Today I am sharing with you the recipe for a British Classic – the Dundee Cake! Dundee Cake is a rich fruit-filled cake named after the Scottish city of Dundee. The cake usually contains a mix of raisins, sultanas, currents, mixed peel, glacé cherries and almonds and is decorated with concentric circles of ground almonds. It was first produced in the city of Dundee on the Scottish East coast – Dundee is one of the larger cities in Scotland that is located next to the sea, has a big university and harbour but it’s nowhere as nice as Aberdeen although I say so myself! The cake still tastes good though, haha, and tastes best if left for about a week before cutting.
How to make a Dundee Cake
Dundee cake is very easy to make and only requires a little preparation in beforehand as it is best if the fruit is left to soak and become plump for a while. I used raisins, sultanas and cranberries in this recipe and soaked them in some tea and orange liqueur. You can of course use a different spirit if you like, I suppose a wee swig of whiskey might be more appropriate in this case, but I just love orange liqueur! 😉
The cake batter is made using the simple all-in-one method. Eggs, sugar, flour, butter, and baking powder are all mixed together until fully combined and then you are done! That is why I love the all-in-one method, but you can read more about the different cake making methods in my Baking Basics post here.
The soaked fruit, glacé cherries, zest of an orange and a lemon and some ground almonds are then folded into the batter before transferring it to a deep 20cm baking tin. The cake is then decorated with concentric circles of blanched almonds. Just before the cake is baked it is then brushed with a sugary glaze and returned to the oven for 2 minutes. This will give the top of the cake a nice shine.
More Fruit Cake and Christmas Cake Recipes
The British love adding dried fruits to their bakes! To me, fruit cakes and loaf cakes are either a “Grandma thing” or a “Festive thing”. Fruit cakes are often made around Easter or Christmas time so always have a bit of a festive feel to them! They have their time and place, but when you’re in the mood for it they are absolutely divine! Check out a few other classic recipes of mine that use dried fruit below:
- Mince Pies | A British Baking Classic
- Mince Pie Brownies | Christmas Tree Brownies
- Prue’s Malt Loaf Cake | Bake Off Technical Challenge
- Fruit and Orange Zest Scones | British Baking Classic
- Hot Cross Buns
- Spiced and Fruity Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mini Lemon and Blueberry Loaf Cakes
- Christmas Snowflake Cake | With Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Christmas Chocolate Yule Log
Dundee Cake | Classic Scottish Fruit Cake
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE CAKE:
- 100g sultanas
- 75g raisins
- 75g currants
- 100ml strong tea, just boiled
- 2 tbsp orange liqueur (or any other spirit) (optional)
- 150g butter, softened
- 150g soft light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 250g plain flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 50g glacé cherries, halved, rinsed and patted dry
- 1 orange, zest only
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 2 tbsp ground almonds
- 20-25 whole blanched almonds, to decorate
FOR THE GLAZE:
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 heaped tbsp soft brown sugar
Method:
- Place the sultanas, raisins and currants into a heatproof bowl and pour over 100ml of boiling tea and 2 tbsp of orange liqueur (or any spirit of your choice). Leave to soak for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan and lightly grease and line a deep round 20cm baking tin with baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder until well combined and smooth. Add in the soaked fruit and any leftover soaking liquid, the glacé cherries, lemon and orange zest, and ground almonds to the cake batter. Stir using a large metal spoon or spatula until evenly distributed throughout the mix.
- Transfer the cake mix to the prepared tin. Use a large metal spoon to push some of the mixture from the middle to the sides of the tin, almost like creating a smaller crater in the middle of the cake. This will ensure that the cake rises evenly and doesn’t sink in the middle.
- Decorate the top of the cake with concentric circles of the blanched almonds. Then bake in the preheated oven for 1.5 hours or until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Check the cake after an hour, and if the top is already brown enough, cover the cake with a little tinfoil.
- Near the end of the baking time you can prepare the glaze. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and bring to the boil, then stir in the caster and brown sugar and stir until completely melted. Brush the sugar glaze over the top of the cake, then return to the oven, uncovered, for a final 2 minutes.
- Transfer the cake to a wire rack and leave the cake to cool completely in the tin. The cake is best if left for about a week before cutting. If you are patient enough to wait, don’t remove the baking paper from the sides of the cake, and wrap it in another layer of baking paper, followed by some tinfoil. Then leave in a cool place for a week before cutting.
