Bring in the holiday cheer with this Scottish Dundee Cake! It has delicate flavours, it’s served with an orange glaze, and it’s absolutely delicious!
Think of a lighter, easier version of the Christmas Plum Cake… And make it Scottish. That’s the Dundee cake! It’s not something that you normally see at Indian bakeries unlike the more popular plum cake, but this cake with a weird name is equally yum and simpler to make! You can make it for Christmas or even enjoy it as a tea cake on a regular day.
Dundee cake is from Dundee in Scotland and it is quite different from a regular plum cake for so many reasons. The major difference is that we won’t be soaking fruits for this cake. Dry fruits are added as it is in the batter. IT saves a lot of time and effort.
Top Tips For Making The Best Scottish Dundee Cake
- Be careful with the baking process and do not rush it. Fruits usually bake slowly and take a long time to cook, so patience is key. If you notice that the cake is browning quickly lower the heat slightly.
- This cake stays well for about a week when stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
It’s a sweet and simple deal. Try the Dundee cake recipe this holiday season! Or make it anytime you like and munch on it with a cup of tea!
Quick Walk Through: Scottish Dundee Cake
Dundee cake is called that simply because it is native to a place called Dundee in Scotland. This Scottish fruit cake is originally made with sultanas, currants, fruit peels and a beautiful arrangement of almonds on top. It looks golden brown in colour and it’s definitely one of those cakes which you could eat cold or warm. What sets this cake apart from others is the distinct orange flavour that you get from the glaze. The orange is sweetish and bitter and just cuts through the sweetness of the cake. Traditionally, in Scotland, a generous amount of whiskey is added to the Dundee cake! And we are following that tradition!
Dundee cake vs fruit cake – Fruit cakes are made with glazed cherries. Some Scottish bakers decided they didn’t like glazed cherries in their cake and so they baked a cake with blanched almonds instead. And voila! The Dundee cake was born. It’s a much lighter cake compared to the rich fruit cake, popularly known as plum cake. Also, you don’t need to soak dried fruits in alcohol for weeks before making a Dundee cake. So it qualifies as a last-minute Christmas cake I guess? Though the differences between the three are small, Dundee cake does have its own unique flavour profile
To make a Dundee cake which is distinctly different from other fruit cakes, these ingredients are super important.
- Milk powder which gives it a slight malty flavour
- Orange, in any form! Marmalade or jam, candied orange peel and even an orange glaze for that fragrant orange taste
- Whiskey because what’s a Scottish cake without out some Scotch whisky
- Blanched or sliced almonds for a white-on-brown decoration on top of the cake
Scottish Dundee Cake!!
FAQ
What is another name for Dundee cake?
How is Dundee cake different from fruit cake?
What is plum cake called in USA?
What is the nickname for plum cake?
What is the difference between Dundee cake and fruit cake?
Dundee cake vs fruit cake – Fruit cakes are made with glazed cherries. Some Scottish bakers decided they didn’t like glazed cherries in their cake and so they baked a cake with blanched almonds instead. And voila! The Dundee cake was born. It’s a much lighter cake compared to the rich fruit cake, popularly known as plum cake.
Is prune a type of dried plum?
There are some types of plums in the world and it was from a French variety that the dried plum emerged. The plum has a firm pulp and a high sugar and acidity content, which allows the fruits to be dried with their cores intact, without fermentation. To produce prunes, they are left on the tree until they are fully ripe. Only then are they harvested and placed to dry between 15 and 24 hours under strictly controlled conditions. Prunes lose so much water in this process that to produce half a kilo of prunes, 1. 5 to 2 kilos of fresh prunes are needed. In the last stage, the plums are bathed in hot water to increase their moisture content and only then are they packaged for consumption.
What is the difference between Dundee cake and Christmas cake?
Traditional Christmas cake has a richer flavour and uses different fruits to a Dundee Cake including glacé cherries. Sometimes a Christmas cake can have a similar almond decoration but more modern recipes call for the cake to be iced. Pre-heat the oven to 150C / 300F.
What does a Dundee cake taste like?
All of the other ingredients serve to support that flavor and not take away from or dilute it. What we have in a true Dundee cake is a much lighter and delicately flavored cake that showcases that Seville orange flavor along with the added sweetness of raisins and sultanas, and the additional flavor and delightful crunch of almonds.