Mr Food Recipe - Desserts containing Guinness are always a little bit of a tricky
thing. You have to be careful to balance the basic dark bitterness of
the Guinness with the dessert's other ingredients... and with even the
best of intentions, this doesn't always work.
But this recipe is one of the exceptions to the rule. Oranges are one
of the ingredients that can often be counted on to bring together
disparate ingredients in either sweet or savory dishes. Here their
influence tempers the bitterness of the Guinness, and gives the darkness
an additional sharp note that turns the cake into something special.
The icing, too -- a rich buttercream full of orange juice and orange
zest -- is so good you'll be tempted to eat it by itself.
One hint: if you have access to bitter Seville oranges, those work
even better with this recipe than the plain ones. However, if you can't
get Seville oranges, ordinary eating oranges (such as navel oranges)
will do just fine. However, do not attempt to make this cake with
store-bought orange juice, no matter how fresh you think it is.
Squeezing the oranges just before you make the cake (and of course using
the fresh orange zest as well) guarantees a cake that will have the
maximum orange fragrance and bite.
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces soft dark brown sugar
- 10 ounces self-raising flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 heaping tablespoons cocoa
- Grated rind of 1 orange
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup Guinness
- 4 oz butter
- 8 oz Confectioners' sugar / icing sugar
- Juice of one orange and the orange's grated rind
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 2 8-9-inch cake pans.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa into a bowl.
Add the orange rind to the creamed butter and beat in the eggs, one
at a time, including a spoonful of the measured flour mixture with each
one, and beating well between additions. Gently mix in the Guinness, a
tablespoonful at a time, including another spoonful of flour with each
addition. If there's any flour left over, fold it in gently to mix;
blend thoroughly without over-beating.
Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth down, and put the cakes
into the center of the preheated oven. Reduce the heat to moderate
(350F) and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cakes are springy to the
touch and shrinking slightly in the pans. Turn out and cool on a wire
rack.
Meanwhile, make the icing. Cream the softened butter and icing sugar
together thoroughly, then blend in the grated orange rind and enough
juice to make an icing that is soft enough to spread. When the cakes
are cold, use half the icing to sandwich them together, and spread the
rest on top.