Irish Desserts

Glazed Irish Tea Cake
 

Ingredients:

-----cake-----
1 1/4  teaspoons  Baking powder
 3/4  cup  Unsalted butter -- room temper
1/4  teaspoon  Salt
1      cup  Sugar
1      cup  Dried currants
 2      teaspoons  Vanilla
 2/3  cup  Buttermilk
2      lg    Eggs
     -----glaze-----
3   ounces  Cream cheese -- room temperature
1/2  cup    Confectioners' sugar -- sifted
1 3/4  cups  Cake flour
 2  teaspoons  Fresh lemon juice

Method:

PREHEAT OVEN TO 325F, with rack in center of oven. Generously grease a 9-inch (7-cup capacity) loaf pan. Dust with flour; tap pan over sink to discard excess flour. Cut piece of parchment paper or waxed paper to fit bottom of pan. Set aside. FOR CAKE, use mixer to cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating each until fluffy. Add cream cheese. Mix until well combined. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Put currants in small bowl. Add 1/4 cup of flour mixture to currants. Stir currants until well coated. Add remaining flour to batter, alternating with buttermilk. Mix until smooth. Use wooden spoon to stir in currants and all of the flour. Stir until well combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Smooth surface with spatula. Bake until well-browned and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 25 minutes.
Cake will crack on top. Let cake rest in pan for 10 minutes. Use flexible metal spatula to separate cake from sides of pan. Carefully remove cake from pan to cooling rack. Spread glaze on warm cake. Let cake cool completely. Cake can be stored 3 days at room temperature in foil. Cake can also be frozen up to 3 months, wrapped airtight.

 FOR GLAZE, combine sugar and lemon juice in small bowl. Stir until smooth.
 

Method:

Irish Jig Dessert

Serves 6

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons whiskey
 2 tablespoons sugar
 1 teaspoon confectioner's sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coconut macaroons
 Crush the macaroons and set aside. Be sure the whipping cream is thoroughly chilled, as well as the bowl and beater attachments. Mix all ingredients except the macaroons. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in 3/4 cup crushed macaroons. Spoon into 6-8 dessert glasses. Sprinkle with additional macaroons. Serve immediately.

   Irish Coffee cake

Serves 4

4 ounces Butter -- at room temperature
4 ounces Granulated sugar
2 Eggs
 4 ounces Self-raising flour
 2 tablespoons Coffee essence
IRISH COFFEE SYRUP
 150 milliliters Strong black coffee
 4 ouncesSugar (for coffee syrup)
4 tablespoons Irish whiskey
ICING
150 milliliters Heavy whipping cream
Confectioners' sugar to taste
1 tablespoon Whiskey -- or to taste Chopped nuts

Method:Grease and flour an 8-inch cake pan (preferably a springform cheesecake pan). Preheat oven to 350F. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, adding a little flour and beating well after each addition. Stir in the coffee essence, and mix thoroughly. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes until springy to the touch. Turn out and cool on a wire rack. . To make the Irish coffee syrup, put the coffee and sugar into a small pan and bring up to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the whiskey. . Wash and dry the pan the cake was baked in, and return the cooled cake to it: then pour the hot coffee syrup all over it. Leave in a cool place for several hours, then turn out. Whip the cream until it's thick, sweeten slightly with confectioners' sugar, and add whiskey to taste. Spread the cake with the whipped cream and chill for an hour before sprinkling with chopped nuts or grated chocolate.

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