. The Keillers first produced marmalade and Janet created this rich fruit cake topped with blanched Spanish almonds and gave it the name of the city, Dundee.

Dundee Cake

Scotland is a nation of bakers, every family would have their own recipes and pass them down through the generations.

This cake was mass produced by the Keiller family and, like their famous marmalade, soon became a staple in homes throughout the UK. Tradition dictates that the cake should only be decorated with whole almonds, icing is just not done!

While Janet Keiller would flavour her cake with her own candied orange peel I have used the grated zest of a lemon for citrus flavour. This recipe is from my book Simply Scottish Cakes & Bakes.

I know we have just gone through Christmas with that infamous brandy soaked cake but this Dundee cake is just as good. It will keep for up to three months well wrapped in a tin. This is a good recipe to have on standby when the urge for a heavenly fruit cake comes upon you.

Enjoy.

Karon x

Print Recipe

Dundee Cake

A traditional Scottish Dundee Cake recipe, simple and classic

Course: baking

Cuisine: Scottish

Equipment

18cm round spring form baking tin

Ingredients

400 g mixed dried fruit
50 g ground almonds
150 g unsalted butter
150 g golden caster sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs beaten
115 g plain flour
2 tbsp brandy
50 g whole blanched almonds

Instructions

preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a deep 18cm spring form cake tin
Mix together the dried fruit, ground almonds, lemon zest and brandy and set aside
Cream together the butter and sugar till fluffy then add eggs one at a time
sift in the flour and gradually fold into the mixture
Add the fruit mix and stir well to combine
Spoon batter into prepared baking tin and level off the top making a slight indent in centre
Press the whole almonds gently on top of the batter, traditionally with one in the centre then circles getting larger and larger to the edges of the cake
Bake for approx 1 hour
Reduce oven temperature to only 50C and bake for a further hour or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean
Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack
wrap cake in foil and set aside for 1 week for the flavour to develop before eating