Dundee cake is a traditional light Scottish fruit cake. It would be good as a lighter Christmas cake, or as a St Andrew’s Day cake (since it’s November).
It’s flavoured with orange and decorated with whole almonds. Usually, they’re blanched almonds, but almond skins are loaded with antioxidants and fibre so I’ve used the unpeeled variety on the pictured cake.
There are hundreds of versions of Dundee cake. This vegan Dundee cake is based on an old recipe and I think its flavour and texture are faithful to the original, albeit with a couple ingredients that would’ve surprised a baker in 18th Century Dundee.
It’s tempting to chuck in peel and cherries and spices and extra nuts when you’re making a fruitcake, but the beauty of Dundee cake is really its simplicity. The sweetness of the raisins/sultanas and the warm, orangey flavour – which is achieved with a mixture of marmalade and fresh orange zest – should be centre stage.
This recipe also includes a banana. It’s important to use one that’s a bit underripe – it can be yellow, but not freckled. As soon as those ripe banana esters form, the flavour and aroma will compete with the orange. It will still be a nice, moist fruity cake, just not a Dundee cake.
vegan dundee cake…
ingredients
- zest of a large unwaxed orange
- 60 g orange marmalade (preferably with thick-cut peel)
- 120 g underripe banana (around one medium banana)
- 20 g finely ground golden flaxseed
- 175 g vegan margarine
- 165 g light brown sugar
- 350 g mixed raisins and sultanas (50/50 or any mixture will do)
- 330 g plain white/unbleached flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 40 g ground almonds
- 50 g whole almonds
method
- Set the oven to 160°C/320°F and lightly oil and line with baking paper an 8″ round tin.
- In a mini blender or food processor, blend the ground flaxseed with 100 ml of water, the banana, marmalade and orange zest to create a gooey puree. Set this mixture aside.
- Beat the margarine and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add the banana mixture in two or three stages and beat until thoroughly combined – it will be quite gloopy, but that’s how it’s supposed to be.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl. Add the ground almonds and raisins/sultanas and mix through until the fruit is all separated and evenly distributed.
- Tip the flour and fruit into the liquid mixture and fold through until it’s thoroughly mixed and there are no floury pockets.
- Transfer to the tin and level the top. Don’t create a dip in the middle the way you do with some fruitcakes – it will rise evenly.
- Arrange the whole almonds in concentric circles (or however you like!) on top. Press them very lightly into place.
- Bake for around 1 hr and 45 mins. After about an hour, place a disk of baking paper on top to prevent the cake browning too much. Test with a skewer after about an hour and a half – if the skewer comes out clean the cake is probably ready.
- Allow to cool completely. Ideally, you should wrap the cake well and leave it for a day or two before cutting, but it will be fine as long as it’s had several hours to cool and settle.
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