Dundee Cake.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

I felt so old-fashioned baking this cake.

This Dundee Cake is the kind of cake which is found in most traditional British baking books.
A good old-fashioned, survived two world wars and still going, fruit cake.

The cake that is the exact opposite of the minature, buttercream laden vibrant cupcakes I baked last week.

No. This cake is simple and modest but still super tasty. A reliable sponge packed to the rafters with dried fruit, citrus zest and decorated in the traditional way. Seriously. Even me, whose current favourite sweet thing is sliced bananas with limes and brown sugar enjoyed a slice of this.

A Simple List of Ingredients:
1. Plain Flour
2. Butter
3. Baking Powder
4. Caster Sugar
5. Milk
6. Eggs
7. Ground Almonds
8. An Orange
9. Lemon
10. Mixed Peel
11. Sultanas
12. Glace Cherries
13. Raisins
14. Almonds

Bismillah, let's begin!


First things first. Get the oven pre-heated to 170C or Gas Mark 3. 
Take an 18cm loose-based round tin.


Grease and line it. Set aside.


Next, we will prep the nuts and fruit before we make the cake batter. 

So, take 60 grams Almonds.

Put them into a bowl and cover with Water.

Put the bowl into a larger bowl - this will make it easier to get them out of the microwave. Place into the microwave for 2 minutes.

Once heated, let them sit until cool enough to handle. Then, peel off the skin and set aside.

Next, prepare the glace cherries.


Take 50 grams Glace Cherries.


Slice each one in half.


Wash them and pat them dry with kitchen towels. Set aside.

Next, time to zest! Take 1 Orange and 1 Lemon.

Grab your zesting tool of choice. I chose an actual zester but you could use a grater too.

Zest up those citrus.

Since my zest strips were too long for my liking, I gave them a quick chop.

Next, get the mixed peel out of your baking cupboard.

These little citrus nuggets will add a little zing to your cake.

So, measure out 50 grams Mixed Peel.

Finally, take Sultanas.

Measure out 175 grams Sultanas.

And, Raisins.

Measure out 175 grams Raisins.

Get all the rest of the ingredients and let's bake this Dundee Cake!

First up, plain flour.

Into a large bowl, place 225 grams Plain Flour.

Then, butter. I used unsalted but salted would be good too. And, if margarine is all you have, go for it.

Get the butter out of its paper.

And, add 150 grams Butter, softened to the bowl.

Followed by 150 grams Caster Sugar.

Then, to make the cake rise, baking powder.

Add 1 level teaspoon Baking Powder to the bowl.

Then, to make everything more delicious (as they always do), eggs.

Crack in 3 large Eggs.

Now that all the basic sponge ingredients are in, it's time to mix.

I used an electric mixer but by hand would work as well.

Once you have a smooth cake batter, check the dropping consistency - it should drop easily from a spoon. Add 1 tablespoon Milk, to help it on its way.

Stir in the milk until you have a batter that already looks good enough to eat!

Then, throw in the raisins.

The sultanas.

The mixed peel.

And, the glace cherries.

That's all the dried fruit in.

Now, add in the orange and lemon zest.

Finally, measure out 2 level tablespoons Ground Almonds.

And, add to the bowl.

Stir the fruit in and add a little milk again, if you think the batter is not dropping well from a spoon.

Finally, we're done!

Pop the cake batter into the prepared tin.

Smooth out the top.

Grab those whole almonds from earlier.


Make a design on the top by dropping them gently onto the batter - don't push them in.

Bake the cake for 1 and 3/4 hours at 170C or Gas Mark 3. 
Bake in the centre of the oven until the cake is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Once baked, let the cake cool completely in its tin.

Place the cake tin onto a tin can and push down to release the sides.

Pop onto a plate and we're ready to serve.

Cut yourself a slice. This cake is packed with juicy fruit and citrus zest not to mention the crunch of the almonds on top.

Serve on its own with hot tea or as dessert, with vanilla custard. This cake gets better after a day or two, so pop it into a cake tin. Enjoy!

Full Written Recipe:

Traditional Dundee Cake

Prep Time: About 20 minutes

Bake Time: About 1 and ¾ hours

Serves: 8 people, generously

Ingredients

For the Cake

225 grams Plain Flour

1 level teaspoon Baking Powder

150 grams Butter, softened

150 grams Caster Sugar

3 large Eggs

1 tablespoon Milk (if needed)

175 grams Raisins

175 grams Sultanas

50 grams Mixed Peel

50 grams Glace Cherries, rinsed, dried and cut into half

Zest of 1 Lemon

Zest of 1 Orange

2 level tablespoons Ground Almonds

For the Topping

60 grams Whole Blanched Almonds

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 170C or Gas Mark 3. Grease and line an 18cm loose-based round tin.

Into a bowl, sift in the flour and baking powder. Then ,add the butter, caster sugar and eggs and mix with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until you have a smooth batter with a dropping consistency. If it’s too dry and doesn’t drop easily off the spoon, add the milk.

Next, add in the raisins, sultanas, mixed peel, glace cherries, lemon zest, orange zest and ground almonds. Fold in.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and decorate (drop them on lightly) with the blanched whole almonds. Bake for 1 and ¾ hours in the centre of the oven or until the centre is springy and firm to the touch.

Cool before removing from the tin, and then slice and serve!

(Adapted from a recipe by Delia Smith)

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This Time Two Years Ago:

Not So Traditional Shepherds Pie

Keep me in your duas, please,

Wasalaam!