Scottish Dundee Cake

So, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I won 2 ribbons for my baking at the MN State Fair this year.  Neither of those ribbons were for my Dundee cake.  The blue ribbon in the photo just demonstrates that my cake was NEAR a blue ribbon winning cake, not a winner itself.

But my Dundee cake is awesome, nonetheless.  Just saying.

The main reason I decided to submit to the ethnic baking category at this year's State Fair is that these Norwegian cake things called Kransekake always seem to win...and they annoyingly always put little Norwegian flags on top.  Like "Look at me!  I'm a Norwegian cake and I'm better than you!"  Living in a state with tons of Scandinavians, it makes some sense that they win.  The cakes are also what I will call "super fancy."  Google them to see a full one....Go ahead, I'll wait.

See?!

There are other countries and ethnic groups who have similarly fancy cakes, but they all have a significant tradition of what I will call "rich people."  The two sides of my family are mostly Irish and Scottish, respectively.  Neither of these Celtic peoples have a tradition of crazy-fancy things in general (well, except for plaid. Plaid is fancy.).  And they both have a well-earned reputation as frugal people who are more humble and practical.

Plus, that Norwegian thing barely counts as a cake.  You don't even slice it.  Gah! What kind of cake isn't slice-able, I ask you?!  (And I answer, a cake that is obviously actually a stack of cookies....oh, well.)

So, basically, I wanted to beat the froo-froo Scandinavian things. At least partially because middle-school me had to defend my Scottish last name because it was called "weird" by all the Scandinvian-named kids in my suburban Twin Cities classroom.  But mostly because it is itself annoying....and not really even a cake.  (Hey, at least I'm honest about my motivations!)

Anyway, Dundee cake is a dessert with hundreds of variations.  Like marmalade, it was first produced on a commercial level by James and Janet Keiller of Dundee, Scotland.  In my research I've seen it made with different types of sugar, with different fruits, in varying sizes, etc.  I've seen people who wrap it tightly and then "feed" it rum, brandy, or whiskey over a period of weeks or months.  I've seen recipes with booze, without booze, with marmalade inside, painted with marmalade outside, etc.  This is my recipe.  It is loosely based off the version in the book A Feast of Scotland by Janet Warren, but I did make a number of changes from hers.

Ingredients
For Cake:

• 2 cups mixed, dried, non-citrus fruit (I used equal parts golden raisins, currants/zante raisins, traditional raisins, dried cherries.)
• Approximately 2 cups whiskey for soaking fruit (Select a sweet variety--not smokey or peaty)
• ½ cup candied peel or dried, sweetened oranges, chopped into small pieces (Yeah, just try to find candied citrus in MN in the summer!  Luckily, right now Trader Joe's sells dried, sweetened orange slices that work nicely)
• Scant ¼ cup roughly ground almonds (I made this by putting raw almonds in a freezer bag, putting the bag between two towels, and beating on it with a mallet. Seriously.) 
• Scant ½ cup almond flour (This stuff is pricey!  If you have a food processor, you can probably make it yourself.  Then again, you might just make almond butter that way.  I'm not sure.)
• 1 cup butter or margarine 
• 1 cup sugar (I used half dark-brown and half white in my practice baking, and all white in my final version.  Mostly because I forgot when I made the final one.  ooops!)
• Grated rind of one large (or two small) lemons
• 3 eggs
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Raw almonds (at least 45, for decoration on top of cake)

For Milk Glaze:

• 2 ½ Tablespoons sugar
• ¼ cup milk

Directions:

1. The day before making the cake (and at least 2 days before serving cake), soak the fruit:
• Put mixed dried fruit (but not orange pieces) in a container and pour in whiskey so that all fruit is covered.  
• Stir fruit to mix, cover container, and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Before beginning to make cake, blanch almonds (See previous post for illustrated directions)
3. Grease and line the base and sides of an 8-inch circular cake pan, then grease the lining.
4. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Drain whiskey off fruit, return fruit to container, and then mix in orange pieces, ground almonds, and almond flour  
6. Beat the butter/margarine until soft and creamy
7. Add sugar and lemon rind and beat until light and fluffy
8. In a smaller bowl, beat eggs lightly, then add gradually to the butter/sugar mixture, beating well between additions.
9. In a separate bowl, sift baking powder and flour together.
10. Stir flour mixture, 1 Tbsp. milk, vanilla, and fruit into butter/egg/sugar mixture.
11. Spoon batter into cake pan (it will be very thick), spread batter to sides, and then put a slight hollow in the center.
    
12. Place almonds on the cake surface in a decorative pattern (circles are traditional). Do not press almonds down into batter, but make sure they are touching batter and not just perched on top. 
    
13. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes and then check with a cake tester or toothpick.  Bake a few more minutes, if necessary, until cake tester comes out clean.
14. While cake is baking, make milk glaze by warming milk and then stirring in sugar until it is dissolved
15. Add milk glaze to cake-top with a brush or a spoon, and bake for 3 to 4 more minutes.  (Almonds will look shiny and the glaze will help keep almonds on top of cake.) 
    
    
    
    
16. Cool cake in pan for at least 15 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on wire rack, removing lining papers.
17. Wrap cake in aluminum foil and let sit at room temperature for at least a day before serving.