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A selection of dessert recipes from An Irish Country Kitchen by Mary Kinsella, published by Appletree Press. A further selection will be available very shortly...
DESSERTS
HEART OF IRELAND
I remember when I was a child seeing fine tarts, pies and cakes being baked over an open hearth fire on a big flat baking sheet. They always had a lovely brown crust. For those who have plenty of fruit available this is a splendid equivalent.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking times: 35–45 minutes
Oven Position: top
Oven temperature: gas 6, 200°C, 400°F
Ingredients: 6oz shortcrust pastry 175g 3/4 cup
1lb fruit (gooseberries, chopped apples and rhubarb)
3oz sugar 75g 1/2 cup
a little beaten egg or milk
Method:: Cut the pastry in two, roll out each piece to cover a 9-inch round plate. Lay one round piece of pastry on the plate. Arrange half of the fruit on the pastry, sprinkle with the sugar and pile the remaining fruit on top. Damp the edge of this bottom round of pastry with cold water. Cover with the second round of pastry. Press the edges well together. Trim edges and decorate. Brush pastry with beaten egg and bake for 35–45 minutes.
Watchpoint: If using a glass or ceramic plate for cooking, set it on a baking sheet to attract additional heat and brown the bottom of the tart.
GOOSEBERRY AND CUSTARD TART
Irishwomen always had a knack for making pastry. Even if they never weighed the ingredients, they could always make delicious tarts like the ones in this recipe. On farms they use cream or milk in the pastry because it was there in abundance.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 21/4 minutes
Oven Position: centre
Cooking times: 35 minutes
Oven temperature: gas 5, 190°C, 375°F
Ingredients: 4oz shortcrust pastry 100g 1/2 cup
9oz gooseberries 250g 21/2 cups
1/2 pint milk 275ml 11/4 cups
1 tablespoon water
2 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
Method:: Make shortcrust pastry. Roll it out and line a 7-inch cake tin with it. Cover with greaseproof paper weighed down with some rice, and bake for 10 minutes. Meantime remove tops and tails from gooseberries, place in a saucepan with water; cook over a moderate heat for 5 minutes. Allow to cool. Bring the milk to boiling point in a saucepan; meantime cream the eggs and sugar together. Pour the heated milk onto the creamed eggs. Put the gooseberries into flan case and pour egg custard over. Place in the oven and bake about 25 to 35 minutes until set.
DATE AND CHERRY PUDDING
This recipe is popular all year round: in summer months because fresh cherries are available; in the winter months because it is served fresh from the oven with a hot custard sauce.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Oven Position: centre
Cooking times: 45 minutes
Oven temperature: gas 6, 200°C, 400°F
Ingredients: 3oz margarine 75g 1/3 cup
4oz caster sugar 100g 1/2 cup
2 eggs
6oz flour 175g 11/2 cups
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2oz chopped glacé cherries 50g 1/3 cup
2oz chopped dates 50g 1/3 cup
1 pint custard sauce 575ml 21/2 cups
Method:: Grease 6 dariole moulds or 6 custard cups. Cream the margarine and sugar well together. Add eggs one by one. Fold in the sieved flour, salt and baking soda. Mix in the cherries and dates and turn the pudding mixture into prepared moulds or cups. Place moulds in a deep tin half filled with boiling water. Cover the entire tin with tinfoil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. When baked, turn pudding onto serving plate and serve hot with custard sauce.
Watchpoint: In Ireland fresh cherries are available during the summer months. They can be bought the whole year round in cans or glazed. Canned cherries are expensive and so are used mainly in gâteaux. The less expensive glacé cherries usually used in cakes are preserved in syrup.
Some people find that when they make a cherry cake the cherries sink to the bottom. They try, unfortunately, to wash and dry the cherries to prevent this. But the only thing necessary is to roll the syrupy cherries in flour before adding them to the cake mixture. This will assure that the cherries are evenly distributed through the cake, preserving their full natural richness.
MINCEMEAT FLAN
Mincemeat tarts and pies are a Christmas favourite in Ireland. Most country houses used to have large quantities of mincemeat stored in sealed jars. Our mincemeat combines dried raisins, currants, sultanas, mixed peel, almonds, lemon, apples, suet and spirits: Irish whiskey, brandy or indeed poitín. People who could afford to be extravagant used the mincemeat in tarts; thrifty people made little pies because they used less mincemeat. Tullamore Dew is perfect as a liqueur for the topping.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking times: 25 minutes
Oven Position: top
Oven temperature: gas 6, 200°C, 400°F
Ingredients: 6oz shortcrust pastry 175g 3/4 cup
filling: 8oz mincemeat 225g 11/2 cups
1 teaspoon arrowroot
1–2 tbsp Tullamore Dew liqueur
1/2 pint natural yoghurt 275ml 11/4 cups
Method:: Make pastry: roll out and line an 8-inch flan tin. Line with greaseproof paper and cover with rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove rice and paper. Put the mincemeat and arrowroot into a saucepan and cook gently for one or two minutes. Pour into pastry shell and bake for 25 minutes. Mix liqueur and yoghurt together. Pour over mincemeat. Serve hot or cold, preferably hot.
FRUIT SHELLS
This is an ideal way of using fruit. The choux buns can be made in advance and filled fifteen minutes before they’re served.
Serves: 8
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking times: 25–30 minutes
Oven Position: top
Oven temperature: gas 6, 200°C, 400°F
Ingredients: 1/4 pint choux pastry 150ml 1/2 cup
1 10oz tin pears 275g 11/4 cups
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/2 block ice cream 2 cups
1/2lb icing sugar 225g 1 cup
1oz cocoa 25g 1/4 cup
1/2 oz margarine 1 tablespoon
3 tablespoons hot water
a few drops of vanilla essence
Method:: Make choux pastry. Pipe out buns 2 inches in diameter on a greased baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Meantime strain syrup from pears, blend cornflour with a little of the syrup and heat remaining syrup; add the blended cornflour to heated syrup, stirring continuously. Bring to the boil for a minute, simmer for 2 or 3 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut ice cream into small cubes; chop pears; mix the ice cream, pears and cooled syrup together. Cut buns horizontally and fill with ice cream, pears and syrup. Sieve icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Put margarine and water into a saucepan and heat. Add this and the vanilla to the sieved sugar and cocoa and mix well together into icing sauce. Pour sauce over buns and serve within 15 minutes.
HONEY PIE
This is a delightful dessert, with the coarseness of oatmeal complemented by the rich sweetness of honey and the sharp taste of apples.
Serves: 6–8
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking times: 15 minutes
Ingredients: 1lb oatmeal biscuits 500g 4 cups
2oz melted margarine 50g 1/4 cup
3–4 tablespoons honey
1lb cooking apples 500g 4 apples
1–2 tablespoons water
a pinch of cinnamon
2oz sugar 50g 1/4 cup
1oz custard powder 25g 2 tablespoons
3/4 pint milk 500ml 2 cups
1/4 pint whipped cream 150g 1/2 cup
Method:: Crush biscuits with a rolling pin. Bind together with the honey and melted margarine. Arrange in the bottom of serving dish. Peel, core and slice apples, put into a saucepan with water and cinnamon. Remove eight slices when softened. Set aside. Continue stewing rest over a gentle heat. Add half the sugar. Arrange the stewed apples over the biscuit base. Blend the custard powder with a little milk; bring the remaining milk to the boil; pour blended custard powder onto the milk. Cook this custard for a few minutes, stirring until thickened; stir in sugar and pour custard over the apples. When custard is cold, pipe roses of cream on top and decorate with the eight apple slices.
SUNSHINE TREAT
This recipe is very popular during the summer because fruit is relatively inexpensive then. It is a very rich dessert, combining biscuit pastry with its nice crisp bite and choux pastry for lightness, adding plenty of fresh fruit, and glazing all this with a syrup that adds to its appearance as well as its taste.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking times: 25–30 minutes
Oven temperature: gas 6, 200°C, 400°F
Oven Position: centre
Ingredients: 4oz biscuit pastry 100g 1/2 cup
1/4 pint choux pastry 150ml 1/2 cup
apricot glaze:
3 tablespoons apricot jam
squeeze of lemon
1 tablespoon water
flan filling: 1 tablespoon water
4oz green grapes 100g l cup
4oz black grapes 100g 1 cup
4 apricots
4oz red cherries100g 3/4 cup
1/4 pint whipped cream 150ml 1/2 cup
syrup:
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons water
Method: for assembling pastries: Make biscuit pastry and roll out to 1/2-inch thickness and line an 8-inch plate, flake and decorate the edge. Bake in the centre of oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool. Make choux pastry and pipe into small buns 1-inch in diameter on a greased baking sheet. Bake on top shelf for 25 to 30 minutes.
Method: for apricot glaze: Put apricot jam, water and lemon juice into a saucepan, warm until running; sieve, use warm.
Method: for filling shell: Brush the inside of the pastry shell with a little syrup. Prepare fruit, seeding the grapes. Remove skins from apricots and cherries. Arrange the fruit in circle on the pastry shell, starting at the edge of pastry with green grapes, black grapes, apricots and cherries. Brush with apricot glaze.
Method: for syrup: Put sugar and water into a saucepan, bring to the boil over a gentle heat, boil until syrupy. Brush a little syrup over the edge of pastry shell. Fill the choux buns with whipped cream, arrange around the edge of pastry shell, and brush each choux bun with syrup.
Previous Dessert Recipes from An Irish Country Kitchen:
Part 1 | Parts 3 & 4 follows very soon
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