A newspaper cutting, ‘How to make Mr. Guinness’s cake’ was the first entry in what had once been my recipe scrapbook with a wonderful jungle scene on the cover. Now just a loose page, the cutting has to be 40 years old. The recipe still holds good and the cake gets made at least twice a year; for St Patrick’s Day and as a pre-Christmas cake. Times change and I have had to convert this recipe to use metric measurements.

250g butter
250g soft brown sugar
4 eggs (lightly beaten)
320g plain flour
2 level tsp mixed spice
250g seedless raisins
250g sultanas
125g mixed peel
125g walnuts, roughly chopped
8-12 tbsp Guinness

With a wooden spoon, cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs together with the flour and mixed spice.

Add the raisins, sultanas, mixed peel and walnuts. Mix well together.

Stir four tablespoons of Guinness into the mixture and mix to a soft, dropping consistency.

Turn into a prepared 18 cm round cake tin and bake in a moderate oven (175° C) for the first hour, then turn down the oven a little and cook for a further 1½ hours or until the cake is lightly browned and firm to the touch. Alternatively, cook the cake in a cake baker for 2-3 hours.

When cooked, leave the cake in its tin to cool. Then remove from the tin, prick the base of the cake with a skewer and gently spoon over 4-8 tablespoons of Guinness.

Wrap the cake in foil and store in a cool place for a week before eating.