An Irish Country Barmbrack (Irish Fruit Cake)

If you've read any of the "Irish Country" novels by Patrick Taylor, you know how charming they are, a rare window into a specific time and place unlike any other. You also know the two main characters are no strangers to excellent food, prepared in large part by their housekeeper, Maureen "Kinky" Kincaid. Her good self, as well as her cooking, merited a collection of her recipes, An Irish Country Cookbook. After all, if Hercule Poirot can have an obituary, why shouldn't Kinky have a cookbook?

This traditional barmbrack, or "spotted bread," is typically made at Halloween, but since we all love being Irish for a day every March, I was keen to make it this spring. Heavy on the currants and raisins, with a bit of orange zest for freshness, this fruited cake is a little holiday all on its own!

Irish Barmbrack

Ingredients:
2 cups dried fruits (I used currants and raisins)
1 cup brewed black tea
1/4 cup whiskey (see notes below)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon spice mix, optional (such as chai spice mix or pumpkin pie spice)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
zest of one orange

In a large mixing bowl, combine dried fruits with tea and whiskey, cover tightly and let sit overnight.

When ready to make the next day, butter a 7- or 8-inch round baking dish (at least two inches deep), and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and spice mix (if using) in a medium bowl. Add sugar, egg, and orange zest to the fruit mixture, stir to combine completely, then add the flour mixture and blend gently until fully incorporated. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with back of the spoon, and bake for 75-80 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly clean (a few tender crumbs are ok). Let the cake cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to one week at room temperature.

Kinky says to let the barmbrack sit a day before enjoying it, as this will allow the flavors to develop. It helps to bake the cake in a dish with its own lid, to make storing easy. The traditional way to eat barmbrack is toasted and slathered with (Irish) butter; it's also very good with softened cream cheese!

Other Irish-inspired treats to enjoy on St. Patrick's Day:
Orange-Currant Shortbread Buttons
Devil's Food Cupcakes with Baileys Buttercream Frosting
Chocolate-Lager Cake with Tangerine Dream Frosting

Notes: Adapted from An Irish Country Cookbook by Patrick Taylor. If you don't want to use whiskey, just increase the amount of tea to 1 1/4 cups, and add in a splash of pure vanilla extract. The basic template of this recipe lends itself to many variations, so be sure to use your favorite flavor tea, dried fruits, and spices. If you use larger fruits like dried apricots, dates, or figs, simply dice or snip them into small pieces before soaking.

>o<

So Corny: Cheddar and Pimiento Cornbread

I've never been particularly fond of corn in general, and don't eat it often, but every once in a while I have to make an exception. There's nothing better alongside your chili than a thick slab of cornbread, and nothing more pleasing than spooning your bolognese over rich, creamy polenta. And while you're at it, a little cheese and pimiento never hurt anything, either:

Cheddar and Pimiento Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Several grindings of black pepper
4 Tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz. pimientos, drained (chop roughly if the pieces seem too big)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter an 8x8-inch square (or similar capacity) pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground pepper until combined, making sure to break up any lumps. In a large bowl, cream together melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and sour cream until blended, then stir in about half of the flour mixture. Mix in the milk, then add the remaining flour mixture and stir until just combined and all the ingredients are moist. Gently fold in the cheese and pimientos, then scrape the mixture into your prepared pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until deeply golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes: I realized (after the pan was in the oven) that a few Tablespoons of chopped chives or parsley would have added excellent flavor and a pop of green —definitely try it when you make this! There is a lot of fat and moisture in this recipe, but it makes all the difference in creating the perfectly tender texture of the finished cornbread. Use the sharpest cheddar you can find, you want that cheesy flavor to sing! If you don't like pimientos, you can leave them out, or try chopped sun-dried tomatoes instead. For extra "pimiento cheese" flavor, substitute mayonnaise for the sour cream!

>o<

Butter Me Up: Butter-Pecan Drop Scones

I'd been wanting to make a scrumptious baked treat for some time, and had my eye on this scone recipe I posted a while back. When I finally had the time to make it, I poked around my cupboards and fridge, only to find that I didn't quite have all the right ingredients on hand. However, I did have what I needed to try another variation that had been lurking in the back of my mind—not as sweet, but still full of rich, comforting flavors. And LOTS of butter. As a bonus, these scones are simply spooned out into mounds before baking. No kneading, flouring, or fussing required!

Butter-Pecan Drop Scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and set aside.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, measure out milk and mix in egg and vanilla extract until combined. In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and pecans, breaking up any clumps of sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Pour milk mixture in all at once, and stir together gently until just combined and there are no dry pockets of flour left. Spoon twelve mounds onto prepared sheet, spacing them evenly, and bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until browned on the top and somewhat firm to the touch (you want them to be cooked all the way through). Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes: I chose not to use any glaze or topping for these so I could enjoy the flavors of butter and pecans, but you could certainly make the glaze I used in the original recipe, or sprinkle the tops with a little granulated sugar before baking. You could also add a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg into the dry ingredients for a hint of spice :-)

>o<

Tried and True: Lemon-Rosemary Zucchini Bread

For some reason, traditional zucchini bread recipes tend to be strongly spiced with things like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. These are certainly great flavors, but they completely obscure the delicateness of the squash. I suspect the people who developed these recipes never really liked zucchini at all! So I thought about how I like zucchini best—with things like butter, lemon, and fresh herbs - which also happen to be traditional flavors in many parts of the world. The result was a hit, where all the components served to enhance one another perfectly:

Lemon-Rosemary Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
One large or two medium zucchini, shredded and excess moisture squeezed out (use a clean towel or strong paper towels—you should have roughly 1 to 1 1/2 cups of zucchini)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole-milk sour cream (or plain yogurt)

Prep zucchini per above and set aside. Butter an 8 x 8 inch square pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest and rosemary. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy; stir in eggs until combined, then add the zucchini and mix together. Gently stir in half the flour mixture, followed by the sour cream, then the remaining flour mixture until just combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers (the flavor is even better the next day).

Notes: Like all quick breads, this is really just cake in sheep's clothing, and as such it is delicious with your coffee in the morning or a spot of tea in the afternoon. For an easy substitute, use one cup fresh blueberries in place of the zucchini. For more sweetness, stir 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar together with just enough fresh lemon juice to drizzle over cooled bread.

>o<

Tapped Out: Maple-Pecan Breakfast Muffins

The end of Winter and the beginning of Spring mark the season for maple sugaring. Maple sap runs best when the temperatures are above freezing during the day, but still fall below freezing at night. During this time, sugar maple trees are tapped and the watery liquid collected in buckets, after which it is boiled down into the viscous, distinctively smokey natural sweetener we all love. Since maple syrup is so firmly linked to breakfast, I see no reason to try and alter that perception—although you can certainly enjoy these muffins any time of day!

Maple-Pecan Breakfast Muffins

Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans, divided

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners; set aside.

Stir flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup of the pecans together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, then mix in maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. Blend in half of the dry ingredients, stir in the milk, then add the remainder of the dry ingredients and combine until just smooth. Divide evenly among the liners (about 2/3 full each). Sprinkle tops with remaining 1/4 cup pecans and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes: These muffins mix together quickly, and the simple flavors of the maple and pecans really shine through. If you prefer, substitute another kind of nut for the pecans, or leave them out altogether. I'd love to know how they would taste if you substituted cooked, crumbled bacon for the nuts—let me know if you try it!

>o<

And Everything Nice: Glazed Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Scones

It's the weekend—time to sleep in, relax, and enjoy your favorite comfort foods. Personally, I love a good cinnamon roll for a sweet treat, but making them requires a certain level of commitment that doesn't quite go hand-in-hand with being lazy :-) Thankfully, these brown sugar and cinnamon scones are easy, fast, and have all the flavors of those yummy rolls, just in afternoon-tea form. That certainly doesn't mean you have to wait that long—start devouring them as soon as you please!

Glazed Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Scones

For the scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg (see notes below)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
4 teaspoons whole milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and set aside.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, measure out heavy cream and mix in egg and vanilla extract until combined. In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, being sure to break up any clumps of sugar. Pour heavy cream mixture into dry ingredients all at once, stir together until the dough is just combined, then knead directly in the bowl a few times by hand to pick up any loose bits (flour your hand first to prevent sticking if the dough is too tacky). Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, dust the top with flour, and gently pat out into a rectangle, about 6 x 10 inches and 1/2 inch thick. Using a dinner knife dipped in flour, cut the rectangle into 8 squares, then cut each square diagonally for a total of 16 triangles (the dough will be sticky and soft, just keep coating the knife in flour as you go). Use the knife to carefully lift and transfer the scones onto your baking sheet, and bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned on the top and completely golden on the bottom. The scones will rise and spread a bit during baking—if any stick together, they can be pulled back apart after baking. Remove and let cool completely before glazing.

In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients and stir together with a small butter knife. Glaze scones using about one heaping teaspoon of glaze for each, spreading it out towards the edges.

Notes: You can omit the egg by increasing the heavy cream to 1 1/4 cups. If sixteen is too many, freeze extra scones unglazed and thaw as needed. The glaze makes just enough to top all sixteen scones, but you can certainly double (or halve) the recipe depending on how much you require :-)

>o<

Loaves and Switches: Chai-Orange Tea Loaf

The October issue of Food Network Magazine included an insert of 50 (FIFTY!) quick bread recipes, and it set my mind to racing. They offered savory variations in addition to sweet, much like my take on fruit cobbler. The flavor combinations were intoxicating, and I could hardly wait to start trying them.

Quick breads are standard repertoire for home bakers, and for good reason - quick, certainly, but also delicious and incredibly satisfying. And as I couldn't leave well enough alone, I tinkered and played with the recipes presented by FNM, adding a few extra touches along the way:

Have your tea loaf (and eat it, too).

Chai-Orange Tea Loaf

Tea infusion:
1/2 cup whole milk
One bag strong black tea

Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of ground cloves

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar (vanilla sugar, if you have it)
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
Zest of one orange

Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 Tablespoon whole milk
Splash of vanilla extract

Measure out milk and add teabag; let steep until needed.

Butter and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, then mix in honey, eggs, vanilla and orange zest. Beat in half of the dry ingredients, stir in the milk/tea infusion, then add the remainder of the dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack. Stir glaze ingredients together until smooth and drizzle over the loaf.

Alternate glaze: Combine juice from the zested orange and 1/4 cup granulated sugar until sugar has dissolved. Spoon over top of loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven. Continue to cool as above.

>o<