Rightfully this cake belongs in the chapter with the other cakes that contain dried fruit, but to me it is the quintessential coffee cake. It is a quick and easy version of a cake that I remember from my childhood, made by the mother of my school friend, the late Noel Giles. Noel and I consumed about a ton of this cake per year between the ages of twelve and eighteen — a taste of it still makes me feel like a teenager.
Ingredients
Makes one 8-inch cake, about 12 servings
Step 1
1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°.
Step 2
2. Stir together the 2 1/4 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
Step 3
3. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, beat the butter and sugar with the paddle on medium speed until soft and light, about 5 minutes. Add the egg, beating until smooth.
Step 4
4. Decrease the mixer speed to low and beat in half the flour mixture. Stop and scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula. Beat in the buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture.
Step 5
5. Give the batter a final mix with the rubber spatula.
Step 6
6. Toss the currants and raisins with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour and fold them into the batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Step 7
7. Bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is well risen and deep gold and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean.
Step 8
8. Cool in the pan on a rack for about 30 minutes, then invert the cake onto a rack and remove the pan and paper. Invert the cake onto another rack and cool completely.
Step 9
Storage: Wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature, or double-wrap and freeze for longer storage.
Leave a Review
Reviews (12)
Back to TopA terrific, family-friendly cake. I found the texture was best on the day it was made, but the taste held up for about three days afterwards. I reviewed this recipe on my own blog, Recipes That Worked by Mandy Higgins.
cookingblogger
3/17/2011
我使用了一些红醋栗和golde这个蛋糕n raisins I've had in my pantry for a while. It's a solid coffee cake, not terribly sweet, and kind of light (as opposed to dense) textured. To reiterate ahfisher's comment, this cake does not need 55 minutes in the oven. The one I made was completely baked at the 45 minute mark, and next time I'll pull it out at 40 minutes to get a lighter golden color. Also, I don't think the parchment paper is necessary. I used it, but with my nonstick pan I would have been able to remove the cake with no problems.
hobbywizard
Gloucester, MA
2/22/2010
This is a great recipe when you get last-minute guests or when you feel like an afternoon treat. I didn't make any ingredient substitutions, but I made a couple of procedural changes. I don't have a "heavy duty mixer", so I used my electric hand beater and it worked fine. (I gave the butter a head start by semi-melting it in the microwave first). I also found that the cake was done in 40 and that it tasted very nice almost right out of the oven! The taste was light and not too sweet. It's a perfect tea-time treat and I will definitely be making this again!
ahfisher
Montreal
3/17/2007
Simply delicious and easy to make.
Kathy
Davidsonville, MD
8/1/2006
I did not have currants, they´re not easy to find them in mexico, so I used 1 cup of golden raisins, it came out real tasty, easy to prepare too. Simple and delicious!
Anonymous
Mexico City
6/9/2006
I love this cake... I pour a cup +/- Irish Whiskey over it before letting it sit. Super Yu. Jameson is my favorite over the cake but Powers add a nice flavor of spice with the Whiskey
naesias
NY,NY
5/17/2005
I made this cake for a St. Patrick's Day party this year. It was a huge success, and I've had requests to make it again next year. I did top it with a simple sugar glaze so it was a little more decorated though.
dani2519
Michigan
4/30/2005
This is a wonderful cake. I've made it several times. I make a sugar syrup and add irish whiskey to it, then glaze the cooled cake with it-yum!
Anonymous
Evanston, IL
2/23/2005
This was just lovely - good simple flavours and nice texture, a little crumbly which I like with a pale fruitcake (as opposed to the heavy dark versions). My husband and our cake-loving baby loved it too!
Anonymous
Wellington, New Zealand
1/7/2005
fell asleep and let it bake an extra 30-40 min, and it still turned out so tasty I ate 3 pieces!
Anonymous
Galveston, TX
3/27/2004
I changed some of the things around. I used two eggs instead of one (maybe it's to do with the size of the eggs, but I didn't think one was enough). I used one cup of low-fat milk instead of 3/4. I made it with sultanas, ginger (in syrup) and walnuts--it came out really well.
Suroor
Geneva, Switzerland
2/23/2004
Loved this recipe. It is very much like scone or Irish Soda Bread.
maryann
Red Bank, NJ
12/26/2002