Getting Ready for Christmas - Dundee Cake

DUNDEE CAKE

We have a lot of fruit cake around the Christmas period and as well as a Christmas cake we also make Dundee Cake.  Dundee Cake like the Christmas cake smells wonderful whilst it is cooking.  The cake is never decorated apart from almonds to decorate the top of the cake.  It was never in a square pan always a round. And it goes rapidly.

You will need:

Fat for greasing

200g/7oz plain flour

2.5ml/1/2 tsp baking powder

1.25ml/1/4 tsp salt

150g/5oz butter

150g/5oz caster sugar

4 eggs beaten

100g/4oz glace cherries quartered

150g/5oz currants

150g/5oz sultanas

199g/4oz seedless raisins

50g/2oz cut mixed peel

50g/2oz ground almonds

Grated rind of one lemon

50g/2oz blanched split almonds

Line and grease a 7 inch round cake tin.  Preset the oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F/Gas Mark 4.

Method:

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt  into a bowl.  In a separate bowl cream the butter, sugar together well until pale and fluffy then beat in the eggs.  Fold in the flour mixture, the cherries, dried fruit and ground almonds into the creamed mixture. Then add the lemon rind and mix well.

Spoon into your prepared and lined tin making a slight hollow in the centre as this helps the cake not rise into a central point.  Bake for about 20 minutes or so by which time the hollow should have filled in.  Arrange the split almonds on the top.

Return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 40-50 minutes then reduce the temperature to 160 degrees C/325 degrees F/Gas Mark 3 and bake for one hour more.  Test the cake every so often to make sure the mixture is cooked.  Once ready leave to cool.

Once cold wrap in fresh greaseproof and foil and store in a metal cake tin or suitable alternative container.  It will smell lovely.

This is a relatively quick cake to make when it comes to fruit cake but oh so worth it.

Pattypan

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