A traditional Scottish Dundee cake — a light fruit cake rich with dried fruit, orange and almonds, topped with neat circles of whole almonds. Best matured for a couple of days.
Dundee cake is a classic Scottish fruit cake — light, lightly spiced and rich with dried fruit and orange, crowned with its signature concentric rings of whole almonds. Less dense than a Christmas cake, it's a lovely teatime keeper.
Prep 25 min
Cook 110 min
Total 135 min
Medium
- 100g Almonds
- 180g Butter
- 180g Muscovado Sugar
- Zest of 1 Orange
- 3 tbs Apricot Jam
- 225g Plain Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 3 Large Eggs
- 100g Ground Almonds
- 500g Dried Fruit
- 100g Glace Cherry
- 1 tbs Milk
- 2 tsp Caster Sugar
Tags:
heavy Nutty FruityVideo
Preparation
- Put the whole almonds in a small bowl, cover with boiling water, leave for 5 minutes, then drain and leave to dry.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4 and line a deep, loose-based 20cm cake tin with baking parchment.
- Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft, add the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, then stir in the orange zest and apricot jam.
- Sieve together the flour and baking powder. Add the eggs to the creamed butter and sugar a little at a time, beating well between each addition and adding a little flour if it curdles.
- Add the remaining flour and ground almonds and mix well, then mix in the milk and gently fold in the dried fruit and cherries.
- Spoon into the tin, level the top, and arrange the whole almonds in neat circles on top. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Lower the oven to 160C/140C fan/Gas 3 and bake for a further 60–80 minutes, checking after 50 minutes with a skewer — it should come out with just a few crumbs attached, with the centre still a little soft. Check every 10 minutes to avoid overcooking.
- When cooked, briefly remove the cake, gently heat the milk and sugar in a small pan until dissolved, brush over the top, and return to the oven for 2–3 minutes. Cool in the tin, then turn out, wrap in foil, and keep for at least 2 days before cutting.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Add the eggs gradually with a little flour to stop the batter curdling.
- Fold the fruit in gently so it's evenly distributed and doesn't sink.
- Arrange the blanched almonds neatly on top for the traditional Dundee look.
- Glaze the top with sweetened milk at the end for a glossy finish, and rest the cake a couple of days before cutting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Its lighter fruit-cake crumb, orange flavour, and the iconic rings of whole almonds arranged on top.
Well wrapped, for a couple of weeks — and it's best left a couple of days before cutting to let the flavour develop.
Yes — a splash of whisky brushed over the cake is traditional and keeps it lovely and moist.
