Dundee Cake

Soften butter

Blanch and peel the almonds

Preheat the oven to 300 F/150 C/Gas 2. Line an 8-inch cake pan with greaseproof paper or baking parchment and grease lightly with a little butter.

Place the butter, sugar, and zest into a large bowl. Cream until light, smooth, and creamy using either a fork or electric hand whisk.

In another bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder and mixed spice.

Beat 1 egg into the creamed butter, then beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Repeat until all the eggs and flour are used up.

Add the raisins, citrus candied peel, and cherries (if using) to the mixture and stir well, but gently—you don't want to flatten the cake batter too much—until all the fruits are incorporated into the mixture.

Stir in the whisky using a spoon or spatula.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan and gently level the surface

Arrange the almonds in circles on the top

Bake for 1 hour

Cover the cake with aluminium foil and cook for another .5-1 hour

Remove the cake from the oven and place onto a cooling rack, leaving the cake to cool in the pan. Once cooled, remove from the pan, slice, serve, and enjoy.

The cake keeps well when stored in an airtight container and will last for up to six weeks.