Irish Porter Cake
200g Butter
200g brown sugar
250ml stout
Zest of 1 orange
200g Sultanas
200g Raisins
100g Mixed peel
400g plain white flour
.5 teasp bread soda
2 teasp mixed spice
100g glace cherries- optional
3 free-range eggs.
23cm round cake tin.
Method
- Wash
and zest the orange. Melt butter
and sugar in the stout in a saucepan. Add the zest and all the fruit except the cherries, boil for 3
minutes. Remove from the heat and
cool by placing the pot in a basin of cold water.
- preheat
the over to 180*C/Fan oven 170*C/Gas mark 4. Line the cake tin with cake tin with greaseproof paper.
- Whisk
the eggs. Sieve flour, soda and
spice into a mixing bowl. Quarter the cherries, mix into the flour. Stir the cooled fruit mixture into the flour gradually beating in the eggs.
- Turn
mixture into prepared tin, wet the top slightly, smooth with the back of a
wet tablespoon, Make a slight well in the middle.
- Bake
on middle shelf for 1.5 hours. Cover top with tinfoil or cardboard (good in a fan oven) after 45
minutes to protect the top from burning. In a fan oven the cake might cook too quickly so lower the heat to
160*C for the last 45 minutes.
- to
test cake: put skewer or sharp-pointed knife into centre of cake, it
should come out clean without sticky dough on it.
- Prick
all over with a skewer, pour 4 tablespoons of stout or whiskey into the
cake.
- Allow
to cool in cake tin. When cold,
turn out. Wrap in greaseproof
paper. Store in an airtight
tin. Keep for one week before cutting.
This cake is quick to make and does not need too much time
to mature before cutting. It will keep
for 2/3 months in an airtight tin wrapped in greaseproof paper. It is often made for the Christmas season
and is often served with a little butter.
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