Guinness Porter Cake with Orange-Whiskey Butter

by Joseph Erdos

Guinness Porter Cake with Orange-Whiskey Butter Recipe

What I like about Irish baked goods is that they're always hearty and wholesome, like soda bread, scones, porter cake and biscuits. And I especially like it when recipes are easy to make -- ones that don't require yeast, rising dough and all the things that come with it. One of the easiest is this Guinness Porter Cake with Orange-Whiskey Butter Recipe, which gets its name from the Irish beer Guinness. Yes, a cake recipe that uses beer!

In this case the beer is Guinness, the beer of Ireland, a rich, dark and malty stout with a creamy head that requires a slow and steady multistep pour to get it just right. Guinness was first introduced as a porter in 1725, but its formula was changed to include roasted malt, which created a flavor profile that drinkers called "stout porter" and thus the name stout was born. Being that Guinness is my absolute favorite beer, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to bake this Guinness Porter Cake with Orange-Whiskey Butter for St. Patrick's Day.

Besides Guinness, loads of dried fruit take center stage in this Guinness Porter Cake with Orange-Whiskey Butter. And you can use any mix of dried or candied fruit you like, as long as it equals about 4 cups. This dump-and-stir Guinness Porter Cake with Orange-Whiskey Butter recipe from my favorite Irish chef, Darina Allen, couldn't be easier to make. The bake time is long, but it's worth the wait. The cake develops a thick, brown crust and a moist interior filled with sticky, sweet fruit. Enjoy this recipe with whiskey butter for the ultimate pairing of beer and spirits.

This Guinness Porter Cake with Orange-Whiskey Butter Recipe is adapted from "Irish Traditional Cooking: Over 300 Recipes from Ireland's Heritage" by Darina Allen

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Guinness Porter Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Yield: 1 Cake / 16 slices

Guinness Porter Cake Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup raisins

1 cup dried cherries

1 cup chopped prunes

1 tablespoon grated orange zest (about 1 orange)

1 1/4 cups Guinness

2 large eggs, beaten

Orange-Whiskey Butter, for serving (recipe follows)

Guinness Porter Cake Recipe Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8-by-3-inch round cake pan, line with parchment, and butter again.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon over a large bowl.

Crumble in brown sugar and mix well. Rub in butter until crumbly. Mix in the dried fruit.

Mix together the Guinness and beaten eggs.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture.

Mix until well combined. Turn batter out into the parchment-lined pan, smoothing top.

Bake for about 2 1/2 hours.

A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean.

Cool in the pan for about 25 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Serve with orange-whiskey butter.

Store wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

Orange-Whiskey Butter

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 1/2 Cup

Orange-Whiskey Butter Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange zest (about 1 orange)

2 tablespoons Irish whiskey

Orange-Whiskey Butter Recipe Instructions

Whip together butter and sugar, orange zest and whiskey until smooth.

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Guinness Porter Cake Recipe Topped with Orange-Whiskey Butter - Irish Cake Recipe

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