There are few bakes that carry the weight of Scottish history quite like the Dundee Cake. Beloved from Highland homes to tables around the world, it’s a recipe that has travelled through the centuries with its character and its almonds intact. Legend tells us it was first created for Mary, Queen of Scots, who wasn’t fond of the cherries that filled so many cakes of her time. A clever Dundonian baker replaced them with almonds, and in doing so, gave Scotland one of its most iconic culinary treasures. What I love about this version is that it also celebrates another proud gift from Dundee – marmalade. That spoonful of citrus adds a brightness that lifts the rich fruits and warm crumb, giving the cake its unmistakable depth. It’s a bake that feels both regal and homely, steeped in tradition yet endlessly comforting. This recipe makes 10 portions and works just as well with Gluten free flour and non-dairy butter and milk.

Ingredients
225g/8oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
100g blanched almonds
180g/6oz butter, unsalted, soft
180g/6oz light brown sugar
1 orange, zested
1 lemon, zested
3 tbsp  Dundee marmalade
100g/3½ oz  ground almonds
2 tbsp  milk
250g/8oz sultanas
250g/8oz currents
50g/2oz mixed peel
For the Glaze
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp caster

Instructions
Put the whole almonds into a small bowl and pour over boiling water to just cover. Leave for 5 minutes then drain and place into a clean cloth to dry. Line a deep loose-based 20cm 8-inch cake tin with baking parchment. Place your butter into a large bowl and beat well until soft. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the orange zest, lemon zest and the marmalade. Sieve the flour and baking powder together. Add the eggs to the creamed butter and sugar, a little at a time, beating well between each addition. If it starts to curdle dust in a little flour. Add the remaining flour and ground almonds and mix well. Mix in the milk and then add the dried fruit and peel, mix gently together. Preheat the oven to 160˚C/325˚F. Carefully spoon the mixture into your tin, next carefully using the back of a spoon flatten off the top mix so that it is nice and level. Arrange the whole almonds close together in neat circles on the top of the cake to give you the iconic traditional look. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 150˚C/300˚C and cook for a further 60-80 minutes. Check the cake after 50 minutes by inserting a metal skewer into the cake. When it’s done the skewer should come out clean. Check every 10 minutes. When cooked, remove the cake from the oven. Next you need to make your glaze, put the milk and sugar into a small pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Brush over the top of the cake and return the cake to the oven for 3-4 minutes. Remove and allow the cake to cool in the tin. When cold remove from the tin and wrap in parchment paper.

Slàinte Mhath!
Gary Maclean
www.garymacchef.com
@Gmacchef