Allow me to introduce you to the palest Dundee Cake you’ll ever meet.
Pale, but delicious.
Why is Dundee Cake the book-inspired recipe for The Winter Sea?
Since The Winter Sea is saturated in all things Scotland, I wanted to make a Scottish book-inspired recipe.
In order to avoid making a Scotch egg or haggis *shudders* I decided to forgo the savory route by making something sweet. After flipping through some recipe books, this Dundee Cake was calling my name.
Dundee Cake: A Baking Saga
Fun fact: I usually don’t make my blog recipes twice.
Sure, half my recipes are tried-and-trues that I’ve made for years. But, the other half consists of recipes that I’m cobbling together and trying for the first time.
If a recipe doesn’t work the first time around, I’ll usually scrap it. I’m not that person who will tweak and tweak something until it’s absolutely perfect. (My husband is, though. Bless.)
However, the Dundee Cake in my recipe book had this super deep golden-brown top, and that’s pretty much what lured me into making it for The Winter Sea.
After my first bake turned out pale and dry – ahem, because the original recipe published the wrong bake time – I went back the next day for Round #2.
For you, Tartlets. It’s all for you.
As you can see, attempt #2 at my Dundee Cake still isn’t very golden brown. I’d say it’s kinda…. marigold?
The top didn’t get much darker than the original version I made… or all the other photos of Dundee Cake I searched on Instagram…
But, you know what?? I DON’T CARE. This cake is freakin’ tasty.
I’m a hobby blogger, not a professional pastry chef, and this is sometimes what ya get: imperfect but delicious treats.
A twist on a classic
It’s kinda apropos that this Dundee Cake doesn’t look like all the others because… welp, I changed a few things from the original recipe.
Instead of the traditional candied peel, I zested lemon and orange right into the mixing bowl. A traditional Dundee Cake also uses whiskey, which I hate, so I swapped in some pure vanilla extract.
No regrets. This Americanized version of a Dundee Cake turned out awesome.
Why I love Dundee Cake
This simple dessert is beautifully light and citrusy. I love the two types of raisins in it (“regular” and golden) and that nice little crunch from the chopped almonds folded into the batter.
The best way to describe a Dundee Cake is a scone meets a really nice fruitcake. Like, a fruitcake you’d actually want to eat, not give away at Christmas to relatives and neighbors you hate
What do you serve with Dundee Cake?
A slice of Dundee Cake is delicious with your morning coffee, your afternoon tea, or with a dollop of whipped cream for a light dessert after a big meal. This would be great way to follow up a hearty, cozy dinner of Cottage Pie, Lemon Herb Chicken, or Mushroom Thyme Pasta.
Dundee Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp orange zest
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup "regular" (brown) raisins
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- around 1/4 cup sliced almonds, whole (for decoration)
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Line a 9" circular cake tin with parchment paper and spritz with baking spray, then place cake tin on a large baking sheet. Set aside.
- Roughly chop 1/4 cup of sliced almonds. Set aside.
- Measure out 1/2 cup of milk. Set aside.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large bowl, use an electric hand-mixer to cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs to the bowl one at a time, beating well after each addition, until completely combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk to the large bowl, beating well after each addition.
- Stir orange zest, lemon zest, and vanilla extract into the cake batter using a wooden spoon or spatula. The batter may look a little curdled at this point, and that's okay.
- Use a spatula to fold in both types of raisins and the chopped almonds.
- Pour cake batter into prepared cake tin and use a spatula to smooth out the top. Decorate the top of the cake with the remaining 1/4 cup sliced almonds, creating a pattern of your choosing. (You may not need to use all the almonds.)
- Bake Dundee Cake at 325F for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. **If at any point the cake gets too brown on top, tent cake with foil and finish baking with foil cover.**
- Remove Dundee Cake from oven and place on a wire cooling rack. Let cool 10 minutes.
- Invert Dundee Cake onto a wire cooling rack and carefully remove from pan. Let cake cool thoroughly before serving.
