Irish Currant Cake

Ellen Giles, the mother of my childhood friend Noel, made this cake every week for her family. Noel and I would devour great slabs of it thickly spread with sweet butter, accompanied by cups of strong Irish tea. The Gileses were from Toomebridge, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland—along with this recipe I also acquired something of an Antrim accent during my years of friendship with the Giles family.