Blame it on my Scotch-Irish roots, but I love spirited sweets! I love the idea of making a cake and repeatedly dousing it with liquor until it feels like a brick and has a 3-year shelf-life. But I've always found the flavor off-putting...I think it has to do with those weird little bits of candied fruits. They are just plain disgusting. I mean, where the heck do they even get those lime-green cherries?
Anyway, a year or two ago, I found a recipe for a sensible fruitcake...plenty of alcohol, plenty of spice and no freakish candied fruit. It needs to 'mature' for a month, with a weekly dousing of Guiness, so now is the time to get started if there's going to be fruitcake for Christmas! Give it a try and, in a month, let me know what you think!
Fruit and Stout Cake
1 c. unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
2 c. prunes, pitted and chopped into small bits
1 1/2 c. golden raisins
1 1/2 c. currants
1 1/4 c. stout plus more for dousing
2 2/3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1 1/4 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Brush a 9X4 loaf pan with butter and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Combine the prunes, raisins and currants in a medium bowl. Add 1/2 c. stout and let stand.
3. Sift flour, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. In the bowl of an electric blender, cream butter and sugar til fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time mixing well after each and scraping down the sides. Add dry ingredients, half at a time just til combined. Fold in fruit mixture.
4. Pour batter into pan and bake until dark brown and set in the center, til a cake tester comes out clean. About 3-3 1/2 hours. (No, that isn't a typo. 3-3 1/2 hours) Cracks will appear on top of the cake. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1/2 c. stout. Let stand on wire rack for 30 minutes, remove from pan and discard parchment. Let cool completely.
5. Wrap in muslin or cheesecloth and douse with remaining 1/4 c. stout. Store in a cool dark place, dousing with 1/4 c. stout once a week for a month before serving.
Oh, and on a personal note: DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, LYNCH! I'll bring one for Christmas, but no swiping my recipe! Remember what happened with the whiskey cake?
3 comments:
OMG, a CAKE with beer? I believe I've died and gone to heaven.
I've been a beer brewer for a VERY long time, and just happen to have a keg of homemade cream stout in my kegerator.
This WILL be made for Christmas.
I might have to start a 'Drunken Dessert' post! I bribed an old man at a Celtic festival for his recipe for Irish Whiskey Cake and OMG is it good! And embarrassingly simple!
This sound very good and I think I will have to give it a try.
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