Description
Dundee cakes are perfect for desserts. The perfect blend of various fruit flavors and the citrus-like freshness make this cake truly different from other pastries. So if you cannot gobble up more fruits as you want to after dinner, a Dundee cake can be a very good alternative.
Ingredients
225 grams of plain flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
180 grams of unsalted butter, room temperature
180 grams of muscovado sugar, light
3 tablespoons of milk
3 beaten large eggs
500 grams of mixed dried fruits
100 grams of whole glace cherry
Zest of 1 large lemon, thinly sliced or diced
100 grams of blanched almonds
3 tablespoons of apricot or marmalade
100 grams of ground almonds
2 teaspoon of caster sugar
Instructions
- Pour boiling water over almonds on a small bowl. Leave for 5 minutes, drain and leave to dry.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160 C fan/Gas Mark 4.
- Choose a loose-based 20 cm cake tin and line it with baking parchment.
- Beat the butter in a large bowl until it is soft. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Put orange zest and apricot jam.
- Sieve flour and baking powder onto the mixture and add eggs a little at a time while beating. Add some more flour as the mixture starts to curdle.
- Add what was left of the flour and ground almonds and mix. Pour 2 tablespoons of milk, add dried fruits and cherries and mix gently.
- Spoon the mixture into the cake tin. Level the top surface using the back of the spoon.
- Arranged the almonds in a circular pattern and bake for 45 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 160C/140 C fan/Gas Mark 3 and cook until 60–80 minutes. Check every 10 minutes starting at 50 minutes of baking by inserting a wooden or metal skewer. There should be a few crumbs on the skewer if the cake is done.
- When the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven. Mix the caster sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk until sugar is dissolved and brush the mixture on the top surface of the cake. Return the cake for another 2-3 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin before removing it. Wrap it in foil for at least two days before slicing.
Notes
A Dundee cake when wrapped properly in grease-proof paper and stored in an airtight tin can last for 1 ½ month. That means you can have a slice for an afternoon coffee and have it as a dessert at dinner the next day.