Making a Prize Winning Scottish Dundee Cake for Competition!

#dundeecake #fruitcake #recipe
Long-Awaited Dundee Cake! 🍊🍒
It's finally here—my award-winning Dundee Cake! Rich, fruity, and topped with that classic almond design. I've also shared some key tips in the written recipe to help you achieve a perfectly even bake with no cracks. The full recipe is in the comments—let me know if you give it a try! 🎂✨

Dundee Cake Recipe
Ingredients
• 3 cups (500g/17.6oz) mixed fruit
• 1 cup (220ml/7.4oz) strong hot tea • 5 tbsp (75ml/2.5oz) whiskey
• 2 ¼ cups (275g/9.7oz) plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup (250g/8.8oz) butter, room temperature
• ¼ cup (50g/2 oz) glace cherries, washed,dried and halved • 1 ¼ cups (250g/8.8oz) light soft brown sugar
• 6 medium eggs
• Zest of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 ¼ cups (125g/4.4oz) ground almonds
• ½ cup (60g/2.1oz) blanched whole almonds

Instructions
1. Soak the fruit:
Prepare the hot black tea and allow to cool before adding the whiskey and dried fruit and soak for at least 2 hours. This ensures plump, juicy fruit in the finished cake.
2. Prepare the oven and tin:
Preheat oven to • • 160°C/320°F • •140°C/280°C Fan • Gas Mark 3 Line the base of a 8-inch (20cm) round cake tin with parchment paper.
If you have baking bands, soak them in water, wring them out, and place them around the cake tin—this helps ensure an even bake.
3. Mix the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy, add the eggs one at at time while beating.
4. Add the lemon and orange zest and mix in. Add the plain flour, baking powder and ground almonds and fold in with a spoon until all is mixed in.
Stir in the drained soaked fruit and glace cherries.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin.
Tip: Before adding the almonds, use a dessert spoon to create a slight dip in the centre of the batter—this helps the cake rise evenly.
Arrange the whole almonds in a circular pattern on top, but do not press them down, as they may sink during baking.
6. Place a dish of water on the bottom of the oven—this adds moisture, preventing the cake from drying out and cracking.
Bake for 90 -120 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool in the tin for 1 hour, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
Enjoy immediately, or wrap well in parchment paper and store in an airtight tin for up to 5 weeks.