Winter Whisk(e)y Cake

Winter Whisk(e)y Cake

Gie him strong drink until he wink, // That’s sinking in despair;
An’ liquor guid to fire his bluid, // That’s prest wi’ grief and care:
There let him bouse, an’ deep carouse, // Wi’ bumpers flowing o’er,
Till he forgets his loves or debts, // An’ minds his griefs no more.
(Robert Burns, 1785)


I’m not suggesting you drown your sorrows in a bottle of hard liquor (as our beloved Scotsman so eloquently advocates), but I do, however, urge you to give this dark, rich, whiskey-infused cake a shot (pun intended). Seeing as it’s the anniversary of the poet’s death on 21 July, I thought it fitting to share. (Well, that and the fact that I found some of the fancy-schmancy amber elixir in my parents’ liquor cabinet recently.) Thistle warm the cockles o’ye heart. (Haha cockles).

Ingredients

- 225gm butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3 free range eggs
- 1 cup plain flour, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup of cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup whiskey (I used Dewar’s White Label)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

2. Prepare your cake tin (I’d go with the round variety) – grease well or line with baking paper.

3. Cream the butter and both types of sugar together until you have a light and fluffy mixture.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Combine sifted flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and baking soda in another bowl.

6. Add the mixed dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

7. Add molasses and mix, and then lastly add the whiskey.

8. Mix until smooth; your batter should be quite thin (if it doesn’t run off your mixing spoon very easily, then add a little milk until it is the right consistency). Pour into a greased round cake tin and bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. This cake doesn’t tend to rise very much, so don’t be disappointed if it comes out slightly flatter than your usual cake.

9. Dust with icing sugar. I think this is best eaten slightly warm (though if you’ve been having a sneaky dram while you cook it, I imagine you’ll already have a glow on). You could always make two, layer them and fill the middle with whipped cream – enhance the flavour by adding a couple of teaspoons of both icing sugar and whiskey to the cream before whipping.
This article first appeared in Issue 15, 2013.
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Kirsty Dunn.