This is a time of year when many people who don’t normally bake decide to take the plunge and create luscious holiday desserts.
Of course, for intermediate and expert bakers, the winter holiday season is always an excellent time to dazzle friends and loved ones with rich and aromatic sweet treats that are truly unforgettable…
Whether you’re a skilled baker or an enthusiastic novice, you’ll find that Ireland’s traditional holiday dessert recipes offer a host of exciting options that will work wonderfully with the festive season.
If you’re of Irish ancestry (or just fond of all things Gaelic), why not use the Emerald Isle as the inspiration for your holiday baking?
To help you learn more about Irish desserts, we’ve compiled a fun list of a couple of tasty options (recipes included)…
Traditional Baked Apples
Red apples often figure prominently in Christmas decorations, such as the “sugared” apple ornaments shown at left.
Using apples and warm, comforting spices to create traditional holiday desserts is very appropriate, and these baked treats will fill your home with an irresistible scent that is really quite heavenly.
Our traditional baked apple recipe is wholesome, juicy, and so simple to create.
If you need help coring the apples, consider using a corkscrew – this trick really works, and it saves you plenty of time and energy.
You won’t need to peel your apples – the skins are loaded with flavor (which develops beautifully during the baking process) and nutrition…
You will need:
4 Apples
3 tsp. butter, 1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
3 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1 tsp. of ground allspice
1 tsp. of nutmeg
1/4 cup of raisins
Nuts (if desired)
Instructions:
Core your apples and rub the outside skins with butter. Mix sugars and spices in a bowl. Then, roll the buttered apples in the dry sugar & spice mixture. Put the apples in an oven-proof ceramic dish.
Fill the hollow cores of the fruits with nuts (optional) and raisins. Pour water into the dish, and then bake for about an hour, or until the apple skins open up. Serve very warm.
Whiskey Cake
Are you looking for a decadent, grown-up dessert for your holiday dinner parties and get-togethers? Irish Whiskey cake is an excellent option that will wow your nearest and dearest this season.
The Emerald Isle is known for its smooth and exquisite whiskeys, including Michael Collins and Bushmill’s brands.
Pick up a bottle of Ireland’s finest, and then use a dram or two in your holiday dessert…
If you can, make this luscious cake the day before you plan to serve it, so that the flavors have time to blend…
You will need:
For the cake…
One box of yellow cake mix
A packet of instant pudding, in vanilla flavor (small size package)
4 medium-sized eggs (white or brown)
One-third-of-a-cup of Irish whiskey
1/2-a-cup of vegetable oil (such as Crisco)
1/2-a-cup of cool water
1/2-a-cup of nuts (if desired)
Glaze ingredients…
1 stick of real butter
One-quarter-of-a-cup of water
One-and-a-half-cups of white sugar
Half-a-cup of Irish Whiskey
To prepare:
Start by preheating the oven to a temperature of 325 F. Prepare your cake pan by flouring or greasing it (a tubular pan or Bundt-style pan will work well for this recipe). Then, if you are using nuts, spread them evenly across the bottom of the pan.
Mix your cake ingredients together carefully, being certain that all elements are blended properly. Then, add the batter to your cake pan. Bake for 60 minutes, then cool and flip onto a serving platter.
Make the glaze by heating butter in a small pan, until just melted; then, add water and stir in sugar. Boil this mixture for four minutes, and then take if off the burner. Stir in your Irish whiskey to finish.
Poke holes in the dessert and then dribble the glaze over the top of the Irish whiskey cake- this way, the tasty topping will drip down throughout the cake…
Celebrate Your Heritage This Holiday Season
Add a little sparkle to your holiday outfits with a stunning charm that displays your Gaelic heritage – or treat a special lady to this glamorous design, which can be worn on a charm bracelet, or as a pendant (on a simple silver or white gold chain).
Our Tara’s Diary Green Shamrock and Crystals Charm is crafted from fine sterling silver and encrusted with gorgeous crystals (in emerald green and diamond white). This special, handcrafted design is also available with a feminine, violet-toned Shamrock.
This charm features Ireland’s most recognizable symbol – however, many people don’t know that this Shamrock is actually a symbol of Christian faith.
Each leaf of the tender Shamrock represents one element of the Holy Trinity…Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all illustrated in the heart-shaped leaves of this humble Irish plant.
Capture the true meaning of Christmas with our delicate and meaningful Shamrock charm – each piece is handcrafted in Ireland for true authenticity.
To ensure that your charm will be delivered by Christmas Day, order by December 19th, and choose our Fedex shipping Option.
Using a box cake mix for the Irish whiskey cake make this a very quick recipe to make. I like the technique of poking holes in the cake so the glaze can run down through the cake and give it a rich, warm flavor.
I have always made my Irish whiskey cake from scratch it is more the traditional fruit cake soaked in Irish whiskey. I always loved it but it does require more time to make.
Thanks for these tips Frances!