Irish Apple
Cake
Food historian and cookbook author Theodora
FitzGibbon once said, "All Irish people have a very sweet tooth,"
and if you grew up in an Irish household you know this to be true. In the
earliest times, the sweet was a simple concoction of fruit and honey; later,
cooks found that fruit and berries were equally delicious baked in pies,
puddings, and cakes. Apples are the basis of many traditional and contemporary
Irish desserts.
- 4 tablespoons butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 4 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled
and diced (2 cups)
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for
serving
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously
grease an 8-inch square cake pan.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar
together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, apples, nuts, and vanilla
and stir well. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter
into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is lightly browned and a skewer
inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Let the cake cook in the pan for 5 minutes,
then unmold and serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or
vanilla ice cream.
Serves 10-12
Bunratty
Castle Pork Ribs with Honey-Whiskey Sauce
You'll never be able to duplicate the
entertainment from the Shannon Heritage castle feasts (at Bunratty, Knappogue,
and Dunguaire), but you can recall your visit with these pork spareribs
featured on the Bunratty menu.
5 pounds pork spareribs
Honey-Whiskey Sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, peeled and sliced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup Irish whiskey
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 4 cups homemade chicken stock or canned
low-salt chicken broth
- 1/2 cup demi-glace or concentrated chicken
broth
Put the ribs in a large pot or Dutch oven
and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to
simmer. Cook until fork tender, about 1 hour, skimming the water occasionally
to remove the foam. Transfer to a large baking pan. Preheat oven to 350
degrees F.
To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil and cook the
onion and garlic until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in all the remaining
ingredients except the demi-glace or concentrated chicken broth and bring
to a boil. Cook until the sauce reduces by half, 10 to 15 mintues. Stir
in the demi-glace. Pour half the sauce over the ribs and bake, turning once,
until the ribs begin to brown, 30-40 minutes. Slice the meat into 4 or more
ribs per person and serve with remaining sauce.
Serves 4 to 6 as a first course
White Soda Bread
Patrick McLarnon, chef at Ardtara
Country House Hotel (Upperlands, County Londonberry) bakes this ultra-easy
white bread daily for guests. Nearly obligatory in the breakfast bread basket,
it also makes a wonderful crust for meat and game pies when rolled out to
a 1/4-inch thickness.
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup superfine sugar
- 2 cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly
grease a 9-inch round cake pan or a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
Sift the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar,
and salt together into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the
center, add the buttermilk, and with a fork, work the milk into the flour
until a soft dough is formed. Turn into the prepared pan and bake for 10
minutes. Reduce the heat to 400 degrees F and bake until the bread is golden
brown and firm to the touch, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly before
slicing.
Makes 1 loaf
- THE IRISH HERITAGE COOKBOOK
by Margaret M. Johnson
- Chronicle Books
- Pulbication Date: January, 1999
- $18.95 softcover- Amazon@TKL-Save (20%) -
ORDER
- ISBN: 0-81181-992-2
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