Mr. Guinness’ Cake

Mr. Guinness’ Cake is similar to an American fruitcake with candied fruit, raisins, and nuts. Doused with Guinness and aged for one week before serving.

You may have heard. We had a little snow here around Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. A little ice, too. Many of us were stuck inside our homes for a few days and thousands were stuck on the roads in their cars overnight. To say it was a mess is an understatement.

So what do you do when you’re stuck at home? Well, I read cookbooks. My favorite new-to-me cookbook is Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen. It’s more than a cookbook, honestly, it’s something of an encyclopedia. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this volume is all the historical information she gives on the recipes.

Take this recipe for Mr. Guinness’ Cake for instance. Ms. Allen says that the recipe appeared as part of a Guinness advertisement many years ago. She quotes the ad as saying:

“Over the past couple of centuries, our beer has acquired a modest reputation, but our cake is still little known. This seems a pity, for one enthusiast has described it as like eating dreams.”

Most people will recognize the recipe as being similar to an American fruitcake with its candied fruits and nuts. However, the taste is all its own.

The Guinness in the batter and poured over the finished cake takes this recipe to another level all together. Also, it’s a perfect way to use up all that leftover candied orange and lemon peel you always have after Christmas!

Mr. Guinness' Cake is similar to an American fruitcake with candied fruit, raisins, and nuts. Doused with Guinness and aged for one week before serving. Click To Tweet

How to Make Mr. Guinness’ Cake

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease a 7-inch round, deep springform cake pan. Cut a piece of parchment or waxed paper to fit the inside bottom of the pan. Grease the paper as well.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light. Gradually beat in the eggs.

Sift the flour and spice together. Gently fold it into the mixture.

Add the dark and golden raisins, orange and lemon peel, and pecans. Mix well together.

Stir 4 tblsp. of the Guinness into the mixture.

Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour. Reduce the heat to 300 and continue cooking for another 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from the oven and let stand on a wire rack until completely cooled.

Remove the cake from the pan. Prick the base of the cake all over with a skewer. Spoon over the remaining 4-8 tblsp. of Guinness.

Wrap the cake snugly in waxed paper and place in a sealed container or Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for one week before serving.

Enjoy!

More Irish Recipes on Never Enough Thyme:

• Boxty – Irish Potato Pancakes
• Leek and Potato Soup
• Champ for Your St . Patrick’s Day
• Beef and Stout Pie
• Dublin Coddle
• Brown Irish Soda Bread

Traditional Irish Recipes from Other Bloggers:

• Boxty from Irish Central
• Barmbrack from The Spruce Eats
• Buttermilk Scones from Ireland’s Eye
• Colcannon Fish Pie from Eat What We Eat
• Angie’s Irish Stew from Donal Skehan

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Mr. Guinness’ Cake

Yield: 16 servings

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

This recipe from "Irish Traditional Cooking" by Darina Allen is similar to an American fruitcake. Full of tasty candied fruit, raisins, and nuts, the cake is doused with Guinness and set aside to age for one week before serving.

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Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter (1 cup)
• 1 cup plus 2 tblsp. light brown sugar
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 2/3 cups dark raisins
• 1 2/3 cups golden raisins
• 1/3 cup candied orange peel
• 1/3 cup candied lemon peel
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 8-12 tblsp. Guinness

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Generously grease a 7-inch round, deep springform cake pan. Cut a piece of parchment or waxed paper to fit the inside bottom of the pan. Grease the paper as well.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until light. Gradually beat in the eggs.
4. Sift the flour and spice together. Gently fold it into the mixture.
5. Add the dark and golden raisins, orange and lemon peel, and pecans. Mix well together. Stir 4 tblsp. of the Guinness into the mixture.
6. Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour. Reduce the heat to 300 and continue cooking for another 1 1/2 hours.
7. Remove from the oven and let stand on a wire rack until completely cooled.
8. Remove the cake from pan. Prick the base of the cake all over with a skewer. Spoon over the remaining 4-8 tblsp. of Guinness.
9. Wrap the cake snugly in waxed paper and place in a sealed container or Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for one week before serving.

Notes

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 473 Total Fat: 17g Saturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 7g Cholesterol: 77mg Sodium: 125mg Carbohydrates: 60g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 29g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 6g

Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritonix and may not always be perfectly accurate. Use your own judgment.

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