Irish Whiskey Cake

This dense, buttery pound cake is flavored with a hint of lemon and plenty of Irish Whiskey.
Irish Whiskey Cake
makes 1 8 inch cake

Zest of one lemon
6 oz Irish whiskey (plus more for dousing)
6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder

Stir lemon zest into 6 oz of whiskey.  Pour over raisins and cover.  Allow to sit overnight.

When you are ready to make the cake, sift flour together with baking powder.  Set aside.  Butter an 8 inch cake pan and line the bottom with greased parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks one at a time with a spoonful of flour, stirring until incorporated.

Add whiskey, zest, and raisins with another spoonful of flour. Stir just until blended.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold whites into batter with the remaining flour until the mixture is well amalgamated.  When you are finished, you should have a  nice, fluffy batter with lots of lovely visible air pockets.

Turn batter into the prepared pan and bake for about one hour.  Test cake with a toothpick or skewer to test doneness. Skewer will come out clean when cake is finished baking.  If cake is not fully baked after 1 hour, return to the oven for 15-20 more minutes.

Cool cake on a rack for one hour before turning onto a serving platter.  Glaze cake or douse with whiskey according to the following instructions.

For whiskey soaked cake:
Place cake on a serving plate and prick it all over with a toothpick or skewer.  Then douse it liberally with  additional Irish whiskey (up to 1/2  cup).

For glazed cake:
Mix 1 cup powdered sugar with enough Irish whiskey to form a smooth glaze. Pour over cooled cake, allowing additional glaze to run down the sides.


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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Raisins? Seriously?

Lo said...

Seriously. Traditionally golden raisins/sultanas. Currants are a good alternative.

Anonymous said...

I like the round shape of baking it in a bowl like you did... what size bowl (diameter and depth) did you use? Thanks!