Apple and Bramble (Blackberry) Cake and Other Irish Recipes

Here is a delicious and beautiful cake I found searching for Irish recipes and St. Patrick's Day.  It's called Apple and Bramble Cake.  A bramble bush is a name for any prickly berry bush but specifically means blackberry in this recipe.  Filled with Bushmills' whiskey-flavored custard it is luscious! This would be a lovely way to celebrate autumn and freshly picked apples also. 

 

  

Below, you see some Leek and Bacon Tarts before baking.  I'm sorry I wasn't able to capture an 'after' photo because it was too dark.  They were delicious with the cheese, leeks and bacon!

Next up is Champ, a traditional mashed potato recipe with green onion and lots of butter.  Mmmm!

Irish Honey-Glazed Carrots anyone?

And no Irish meal would be complete with Shamrock-shaped dinner rolls :)

A few of the cookbooks I used for my Irish inspiration:

I hope you enjoyed my round up of Irish Recipes for St. Patrick's Day!  Below you will find all of the recipes.


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Leeks and Bacon Tart
~Irish Cooking by Biddy White Lennon & Georgina Campbell

4 large leeks
1-1/4 cups milk
8 rashers (strips) of streaky bacon, trimmed and sliced (optional)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup single cream (half & half)
1 T mild Irish mustard
3/4 cup grated cheese (optional)
S & P

Slice the leeks into fairly large chunks (approx 1" thick on the diagonal). Put them into a pan with the milk. Season and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and turn the leeks into a buttered shallow baking dish, reserving the cooking liquor.

Meanwhile, if using the bacon, put it into a frying pan and cook gently to allow the fat to run, then turn up the heat a little and cook for a few minutes until it crisps up. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and sprinkle the bacon over the leeks.

Rinse the pan used for the leeks. Blend the beaten egg, single cream and Irish mustard together and mix it with the reserved cooking liquor. Return to the pan and heat gently without boiling, allowing the sauce to thicken a little. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the sauce over the leeks and bacon.

Sprinkle with grated cheese, if using, and brown for a few minutes under a broiler.

My Notes: I halved the recipe and did not use the cheese. Since I did not have Irish mustard I used a stone ground with horseradish mustard. Very good!

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Champ
Adapted from Full-On Irish by Kevin Dundon

Champ is a traditional Irish potato dish that has recently enjoyed a renaissance in contemporary cooking.

Serves 4-6

1-1/2 lbs potatoes, well scrubbed
7-1/2 Tablespoons milk
4 scallions or spring onions, finely chopped
½ stick butter
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Cover the potatoes with cold water in a pan and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until completely tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.

Heat the milk in a pan with the scallions for 5 minutes, or until the scallions have softened. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then peel while they are still hot. Push through a potato ricer or sieve, using a spatula. Beat 1-1/2 oz of the butter into the warm mashed potatoes and then mix in the milk and scallion mixture. Season to taste.

To Serve, spoon into a warmed serving dish and make a slight dip in the middle. Add the remaining knob of butter and allow it to melt into the champ.

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Honey-Glazed Carrots
Adapted from Full-On Irish by Kevin Dundon

1 lb carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
¼ stick butter
1-1/4 Tablespoons honey
½ pint vegetable stock or water
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place carrots in a small pan with the butter, honey and enough stock or water to just cover the carrots. Bring to the boil, then cook over a moderate to high heat for about 12 minutes, until the carrots are tender and all of the liquid has evaporated, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent stocking.

Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds in a heavy-based frying pan. Tip on to a plate and leave to cool. When the carrots are cooked, add the sesame sees and toss until evenly coated. Season to taste.

To serve, spoon the honey glazed carrots into a warmed serving dish.

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Shamrock Rolls

Here is a link to a delicious no-knead bread recipe.  http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread

Simple prepare the dough as instructed or use your favorite roll dough recipe. Place 3 small balls of dough (about 1 to 1-1/3 inches in diameter) next to each-other in a triangle on a silipat-lined baking sheet.  Roll one small rope of dough about 2 inches long and place beneath the 3 dough balls to form the 'stem'.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes at 375F or until golden brown. 

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Apple and Bramble cake with Bushmills Custard
- By Margaret Johnson

Ingredients:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 2 cooking apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1/2 cup blackberries
• 4 dessert apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 3 tablespoons apricot jam, for glaze

Bushmills Custard
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 1/4 cups cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Bushmills Whiskey

Directions:

The oldest part of The Bushmills Inn was originally a coaching inn that could date back to as early as 1608. Located in the County Antrim town where the Old Bushmills Distillery was granted the world's first ever license to distill whiskey, the town and inn are so closely associated with the classic malt that it's no surprise it frequently turns up in recipes. This ultra-fruity cake that uses two apple varieties, brambles (blackberries), and an apricot jam glaze is delicious on its own, but the whiskey-flavored custard gives it a definite Northern Ireland flavor.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line with waxed paper.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then sift in the flour. Stir in the diced apples and blackberries. Pour in the batter. Arrange the apple slices around the top of the batter. Bake until lightly browned, or a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pan. Loosen around the edges of the cake and turn over onto a serving plate. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the jam and brush over the top of the cake.

Bring the milk and cream to a boil over medium heat, then turn off the heat. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy. Slowly pour in the milk/cream mixture, whisking continuously. Return to saucepan over low heat and cook until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Stir in the whiskey. To serve, slice the cake and spoon the custard over each slice. Makes 8 servings.