Spice Beer Cake

Beer does something special in cake batter. The carbonation creates a lighter crumb than you’d expect from such a dense, fruit-packed dough, and the malty flavor plays right into the brown sugar and warm spices. Two full cups of beer go into this batter, and the alcohol bakes off completely, leaving behind nothing but flavor and moisture.

Cinnamon, allspice, and cloves give this cake a warmth that reminds you of fruitcake’s better-liked cousin. A full cup each of raisins (or chopped dates) and walnuts get tossed in flour before folding in, so they stay suspended through the batter instead of sinking to the bottom.

Creaming the shortening with packed brown sugar until fluffy is where the texture gets built. Don’t rush it. That air incorporation is what keeps the cake from being a heavy brick.

Chef Tips

• Use a full-bodied beer like a brown ale or stout. Light lagers don’t contribute much flavor. Avoid anything hoppy, as the bitterness concentrates during baking.
• Alternate adding the flour mixture and beer in thirds. Dumping all the liquid in at once can overwhelm the batter and make it thin and lumpy.
• Test with a toothpick at the 50-minute mark for the tube pan. The top will brown well before the center is done, so don’t trust color alone.
• Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out. A warm cake this heavy can crack under its own weight.

Variations

• Swap raisins for dried cranberries and add a teaspoon of orange zest for a holiday version.
• Use chopped dates instead of raisins for a stickier, more caramel-like sweetness.
• Drizzle with a simple beer glaze: powdered sugar thinned with a splash of the same beer you used in the batter.