Irish Porter Cake is one of those cakes that just gets better and better, the longer you can bear to keep it. Many of the recipes of Ireland are not dissimilar to the recipes of Scotland. The landscape is similar and produces similar crops and the food culture is rooted in thrifty meals, many made traditionally on a single source of heat, either a stew pot or girdle (griddle pan).
St Patrick’s Day is approaching fast, it’s on 17th March, which is only a few days away. I was looking for a good recipe to make for St Pats and found this ‘boiled’ fruit cake on Frugal Feeding. It really appealed to me as I love fruit cake. It’s made with porter or stout, is really simple to make and is a great cake to keep in the tin, the kind that gets better as the week goes on, if it lasts that long!
The butter and sugar are gently melted in a large pan, then you add the porter or stout (Irish of course), then the fruit goes in and is simmered for a few minutes. Once the mixture has cooled a little, you add in the flour, spices and raising agent and a couple of eggs. It only took about 1 1/2 hours to bake in my oven at 160C, although Nick at Frugal Feeding suggests longer. So I would suggest you keep an eye on it and test after an hour and half to see if a skewer comes out clean. Put it back in the oven if it’s still sticky and test again in 10 minutes. You can find the full recipe for Irish Porter Cake at Frugal Feeding, many thanks to Nick for giving me permission to share the link.
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Oooh. I love how dark and rich this looks. I’d serve it with a slathering of butter!
Porter cake is amazing and your recipe looks divine. You have me a little homesick right now!! Have yummed and pinned the recipe!
Aw, sorry you are homesick, cake and chocolate usually helps 😉
This looks lovely and really easy to make. I love rich fruit cake!
Yes, please with a huge side of whipped cream.