With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I would bring back my Dundee cake. Christmas can be a stressful time for most. Soaking of fruit, turning the fruit and making sure the timings are all good for the day you cook the cake! It can be quite stressful. I don’t want to put you through any of that.
This Dundee cake is light, flavoursome, rich and above all can be made on the day, or up to 7 days before without the requirement of soaking.
Mike’s No Soak Christmas Cake
- 450 gm butter, softened
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 orange, zested
- 350 gm castor sugar
- 300 gm raisins
- 300 gm currants
- 300 gm sultanas
- 200 gm mixed candied peel
- 500 gm plain flour]
- 75 gm baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 gm ground almonds
- 8 eggs
- 50 gm blanched almonds
- 25 ml milk
- 75 ml brandy/dark rum (optional)
Cream butter and gradually work in the fresh citrus rind.
Add the sugar and cream together until pale, light and fluffy.
Place raisins, currants, sultanas and mixed peel in a bowl.
Sift flour and salt together twice and add 50g of it to the mixed fruit. Mix well to cover all.
Add the ground almonds to the butter and sugar and mix well, then gradually add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually fold in half the remaining flour, then the fruit little by little. Fold in the rest of the flour. (At this point add the alcohol if using it)
Spoon the mixture into greased and lined cake tin and smooth the surface using the back of a spoon, briefly soak the almonds in the milk and arrange close together in neat circles on top of the cake
Bake at 170 C for 45 minutes then continue cooking until done. Lower the oven temperature to 160 C/ 130 C fan and cook for a further 60 minutes. Check after 50 minutes