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Fake Dog Films is three people — Dara, Paul and Gearóid. We're based in Galway, Ireland, and we like to make films! To find out all about us, see the about us page!

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Fake Dog Food #2: Gearóid's Porter Cake

Written 4 January 2009, 19:04 by Gearóid

For Christmas, New Year’s or, in fact, any occasion whatsoever, porter cake is quite delicious. It’s not one for the impatient amongst you though, it’s a cake that takes time (it won’t be ready to eat for a few days), but is worth it in the end!

Porter Cake

This will take about 35 minutes to prepare and at least 2 hours’ baking, so make sure you put some time aside to make it!

You will need:
450g plain flour
375g brown sugar
225g butter / margarine
4 eggs
450g sultanas (or 225g sultanas + 225g raisins)
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
250ml Guinness
a few glacé cherries (optional)

9-inch cake tin
Mixing bowl
Saucepan
Wooden spoon
Electric mixer (optional — makes it easier)

First off, set the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340F / gas mark 3) so that it’ll be fully heated by the time you’re ready to put the cake in there. Grease the cake tin very well with margarine or butter. You can use old wrappers to line the tin too. You can’t over-grease a tin, so don’t be afraid. But if you don’t do it, your cake will stick to the tin and it’ll be ruined. So make sure you grease the tin!

Mix to breadcrumbs
Now, take a big bowl, and sieve the flour into it. Next put in the butter or margarine. I used margarine because I wanted to save the butter for spreading later, but either is good. Now mix these together until you have a breadcrumb-like mix. It helps if you soften up the butter in the microwave (try 450W for 1 minute). If you have an electric mixer, it makes this step a lot easier. If not, make sure your hands are clean, and just keep rubbing the mix between your palms until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Dry ingredients
Once you’ve got your breadcrumb-like mix, add all the other dry ingredients (sugar, raisins, mixed spice and cherries, but not the baking soda). Mix all this together with a wooden spoon, or an electric mixer if you have one.

Now, put the Guinness in the saucepan with the baking soda and heat it. Beat the eggs together, and add them to the saucepan just before the Guinness starts to boil. Leave for a few seconds and then pour the contents of the saucepan into the dry mix. Mix these all together using a wooden spoon or electric mixer.

Pour into tin
Once you have all this mixed together, spoon it into your well-greased tin. Now put this in the oven for at least two hours. After two hours, put a metal skewer or knife into the cake. If it comes out clean (no bits of cake stuck to it), it’s done.

Leave it to cool, and wrap it up in tin foil. Now the hardest bit. Leave the cake for at least three days so the Guinness can soak in properly. If you eat it straight away, it won’t be very nice. But it’s worth the wait!

Cut and butter
After three days, cut the cake, and butter it (told you I was saving the butter for later!). Best served with a nice cup of tea.

Enjoy
Enjoy!

— Gearóid

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Leave a comment ...

  1. The waiting is, indeed, the hardest part. It was delicious, though!

    — Dara · Jan 4, 10:47 PM · #

  2. I’d love some of that with a big cup of tea.

    — Paul · Jan 7, 09:38 AM · #

  3. Ah, Gearoid … your cake looks quite bulky, but is obviously light, correct? Not too filling? It does look comforting and the perfect snack for afternoon tea. One question: Why the Dutch Angle in the last photo? Who was your cinematographer?

    — THE FUTURIST! · Jan 7, 12:05 PM · #

  4. This cake loves a Dutch Angle. It goes well with the Irish porter in it.

    And I certainly wouldn’t call it light! One slice is quite filling, and very delicious!

    — Dara · Jan 7, 02:23 PM · #

  5. It’s not really that light, it’s quite filling. But it’s nice as a snack in any case!

    — Gearóid · Jan 7, 08:29 PM · #

  6. Butter really? Would cream cheese be nice or is that just plan crazy!!!!!!!!

    — sandra · Jan 15, 08:40 PM · #

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