Irish Porter Cake
Irish porter cake is a dark and rich dessert made with dried and candied fruits, warm spices, and robust porter in an Irish fruit cake.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, or light brown
- 11.2 ounce bottle Guinness, see note 1
- 1 cup raisins, see note 2
- 1 cup sultanas, golden raisins
- ½ cup candied citrus peel, see note 3
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 orange, zest only
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander, see note 4 on spices
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
Directions
- Start by whisking together 4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, all the spices, and orange zest in a mixing bowl, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, beat the 3 eggs and set aside.
- In a saucepan, melt 1 cup unsalted butter over medium heat and add 1 cup dark brown sugar and the whole bottle of beer. Heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved, and then add the 1 cup raisins, 1 cup golden raisins, and ½ cup candied peels (if using). Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes.
- (Be careful when heating the beer and don’t let it come to a boil. As it heats up it can foam up and over the top of the saucepan, so monitor it closely. If it starts to foam up, remove it from the heat for a moment before continuing.)
- Let the fruit and beer mixture cool before the next step. It doesn’t have to be room temperature but shouldn’t be hot either. To cool it faster, transfer it to a heatproof bowl and place uncovered in the refrigerator.
- While the mixture cools, preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C. Line or spray a 9” springform pan and set aside.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Now add the beaten eggs and stir together until there’s no more obvious wet/eggy spots, but don’t overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and place it into the center of the oven.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Start checking around 45-50 minutes into baking. Allow to cool 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan and finish cooling it completely on a cooling rack.
- Optionally, while still warm, pour 2-3 tablespoons of additional beer or Irish whiskey over the top of the cake.
- Once cooled, you can slice and serve the cake, but it’s best left to “mature” before being cut. Store in an airtight container or wrapped tightly at room temperature for 2-3 days before serving. This will enhance the flavors even more.
Equipment Used
Notes
1) Alcohol – This recipe specifically uses porter or stout because it’s what differentiates itself from other fruit cakes. The alcohol content will bake out while cooked, but if you’re still concerned about it, Guinness does make a non-alcoholic version of their stout now.
As for which kind of beer to use, you can use any preferred porter or stout in the recipe. Avoid other types of beer, however, as the flavor will be much different and probably muted or nonexistent depending on the type of beer.
2) Dried Fruits – I use a mixture of raisins and golden raisins here, but you can use any mixture you prefer, or even just raisins. If you skip the mixed citrus peels, I suggest a combination of 2-3 dried fruits and 2 ½ - 3 cups total. Use a mixture of raisins, sultanas (golden raisins), dried currants, glacé (candied) cherries, dried cherries, dried plums, dried apricots, etc.
3) Mixed Citrus Peel – Some grocery stores sell this, or you can buy it online. I have a recipe for candied citrus peel as well. I couldn’t find any in the stores near me, so I made my own with the linked recipe and used two oranges and two lemons. You can also omit this and add more zest and dried fruits instead.
4) Mixed Spice – This is a popular spice blend in Ireland and throughout most of the UK. Somewhat similar to American pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice, it’s a combination of warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, mace, and sometimes coriander and/or caraway.
Since “mixed spice” might not be available where you live, the recipe includes a mixture of spices instead. If you absolutely have to use a substitute, I would go with pumpkin pie spice, but add in a pinch more ground nutmeg, and if you have it, ground coriander.
5) Feeding the Cake – This is completely optional, and more commonly done with Christmas cake, but a popular method in Ireland and throughout the UK with their various fruit cakes.
“Feeding” the cake refers to pouring brandy or whiskey over the cake and flipping it over. This is typically done once a week for a few weeks before the cake is served, typically for a holiday like Christmas.
The alcohol helps as a preservative, but also deepens the flavor of the cake and keeps it moist while being stored.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 359kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 5gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 161mgPotassium: 217mgFiber: 2gSugar: 23gCalcium: 50mgIron: 2mg
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