DUNDEE CAKE

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 1, 23 March 1927, Page 17

DUNDEE CAKE

Stormont and Sons’ New Venture

jgUSINESS men who believe in doing things in a big way are beginning to realise that there are few better ways of improving their own manufacturing methods and increasing production than by studying what is being done in other countries.

Keenly alive to this, a member of the firm of Stormont and Sons, the Auckland cake specialists, while on a pleasure trip to the Old Country recently, kept his eyes very wide open for new

ideas, with the result that he discovered Dundee cake, which is now; being introduced to the public of' Auckland. He travelled all over England and' Scotland, and everywhere he went, particularly in the big provincial towns, he saw Dundee cake. In London he found big displays of Dundee cake in all the pastry-cooks’ windows.; Naturally he wanted to know something more about it, and the reason' for its national popularity. Friends in the trade willingly told, him all he wanted to know. The foundation of all cake-making is the homely recipe: Butter, sugar, eggs and flour—a pound of each. OL course, there are many Variations, butj that is the basis. Also, he discovered, there are many variations in Dundee cake, but these are mostly concerned with its colour, which ranges from a golden brown to a rich-looking dark brown. In the original recipe, Demerara or Barbadoes sugar is recommended. It is these sugars that give the' dark appearance to the cake. In New Zealand, however, neither variety is available, so it has been necessary to use ordinary sugar. The rich, dark effect could be produced by artificial means, but Stormont and Sons

are determined that nothing but natural ingredients shall be included in Dundee cake.

I The delectable flavour of almonds will be a feature of this new product. Ground almonds are being used, as it has been found that whole almonds are unpopular with quite a number of people. Dundee cake will be sold to the public in rounds as well as in blocks, and at the very reasonable price of Is 3d a lb. Naming The Cake It is sometimes difficult to explain how some trade names are arrived at. ‘ Dundee” cake is a case in point. There are many towns in the British Isles t • at have given names to cakes, and where manufacturers claiming descent from ‘‘ye olde” originators, are doing a thriving trade. In Dundee, Stormont’s representative found nothing like that. No one in the whole city claimed to have originated Dundee cake, or to have any connection with the man who did. Surely someone has missed a wonderful advertising chance! “Bonnie Dundee” is a household expression the world over. Dundee cake is truly “bonnie,” but in that sense it would be difficult to find any connection between the place and the cake. One has only to look at the picture of “Bonnie Dundee” on this page to understand what a misnomer “bonnie” is when applied to the famous city. Actually, it is a ca.se of a man’s name being confused with that of his city. “Unhook the west port, an’ let us gang free, For it’s up wi’ the bonnets of Bonnie Dundee.” The well-known lines were written about John Grahame of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, when he left Edinburgh to take the field at Killiecrankie, where he died in the hour of victory. Most people have read “Old Morality,” and it will be remembered that ■ Sir Walter Scott describes him as handsome. “Bonnie” and handsome Claverhouse may have been, but the ,city of Dundee to-day is certainly neither. Dundee's Part in History Since the 13th century when Edward I. invaded Scotland and occupied Dundee Castle, the city has played an important part in both English and Scottish history. Later, the patriot, William Wallace, was forced to flee from Dundee, and a stone where he

rested on his way to Perth is still pointed out to visitors. In mediaeval times Dundee was a

walled city, but the tides of innumerable wars have swept over it, and to-day little trace of the original walls is to be found. The old Cowgate is one of the few remaining fragments. The number of streets that end with a gateway reminds the visitor of the fortifications of centuries ago. Dundee received some rough treatment both at the hands of the Duke of Montrose and General Monk.

The fact that there are now vein.'’ few historical buildings in Dundee is probably due to the troublous times through which the city has passed. In Reformation times many of the city’s churches were demolished, but one old tower, said to be five centuries old, is still standing. Grant Allen, in his novel, “The Tellow Frigate,” gives an excellent description of old Dundee and its notabilities.

The city is situated on the estuary of the Tay, which is a harbour not unlike the Waitemata. There is a conical hill 600 feet high in the background. On a clear day the Bell Rock lighthouse at the mouth of the Tay, 17 miles east of Dundee, is visible from the city. The Bell Rock light is the same “Inchcape Bell,” famous in the legend of “Ralph the Rover.” To the west of the city rise the snow-capped peaks of the Grampia.ns, and to the south, the grey towers of St. Andrews. The north is barred by a range of hills called the Sidlaws, and beyond them is the fertile valley of Strathmore, and Glamis Castle, the girlhood home of the Duchess of York.

The population of Dundee is approximately 200,000 —or about the same as Auckland. The city is the centre orf the jute industry and was at one time very prosperous. It fell on evil times, however, when avaricious mill-spin-ners, not content with returns from manufacturing in their own city, set up factories at Calcutta, the source of the jute supplies. That was the end of Dundee’s prosperity and supremacy in the jute trade.

Trade with the Baltic, Mediterranean, and other Continental ports, ,‘brought many ships into the Firth of' 'Tay at one time. There was also a uarge fleet of whkling and sealing vessels. At the time of the visit referred to above, all that could be seen were ! half a dozen or so small steamers discharging German coal. This was during the coal strike., last year. This brief description will give some! idea of the city that gives its name to

the best and most popular cake in the British Isles. At all our branch shops, and also at agencies all over the suburbs, and country districts, Stormont and Sons are selling the famous Dundee ca.ke—the cake with a history. Country storekeepers are requested to write for price lists of all our cakes, which are all good selling lines. 11