Irish Country Kitchen - Recipes: Desserts (4 of 4)

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A final selection of dessert recipes from An Irish Country Kitchen by Mary Kinsella, published by Appletree Press.

DESSERTS

BLACK FOREST GÂTEAU
A rich dessert, very popular in Ireland for special occasions. There are many different recipes. This one is for a crisp, light confection containing fruit, spirits and cream.
Serves: 8
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Oven Position: centre
Cooking time (for cake): 1 hour 25 minutes
Oven temperature: gas 4, 180°C, 350°F
Ingredients:
cake: 4oz margarine 100g 1/2 cup
8oz brown sugar 225g 1 cup
4oz plain chocolate 100g 4 squares
2 eggs
7oz self-raising flour 200g 13/4 cups
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 150ml 5/8 cup
1/4 pint sour cream 150ml 5/8 cup
3 tablespoons strong cold black coffee
pastry base: 4oz plain flour 100g 1 cup
pinch of salt
2oz icing sugar 50g 1/4 cup
2oz margarine 50g 1/4 cup
1 egg yolk
a few drops vanilla essence
topping: 1 pint cream 500ml 21/2 cups
1lb tin black cherries 500g 2 cups
4 tablespoons black cherry jam
3 tablespoons kirsch, cherry
brandy or cherry juice
4oz grated chocolate 100g 4 squares
Method: for cake: Line and grease a deep, round 9-inch tin. Cream margarine and sugar well together. Melt the chocolate by putting it in to a bowl and stand in a saucepan of hot water over a gentle heat. Beat melted chocolate into creamed mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time. Sift flour, salt and cinnamon together and fold lightly into mixture with the sour cream and cold coffee.Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes. When baked cool on a wire rack.
Method: for pastry base: Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and bind until the mixture forms a stiff paste. Roll the pastry onto a floured board or worktable until pastry is about the same size as the base of the tin. Lay out on baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
To assemble and decorate the gâteau: Split the cake into 3 layers. Whip cream until it holds its shape. Drain the cherries, reserve 8 for decoration and remove the stones from the remainder. Pat pastry on serving plate and spread the pastry with black cherry jam.
Soak the cakes with spirit used. Put one layer of cake on top of coated pastry. Spread a layer of cream with half the stoned cherries. Put the second layer of cake on the gateau and add another layer of cream and cherries. Finish with the top cake layer.
To complete gâteau: Put some cream into pastry piping bag with a star pipe attached, and reserve this for the decoration; mask the entire cake with the remaining cream and press on the grated chocolate. Decorate the top with piped rosettes of cream and the reserved whole black cherries.

MIST BISCUIT
This elegant dessert uses digestive biscuits with liqueur as a crunchy base for the smoothness of ice cream and meringue.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking times: 5 minutes
Oven temperature: gas 6, 200°C, 400°F
Oven Position: centre
Ingredients:
biscuit base: 8oz packet digestive biscuits 225g 2 cups crumbs
2oz melted margarine 50g 1/4 cup
3–4 tablespoons Irish Mist
meringue: 2 egg whites
4oz caster sugar 100g 1/2 cup
filling and decoration: 1 block ice cream 250g 2 cups
4 cherries
strips of angelica
Method: for crumb crust: Crush digestive biscuits and put in a bowl. Melt margarine and pour onto the crumbs, adding enough Irish Mist to blend. Arrange on an oval-shaped serving plate in the shape of a block of ice cream.
Method: for meringue: Put egg whites into a bowl and beat until firm. Add half the sugar and continue beating until meringue stands in peaks. Fold in remaining sugar.
Method: for assembling dessert: Arrange block of ice cream on crumb base. Pile meringue on top and sides, making sure all the ice cream is covered. (The meringue may be put into a piping bag and piped over the ice cream). Bake in the oven for 5 minutes.
Serve immediately garnished with cherries and angelica.
Watchpoint: Keep the baking time short and the ice cream won’t melt: the meringue topping and biscuit crumb base will protect it.

STRAWBERRY CREAM
This is one of the simplest ways of serving strawberries, which are freshest in Ireland from late June to early August.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients: 1lb strawberries 500g 3 cups
1/2 pint milk 250ml 1 cup
1/2 pint whipped cream 250ml 1 cup
1oz caster sugar 25g 2 tablespoons
Method:: Wash and remove stems from strawberries. Liquidize or put through a sieve. Add milk, cream and sugar. Mix well together. Serve chilled.

GAELIGE ICE CREAM
Gaelige ice cream (pronounced in the west of Ireland ‘gway-lee-guh’) is an easily made dessert which is rich, light and not too sweet. Most fruits and nuts may be used, but the liqueur is the ingredient that gives this dessert its spiritual quality.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients: 3 bananas
3oz walnuts 75g 1/2 cup
4–6 tablespoons Irish coffee liqueur
2oz fine granulated sugar 50g 1/4 cup
1/2 pint cream 250ml 1 cup
2 egg whites
slices of banana dipped in lemon juice for decoration
5–6 walnuts for decoration
Method:: Slice bananas. Grate walnuts. Take bananas, walnuts, sugar, cream and one third of the liqueur and mix together. Beat egg whites until firm and fold into the banana mixture.Turn the contents into an ice-cream tray and freeze for an hour or two. Arrange scoops of ice cream into glass dishes, decorate with dipped bananas and walnuts. Spoon over the other two-thirds of the liqueur.

Previous Dessert Recipes from An Irish Country Kitchen:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

From the Appletree Press title: An Irish Country Kitchen by Mary Kinsella.

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