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January 29, 2008

Baking in Ireland

I was recently asked whether baking - particularly bread making - in Ireland is undergoing a recent resurgence or is it on the way out? Are people too busy/too tired to cook, never mind bake, for themselves? Judging by the amount of people that bake and blog about it, it doesn't look like it! What do you think?

Posted by Caroline at 12:52 PM | Comments (11)

January 28, 2008

Black Forrest Gateau - Deconstructed

Black Forrest Gateau was one of the joys of a '70s childhood. With its layers of chocolate cake, punctuated by cream and tinned cherries, then decorated with chocolate curls, it always stood proud on desert trolleys of the era during the infrequent times my family went out for dinner. My attempts at assembling my own variation on, what was for the time, perfection, were made with the assistance of a small cookbook that purported to show you how to cook everything possibly needed for Christmas well ahead of time and freeze it. I took this all very seriously and well remember myself piping trays of cream rosettes for freezing (and forgetting) in advance of the festive season. That Gateau wasn't too bad but a recent attempt to bring the cake into the 21st Century was even more successful.

I started with Tessa Kiros' recipe for Moist Chocolate Cake in Falling Cloudberries (incidentally, watch out for her new book - Piri Piri Starfish: Portugal Found - due out soon), made it with Griotka cherry liqueur, still sitting around since my Berlin trip, and served it in slices with cream and dollops of the most divine sour cherry preserve. This deconstructed effort is a lot easier to make than the old BFG, no filling or decorating necessary, just slice - thinly, this is a rich, moist cake - and add your cream/cherry accompaniments.

Deconstructed Black Forrest Gateau
Good quality dark chocolate - 200g
Butter - 250g
Vanilla or caster sugar - 100g
Eggs - 5
Cherry liqueur - 100ml
Plain flour - 150g
Baking powder - 1 tablespoon

Syrup
Sugar - 220g
Water - 300mls

To Serve
Softly whipped cream, sour cherry preserve

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Butter and flour a 26cm cake tin.

Melt the chocolate, butter and sugar in a bowl over a saucepan of just barely simmering water. When the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.

Using a large bowl, whisk the eggs in a separate bowl until fluffy then slowly pour over the chocolate mixture, whisking all the time, until incorporated. Add the brandy and mix well, then sieve the flour and baking powder into the bowl, whisking until everything is amalgamated. Pour into the prepared tin and cook for 45 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean and the cake is firm and slightly shrunken away from the sides of the tin.

Meanwhile, make the syrup by boiling the sugar and water together for five minutes until thickened. Allow to cool. Using a skewer, make holes in the top of the cake and, while still warm from the oven, pour over the cooled syrup.

Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack, remove from the tin and serve with softly whipped cream and sour cherry preserve.

Adapted from Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros.

Posted by Caroline at 10:12 PM | Comments (2)

January 27, 2008

Missing in action

Apologies for the loss in transmission for the last while. My hosting company decided to play silly buggers and, as we were in New Zealand on an in impromptu trip to surprise the Husband's grandfather for his 80th birthday, it was a little difficult to sort out. Still, I'm back now and ready to start eating my way through 2008!

Posted by Caroline at 6:21 PM | Comments (6)

January 7, 2008

Tastes of Christmas

Christmas Cake, made by my mother from Granny's recipe - rich, more-ish and, best of all, still around to enjoy with pots of tea.

My aunt's fabulous Plum Pudding, eaten after Christmas dinner with lots of Brandy Butter and oodles of cream.

Black pudding from Hanley's of Mitchelstown, nicely flecked with oatmeal and hot from the pan with some late homegrown apples cut into segments and caramelised.

Greatfood2buy's Wild Cranberry and Apple Chutney, with toasted cheese sandwiches (particularly anything involving blue cheese) and, especially, with the aforementioned black pudding.

An almost disastrous Stephen's Day soup - Ham and Pea this year - which got left on too low a heat during the family's traditional woodland walk so that the peas almost didn't disintegrate in time for lunch. Some rapid simmering and cheeseboard distraction saved the day, however!

Slightly stale Stollen, toasted under the grill until brown and bubbling, buttered and served with mugs of cinnamon hot chocolate in front of the fire.

The traditional family post-Christmas dish: left-over ham and turkey stripped off the bones, heated in a simple Mushroom and White Wine Sauce and dolloped over sourdough toast or steaming heaps of garlicky mash.

Savoury tarts made for visiting family - a seasonal combination of broccoli, Cashel Blue, fresh cranberries, chorizo and caramelised onions snuggled together under a custard blanket.

Little wooden crates of brightly coloured clementines, heaped under the Christmas tree and eaten in great quantities as the antidote to Christmas excess...

Posted by Caroline at 5:59 PM | Comments (0)