Porter-able Breakfast
I’ve sorta been into cakes lately. I made the chocolate Bundt cake from last week for a friend that was in town and joined us for dinner on Saturday. Surprisingly, there were leftovers which meant I had a piece with coffee for breakfast the next morning.(I know, my devotion to health knows no bounds.) It was glorious. So it should come as no surprise that while searching for something a wee bit Irish for this week, I found myself thumbing through Irish cake recipes.
When you think of Irish sweets, the first thing that comes to most people’s mind is scones or shortbread. Well, at least that’s what I think of.(I blame it on the Irish butter. Can’t get enough of it.) While making some scones this Sunday morning for St. Patrick’s Day would be fantastic idea, (I mean do you really need it to be a special occasion for scones to be a good idea? Or shortbread for that matter?) I will be on the road before the sun is up to attend yet another sporting event which means breakfast needs to be portable. So cake for breakfast it is! Again. Any excuse, right?
This Porter cake is an Irish classic and goes well with any meal of the day.
Irish Porter Cake
Yields 10 to 12 servings
Adapted from Epicurious
Special equipment: 8-inch, high-sided, round cake pan. The sides should be about 2-3/4 inches high.
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 pound golden raisins
3 ounces chopped candied citrus peel
2 eggs
1 12-ounce bottle porter
Directions
Do ahead
Place the golden raisins in a small bowl and cover them with a portion of the porter. Allow the raisins to soak for about two hours before starting the cake.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the sides and bottom of the 8-inch cake pan with waxed paper.
Sift the flour, nutmeg, spice mix, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter, then stir in the brown sugar, raisins, and candied citrus peel.
Whisk the eggs in a second bowl and stir in the porter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 2 hours. If the cake starts to brown too quickly on top, cover it with aluminum foil after about 1 hour. The cake is done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow the cake to sit in the pan for about 20 minutes before turning it out and cooling it on a wire rack.
