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 (or dates) in small bowl. Add 1/4 cup of flour mixture to currant and stir 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 (time will vary with individual ovens). 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.
Dublin Sunday Corned Beef and Cabbage
5 lb Corned beef brisket
1 lg Onion stuck with 6 whole cloves
6 Carrots, peeled and halved
8 medium Potatoes, washed and quartered
1 tsp Dried Thyme
1 sm Bunch Parsley
1 Head Cabbage (about 2 lbs), quartered
-------HORSERADISH SAUCE------
1/2 pint Whipping Cream
2 TBSP mayonnaise
2-4 TBSP prepared horseradish
Put beef in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil with the lid off the pot. ADD thyme, parsley and onion.Turn to simmer and cook for 3 hours. Skim fat from top as it rises. Add cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until cabbage is cooked. Remove the meat and cut into pieces. Place on center of a large platter. Strain the cabbage and season it heavily with black pepper. Surround the beef with the cabbage, carrots and potatoes. Serve with horseradish sauce.
Horseradish Sauce: Whip cream until it stand in peaks. Fold in mayonnaise and horseradish.
Barm Brack
1 Lb. of flour
6 oz Sugar.
1 lb. of mixed dried fruit.
1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
1 Egg.
1 Tsp. of All - Spice or
mixed spice.
A pot of hot Irish Tea
The trick to making a Barm Brack is soaking the fruit over night in the tea. While this makes the dried fruit softer and more appealing in general, one must be careful when mixing the dough not to over knead or the rehydrated fruit will break up and speckle the cake. Add the sugar and egg to the fruit mix the next day. Sift in the remaining dry ingredients. Mix gently. Use a 7" round baking tin at 350°F for 80 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and serve with hot tea.
Irish Coffee
1 1/2 ounces Irish whiskey
8 ounces hot coffee
1 dash creme de menthe
1 maraschino cherry
1 teaspoon brown sugar--or to taste
Pour Irish whiskey into a coffee mug. Fill with black coffee and brown sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Spray a generous amount of whipped dessert topping (the canned, pressurized topping is easiest to use) on top of the coffee. Trickle creme de menthe to form green stripes on the whipped topping and place the cherry on top. Serve immediately.
Irish Sherry Trifle
1 8" sponge cake -- or
10 Ladyfingers
3 ounces Raspberry Jell-O gelatin
1 cup Sherry
1 can Fruit salad -- drain
1cup heavy cream -- whip
Cherries or strawberries
Blanched almonds
1 1/2 Env Birds custard
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups milk
Place sponge cake in glass serving dish. Arrange fruit salad on top.
Add 1 c of boiling watr to dissolve Jell-O and then 1-1/2 c of cold water and
Pour this liquid over mixture. Combine custard powder and sugar in small bowl; mix
with little milk. Put remainder of milk in saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add gradually the pudding mixture to milk and bring to a full boil, stirring constantly.
Pour mixture over sponge cake and fruit; chill. Shortly before serving,
pile whipped cream on pudding. Arrange cherries (or strawberries) and blanched almonds.
