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Dessert

Irish Porter Cake

A moist cake made with flour, dried fruit, spices, butter, eggs, and stout beer.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Irish Porter Cake

Oven350°F
Time2½–3 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the batter

  1. Sift the flour and cut in the butter.

  2. Add the fruit, spice, peel, etc.

  3. Beat eggs.

  4. Heat Guinness or other stout and pour it over the bicarbonate of soda.

  5. Pour stout and eggs over dry ingredients.

  6. Mix well and beat for 15 minutes.

Bake and rest

  1. Bake in a well-greased 9 by 13 pan in a moderate oven, 350°F, for 2½–3 hours.

  2. Keep for a week before cutting.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

776Calories
21 gProtein
19 gFat
131 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  4. Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,318 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Forms the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set.
Butter
Adds fat for tenderness and a rich crumb.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and moisture, and contributes to the dark color and flavor.
Bicarbonate of soda
Reacts with the acidic stout to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
Guinness or stout
Adds liquid and a malty, slightly acidic flavor that deepens the cake.

The step that matters

Heating the stout over the bicarbonate of soda. Bicarbonate of soda reacts with the acid in the stout to release carbon dioxide, which lifts the batter. Pouring the stout over it at the right moment lets the reaction happen in the batter so the rise is not lost.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, raisin, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon, butter):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Orangefits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, raisin, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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