Guinness Cake Recipe

Heat the oven to 325 degreesF.

Grease and flour a 7-inch round springform pan. Cut out a round of wax paper the size of the pan. Place on the pan bottom and grease it, too. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Beat in the zest. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and allspice. Fold flour mixture into butter mixture; do not over-beat.

Sprinkle the raisins, golden raisins, cherries and walnuts with the reserved flour. Fold them into the batter. Stir in 4 tablespoons of the Guinness. Pour the the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour, then reduce the heat to 300 degrees F and bake an additional 1 hour, until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Set cake on a wire rack. When cool, remove it from the pan and turn upside down. Remove the wax paper. Prick the base of the cake in many places with a skewer and spoon on about 8 tablespoons of Guinness.

Store the cake upside down in an airtight container for a week before eating. During this period, pour more Guinness over it from time to time until you have used the whole bottle. The cake, properly stored, will last for months.

Serve the cake right side up.

Per serving: 380 calories (34 percent from fat), 15.4 g fat (6.4 g saturated, 5.8 g monounsaturated), 83.2 mg cholesterol, 5.9 g protein, 56.8 g carbohydrates, 2.1 g fiber, 141.8 mg sodium.