Ingredients
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3.5 cups All-purpose flour
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2 teaspoons Cinnamon
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1 teaspoon Mace
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1 teaspoon Powdered ginger
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1 cup ButterCubed: about 120g
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1 cup Seedless raisinsabout 130g
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1 cup Golden raisinsabout 130g
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1 cup Mixed peelFinely chopped (substitute chopped citron or candied orange if preferred)
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1 lemon Lemon rind - grated
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1.75 cups Dark brown sugarabout 250g
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1.5 teaspoons Baking soda / bicarbonate of soda
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.66 / 2/3 cups GuinnessOr other stout as preferred
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4 Large eggsBeaten
Directions
This recipe is adapted from one in Clare Connery’s In an Irish Country Kitchen, and is light (as Irish fruitcakes go) and well balanced in terms of flavor — the taste of the stout comes comes through nicely without drowning everything else out.
Guinness will of course work beautifully in this cake fr-libido.com ביקורת. But like much of the rest of Europe, Ireland is experiencing a wonderful flowering of craft brewing that’s providing cooks and bakers here with many new levels of choice ed-danmark.com. For the cake in this picture we used The Foxes Rock stout from Northern Ireland, made by Stationworks Brewery in Newry. See what your local microbrewery or craft brewery has that would fit the bill.
Steps
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1
Done
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Pre-bakiing prepHave ready a 9-inch springform pan, or a 9-inch round or square pan with high sides (3 inches high or so). Preheat the oven to 325° F / 160° C. (If you have a fan oven, lower all temperatures by 10 degrees.) Line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with waxed paper (butter the sides a little to help the wax paper stick), and brush with a little melted butter or margarine. |
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2
Done
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Combining the dry ingredientsSift the flour and spices and half the baking soda together into a large bowl or food processor with the metal blade fitted. Mix well or pulse until combined. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, or pulse, until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the fruit, lemon rind and sugar, and stir or pulse to combine. (If using the food processor, you can pulse the mixture a little more to chop the fruit more finely.) |
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3
Done
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MixingIf you've been working in a food processor, this is the time to move the ingredients to a large bowl for mixing. Add the beaten eggs to the mixture and mix well until completely incorporated. Dissolve the remaining baking soda in the Guinness or other stout. (Do it in a container that will hold at least two cups, as the baking soda will react with the stout and foam up. Then add this to the cake mixture as well and stir or pulse until well combined. Pour (or scrape) the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. |
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4
Done
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BakingBake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Then lower the temperature to 300°F / 150° C, cover the top of the cake loosely with a sheet of waxed paper, and bake for a further 1 1/2 hours. The cake should be a deep brown color and firm to the touch when finished. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely in its pan before turning it out and peeling off the waxed paper. When it's out, dust the top with confectioners' sugar / icing sugar. |
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5
Done
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How to store and serveThis cake keeps very well in an airtight container for a week or so... if you can manage to keep it around for that long. Some people like to pierce it with a knife and "feed" it a little more Guinness before serving, say a few teaspoons full. Don't overdo this -- you don't want the cake to fall apart. Serve it with fresh unsweetened whipped cream. |
