Beer cake with raisin ice cream

SERVES 6 OR MORE PREPARATION: 15 MIN COOKING: 35 MIN SOAKING: 1 HR OR MORE CHILLING: 2 HR

RAISIN ICE CREAM

125ml (½c) raisins

80ml (¹⁄₃c) stout

500ml (2c) vanilla ice cream

CAKE

250g butter

750ml (3c) castor sugar 2 eggs

5ml (1t) vanilla essence

125ml (½c) cocoa powder 375ml (1½c) flour

10ml (2t) bicarbonate of soda 250ml (1c) stout

125ml (½c) plain yoghurt

ICING

400g cream cheese, softened 300g butter

300ml icing sugar

5ml (1t) vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 20-cm cake pan.

1 RAISIN ICE CREAM Soak the raisins in the beer for at least 1 hour.

2 Put the ice cream in a blender and blitz until soft. Stir in the raisins and beer and return to the freezer for 2 hours or until frozen.

3 CAKE Cream the butter, castor sugar and eggs with the vanilla essence. Sieve the cocoa powder, flour and bicarbonate of soda and stir into the sugar mixture. Add the stout and yoghurt.

4 Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes or until firm around the edges.

5 ICING In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, butter and icing sugar until well-incorporated. Stir in the vanilla essence and spread over the cake.

6 Serve the beer cake with the raisin ice cream.

The stout helps to keep the cake moist and combines with the bicarbonate of soda as a rising agent.