Dundee cake is a traditional Scottish

fruit cake Fruitcake (or fruit cake or fruit bread) is a cake made with candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated. Fruitcakes are typically served ...

Ingredients

Dundee cake is often made with butter, sugar, lemon zest, orange zest, marmalade, flour, baking powder, eggs, milk, dried fruit,

glacé cherries Candied fruit, also known as glacé fruit, is whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it. Depending on the size and type of ...

, candied citrus peel, currants, sultanas, ground almonds, and blanched almonds.

History

The original commercial development of the cake began in Dundee in the late 18th century in the shop of Janet Keiller but was possibly originally made for

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

in the 16th century. It was mass-produced by the

marmalade Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamo ...

company

Keiller's marmalade Keiller's marmalade is named after its creator James and Janet Keiller (nee Mathewson, 1737-1813), and is believed to have been the first commercial brand of marmalade in Great Britain. It was made by James Keiller in Dundee, Scotland, later cr ...

who have been claimed to be the originators of the term "Dundee cake". However, similar fruit cakes were produced throughout Scotland. A popular story is that

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Sco ...

did not like

in her cakes, so the cake was first made for her, as a fruit cake that used blanched almonds and not cherries. The top of the cake is typically decorated with concentric circles of almonds. The cakes are sold in United Kingdom supermarkets. The cake was also made and marketed in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, and in independent

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

after 1947, by

Britannia Industries Britannia Industries Limited is an Indian company specialised in food industry, part of the Wadia Group headed by Nusli Wadia. Founded in 1892 and headquartered in Kolkata, it is one of India's oldest existing companies and best known for i ...

and its successor firms. However, after 1980, the cake was withdrawn from the market though it continued to be supplied privately as a corporate Christmas gift by the maker.

Recognition

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

was reported to favour Dundee cake at tea-time. In '' The Gathering Storm'', Winston Churchill is depicted as a keen fan of the Dundee cake.

References

External links

*
Traditional Dundee Cake
— Delia Online
Dundee cake recipe
— The Hairy Bikers
Dundee cake recipe
—

BBC Good Food ''BBC Good Food'' is a global food media brand, with a monthly magazine, website, app, live events and series of books. It has had four editors since its launch: Mitzie Wilson (1987–1997), Orlando Murrin (1997–2004), Gillian Carter (2004– ...

Dundee cake recipe
—

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

British cakes Scottish desserts Food and drink introduced in the 19th century {{UK-cuisine-stub

Ingredients

History

Recognition

See also

References

External links