Irish Barmbrack

A very traditional Irish tea cake, the Barmbrack, is a sweet dough with dried fruit (soaked overnight in tea to plump them up) giving it lots of extra taste and texture. Soft brown sugar gives the brack a rich, dark colour and taste.

Its often eaten in the afternoon, with lots of butter and a hot cup of tea.

Ingredients

• 375g mixed dried fruit (whatever fruits you like best)
• 50ml whiskey
• 250ml cold tea
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 225g plain flour
• 125g brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 egg

Method

1. Soak the fruit overnight in the tea and whiskey mixture
2. Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin
3. Combine the flour, sugar, mixed spice and baking powder and mix well
4. Add the whole egg and mix. Add some of the liquid from the dried fruit and continue to mix to create a dryish batter
5. Stir in the fruit and when everything is thoroughly combined pour into the prepared loaf tin
6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin before transferring to a cooling rack. Best eaten a couple of days after baking, keep wrapped in clingfilm.

Mirabelle plum tart

Mirabelle Plum Tart

Mirabelle plums are a speciality of the Lorraine region of France. They are small, smooth, sweet tasting yellow plums with that characteristic slightly sourm plummy taste. Mirabelle plums are harvested from mid-August so about now is the time to use them. Great for making jams and tarts, like the one below which is from Le Cordon Bleu’s website.

Ingredients

Sweet shortcrust pastry

• 200 g plain flour
• 100 g cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tbsp water

Pastry cream

• 250 ml milk
• 1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthwise
• 3 egg yolks
• 60 g sugar
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp cornflour

Garnish

• 300 g mirabelle plums, halved and stoned

Glaze

• 50 g apricot jam
• 1 tbsp water

Method

1. Prepare the sweet shortcrust pastry. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Into a well at the centre of the mix, add the egg and water and mix roughly to combine
2. Roll out the dough into a circle about 3 to 4 mm thick.  Line the tart mold with the dough, refrigerate for at least 20 minutes
3. Preheat the oven to 160°C
4. Blind bake the pastry shell: Cut out a sheet of baking paper that is slightly larger than the tart mold and fit over the dough, fill with baking beans or rice. Gently press down around the edges to ensure that the paper stays in place against the sides of the mold. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and the baking beans (or rice) and continue to bake for approximately 8 minutes
5. Prepare the pastry cream. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into the milk, add the pod and bring to the boil. Meanwhile cream the eggs and sugar then add the flour and cornflour. Stir half the milk into the egg mix, then return to the pan and whisk until the cream thickens. [You can use the dried pod to make vanilla sugar by leaving it in a jar of sugar for a few weeks]
6. Garnish: Spread the pastry cream onto the base of the blind-baked pastry shell. Fill with the halved mirabelle plums, arranging them in concentric circles with the cut side uppper-most . Bake for 40 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool. Remove from the tart mold
7. Glaze: Heat the apricot jam and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, strain and brush over the top of the plums

Bread and Butter pudding

Bread and butter pudding

Here’s a recipe that reminds me of the festive season – must be the raisins and cinnamon. Easy to make and you can use any bread you happen to have around.

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 Madiera cake (350g), 1 malted fruit loaf (350g), cut into triangular pieces about 1.5cm thick
• 60g raisins
• 150ml Marsala, sherry or brandy
• 50g butter
• 200 ml milk
• 200 ml double cream
• 60g golden caster sugar
• 1 lemon zest
• 4 eggs, beaten
• Sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon

Method

1. Bring the raisins and marsala (or whichever alcohol you are using) to a simmer and leave off heat to infuse for 20-30min
2. Preheat oven to 180˚C
3. Butter a baking dish
4. Cut the cake loafs into triangular shapes and butter one side of each slice then arrange them so that they overlap in the baking dish
5. Drain the raisins (reserving the liquid) and sprinkle over the cake
6. Cover with another layer of cake slices (if you can) and sprinkle with remaining raisins
7. Whisk together the milk, cream, 100ml Marsala and liquid reserved from the raisis, eggs, caster sugar and lemon zest
8. Pour over the dish(s) and sprinkle some nutmeg and cinnamon over the top
9. Bake for 50min until crisp and golden on top, let rest for 10min
10. Serve with some chilled pouring cream

Pavlova with raspberry and blackberry

Pavlova with raspberries and blackberries

Pavlova is something that my Mum used to make when I was young. I love it when its hard on the outside and soft and squishy on the inside. You can use whatever fruit is in season to make this even easier.

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 90g caster sugar
• 90g icing sugar
• Punnet raspberries
• Passion fruit
• Punnet blackberries
• Double cream

Method

1. heat the oven to 150˚C. Put a layer of baking parchment onto a baking try
2. In a metal bowl (which helps to stabilise the egg white mixture) beat the 3 egg whites until they form soft peaks
3. Add the caster sugar and continue beating until the egg whites form stiff peaks – lifting the whisk out gently should leave a firm peak standing up
4. Now add the icing sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is shiny white and glossy
5. Spread the mixture onto the baking paper in a 20 cm circle and bake for 30mins
6. Turn down the oven to 120˚C and bake for a further 45 minutes. This will create a crispy outer layer and a soft marshmallowy inner layer
7. Allow the pavlova to cool and transfer to a serving plate. Cover the top with whipped crean and a layer of the fruit!

Ginger biscuits

An oldie but a goldie! Who doesn’t like ginger biscuits?

Serves: 60 small biscuits but depends on the shape you cut out

Ingredients

• 170g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 110g softened butter
• 85g caster sugar
• 85g light brown sugar
• 1 beaten egg

Method

1. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and spices into a bowl
2. Cream the butter and both sugars together in a bowl and then add the beaten egg
3. Now fold in the flour and mix
4. Put the dough onto a piece of baking paper and place a second piece on top. Roll out the dough between the two sheets of baking paper to about the width of a pound coin (about 3mm) and chill it for about 30 mins
5. Cut out the biscuits into whatever shape you like
6. Bake for about 10mins at 180˚C