Get the Recipe: Traditional Irish Porter Cake
This Irish porter cake is rich, warmly spiced, and packed with sweet dried fruit, dark porter flavor, and bright orange zest.
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups (437 g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of ground cloves, optional
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) packed light brown sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (12 oz or 355 ml) porter beer
- 2 cups mixed dried fruits, e.g., raisins, golden raisins, currants, sultanas
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat butter, sugar and orange zest on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time. With the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the porter beer. It’s okay if the mixture looks a little curdled.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined. Stir in the dried fruit.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake at 325℉ for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. The cake is done when it is firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with little to no crumbs.
- Cool the cake completely in the pan. Porter cake tastes best after a day or two. Wrap the cooled cake in aluminum foil and store at room temperature until ready to serve. Feeding the cake helps keep it moist. Use a pastry brush to brush porter ale over the top and sides of the cake.
Notes
Nuts: Stir in ½ to 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans for nutty crunch.
Beer: Stout is a good alternative to porter. You can also use nonalcoholic beer.
Store covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. If you're "feeding" the cake by brushing it with beer, it may last longer.
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 385kcal, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 82mg, Sodium: 26mg, Potassium: 205mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 534IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 74mg, Iron: 2mg