Porter Cake

Porter is a type of dark Irish beer, not now as widely available as it once was. It is not as strong as stout but Guinness, Murphy's or other Irish stout can be substituted in this recipe if mixed fifty-fifty with water. This cake is quickly and easily made and, though it tastes good fresh from the oven, it is best kept for about a week in an airtight tin.

Measure : 1/2lb = 8ozs
1lb = 450gr
10 inch = env 25cm

Bake at 150°C for 3 hours

Ingredients :

1/2lb margarine
1/2lb sugar
1lb flour
1/4lb peel (small tube)
11/2lb sultanas
1/4lb cherries
3 eggs
pinch of salt (into eggs before beaten)
bottle of stout
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon mixed spices

Preparation :

Put sultanas, cherries and peel into one bowl. Leave aside
Mix sugar, flour and mixed spices with hands
Cut margarine into pieces and blend with flour mixture to make breadcrumbs. Then mix with fruit
Beat eggs
Put stout into saucepan and heat (not boil). Put soda into stout after sufficiently heating
Empty this into flour/fruit mixture with eggs
Mix whole mixture for 5mins
Put into 10inch (or 9inch) cake tin (doubly lined with greaseproof paper - line with greaseproof paper on the outside of the tin also with twine
Bake for 3 hours.

Got this recipe in 2000 when i was living in the green green grass...