Holiday Dundee Cake
This Scottish-inspired cake is instantly recognizable with its almond decoration on top. It is laden with moist liquor soaked dried fruits with notes of oranges from marmalade and zest. A wonderful treat for the holidays! Inspired by my mom's recipe and bbcgoodfood.com.
Equipment
- 9 inch (23 cm) round springform pan/baking tin
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 3 cups (500g) dried fruits of choice (I used cranberries, chopped apricots, regular & golden raisins, plus dried plums)
- 3 Tbsp. (45g) Scottish malt whisky, bourbon, or brandy (I used bourbon)
- ¾ cup (110g) whole shelled raw almonds
- 13 Tbsp. (184g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (180g) light brown sugar
- 5 Tbsp. good quality chunky marmalade
- 1 large orange, zest
- 3 large eggs
- 1¾ cup (225g) All purpose flour, and more for dusting fruits
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (100g) fine ground almonds (or almond flour)
- ½ cup (95g) whole maraschino cherry (optional)
Instructions
Prepare night before
- Mix dried fruits with liquor of choice. Cover and set aside.
- Pour hot water over almonds. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Drain, pinch off skin and set aside to dry.
Making the Cake
- Gather all the ingredients. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Tip flour, baking powder and baking soda into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, stir in the marmalade and orange zest. Mix well. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well combined.
- Slowly add in the prepared flour until it is well incorporated into the wet mixture. Repeat with the ground almonds.
- Lightly dust the prepared dried fruits with flour. Using a spatula, gently fold the fruits into the batter.
- Spoon the fruit cake batter into the prepared lined tin. Optional, if using the cherries, poke them into the batter evenly. Spread out the batter to cover the holes. Smooth out with the back of spatula to create a level surface. Arrange almonds in a concentric pattern, starting from the middle and working to the outer rim of cake.
- When ready, pop into the preheated 350°F (180°C) oven for 40 minutes. Then, lower heat to 320°F (160°C) and bake for another 50 minutes. Check if it is done by inserting a cake tester into the middle of the cake. It should come out clean. If not, let it bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place on wire rack. Leave cake to cool in pan before removing. Wrap in foil and let it rest for a minimal of 2-3 days before consuming. The flavors will have a chance to meld and develop the longer it sits.
Notes
- Lining the pan with parchment will make for easy removal from pan.
- Lightly dusting the fruits with flour will prevent the fruits from sinking down to the bottom of pan.
- Traditional Dundee cake usually does not contain cherries, but I like them and think they add a pop of color to the cake. :)
- Dip the back of your spatula in some warm water before spreading out the cake batter will create a good level surface for the almonds.
- For a beautiful shine, you can lightly glaze the cake after removing from the oven with a simple milk syrup. Melt 2 tsp of fine sugar with 1 Tbsp. of milk. Brush lightly over the warm cake.
- For a boozier cake, lightly drizzle 2 Tbsp. of liquor (Scottish malt whisky, bourbon or brandy) over the cake before wrapping up in foil.