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Mary Berry Dundee Cake Recipe

Mary Berry Dundee Cake
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Dundee Cake is a famous Scottish fruit cake traditionally flavoured with currants, sultanas, and orange zest, topped with blanched almonds arranged in a circular pattern. Mary Berry’s version keeps the authentic elements while ensuring the cake stays moist, tender, and not too heavy. It’s less rich than a Christmas cake but still full of flavour, making it a versatile bake.

Ingredients

Scale

  • 175g butter, softened

  • 175g caster sugar

  • 3 large eggs

  • 200g self-raising flour

  • 50g ground almonds

  • 250g mixed dried fruit (currants, sultanas, raisins)

  • 50g glacé cherries, halved

  • 2 tbsp mixed peel

  • Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon

  • 2 tbsp milk

  • 50g blanched whole almonds (for topping)

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the tin

Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan). Grease and line a 20cm deep round cake tin.

Step 2: Cream butter and sugar

In a bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Step 3: Add eggs gradually

Beat in eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour if the mixture starts to curdle.

Step 4: Fold in dry ingredients

Sift in flour, then fold gently along with ground almonds.

Step 5: Add fruit and zest

Stir in dried fruit, cherries, mixed peel, and citrus zest. Add milk if needed for a dropping consistency.

Step 6: Assemble the cake

Spoon mixture into the prepared tin and level the top. Arrange blanched almonds in neat concentric circles on top.

Step 7: Bake slowly

Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes – 1 hour 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cover with foil if browning too quickly.

Step 8: Cool and serve

Allow cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Find it online: https://maryberrycooks.co.uk/mary-berry-dundee-cake/