Scottish Christmas Dundee

The raisin, dried cranberry, almond and lemon cake prepared according to this recipe is not exactly the same as the authentic Seville orange Dundee Christmas cake, but is similar to it, and also comes out very fragrant and rich in flavors. It will become not only an exquisite treat on the festive table, but also a wonderful gift.

Ingredients

• Butter (softened) - 200 g
• Eggs - 4 pcs.
• Sugar - 180 g
• Almond flour (or peeled almonds) - 50 g
• Wheat flour - 250 g (2 cups with a capacity of 200 ml) + 2 tbsp. heaping spoons (for rolling dried fruits)
• Dark raisins - 150 g
• Light raisins - 150 g
• Dried cranberries - 100 g
• Almonds - 100 g
• Lemon - 1 pc.
• Rum or cognac - 70 ml
• Vanilla sugar - 1 teaspoon
• Baking powder - 0.5 tsp (without a slide)

Directions

1. Go for dry fruits first. This is best done the night before or a couple of days before making the cake.
2. Combine light and dark raisins with cranberries in a bowl. Fill with hot water and leave for 5-10 minutes.
3. Drain the dried fruits in a colander or sieve and let the water drain. Dry them further on paper towels.
4. Transfer the dried fruits to a jar or other container with a lid and fill with alcohol (I used rum, but cognac or bourbon will do). Close the jar with a lid and let the dried fruits brew. Dried fruits should be infused for at least 2-3 hours, and it is better to leave them overnight or for a longer time so that they absorb all the rum (or cognac). From time to time, the container with soaked dried fruits should be shaken so that the alcohol is absorbed evenly.
5. Also prepare the almonds ahead of time if they are unpeeled.
6. Pour boiling water over it and leave for 5-10 minutes.
7. After boiling water, drain, and peel the nuts themselves. Let the nuts dry completely.
8. Place softened butter in a mixing bowl and add vanilla sugar to it. Whisk for a minute.
9. Continuing to beat, add all the sugar in small portions. After adding all the sugar, beat the butter for another 1-2 minutes.
10. Break the eggs into a deep bowl and shake lightly with a fork.
11. Add the eggs in small portions to the butter, whisking constantly. Add each new portion of eggs only after the previous one has completely intervened in the mass.
12. Using a fine grater, remove 1 teaspoon of zest from the lemon (only the yellow part). Then squeeze 2 tbsp of lemon. spoons of juice.
13. In a bowl with the butter-egg mixture, add the zest and juice of the lemon, as well as almond flour (if ready-made flour is not at hand, take 50 g of peeled almonds and grind them into flour with a coffee grinder).
14. Beat the mass for a minute.
15. Add sifted wheat flour with baking powder and mix until you get a homogeneous dough.
16. Throw dried fruits on a sieve and let the remaining alcohol drain. Sprinkle them with flour and mix.
17. Add the dried fruit mixture to the dough.
18. Mix thoroughly with a spatula so that the dried fruits in the dough are evenly distributed.
19. Line a 20cm springform pan with parchment paper and fill with batter. Level the surface with a spatula.
20. Lay the peeled almonds on top.
21. Bake the fruitcake in a preheated oven at 150°C for about 90 minutes. Baking time may vary, so be sure to check the readiness with a skewer - it should come out of the center of the cake without traces of batter. If during baking the top of the cupcake is very browned, but the inside is still raw, cover it with foil.
22. Remove the finished cake from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
23. When the cake has completely cooled down, wrap it in cling film and leave it at room temperature (19-21 ° C) for at least 1-2 days - during this time, the dried fruits will give moisture and flavor to the dough. But traditionally, the Dundee Christmas cake is kept for up to 1.5-2 months.
24. If there is no time, cut the cake without aging, but at least 8 hours after cooking.
25. Bon appetit!