Witch Crash Cupcakes!

October 30, 2025

Yay! It’s Halloween! Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact, all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day! Well, I might have found one example of Halloween misadventure here with these decadently delicious Witch Crash Cupcakes. Our coven of witches seems to have suffered a bit of a mishap mid-flight, resulting in a bit of a hasty landing to say the least! Tipsy from too much Witches Brew perhaps or maybe just a sudden burst of turbulence? I’m not sure and they would prefer not to discuss it.

Our modern holiday of Halloween, actually has Irish origins. Today’s celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Roasty Toasty Cocktail

A few year’s ago I managed to combined whimsical and boozy altogether in my Halloween treats with these adorable – I mean terribly frightening Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes.

Then there were these Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes.

I had a howling good time making these little rascals:

Reese Cup Werewolf Cupcakes

I loved making these boo-tiful Spooky Ghost Cupcakes!

And don’t forget these diabolically delicious Malted Chocolate Devil Cupcakes

A couple of years ago, I took a wee break from my Halloween cupcake streak to bring you these divinely spooky, yet sweet Chocolate Black Cat Macarons!

And then I was back on the cupcake wagon, rolling up with these delectable Spooky Graveyard Cupcakes

Took a break from cupcakes last year to make these monstrously tasty Franken-krispie treats

And this year it’s back to cupcakes with these funny, yummy Witch Crash Cupcakes. These malted chocolate cupcakes are a favorite of mine. Moist, rich and oh so chocolatey and pretty easy to prepare. They are topped with one of my favorite frostings as well, Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The decorations are pretty straightforward. Oreo cookie halves and Hershey kisses make the hats. The shoes are Tootsie Rolls, made easier to shape by 5 -10 seconds in the microwave. For the legs, I used some dark and white chocolate striped Mikado sticks that I had on hand. But you could also use pretzels, Pocky Sticks or even striped straws. Let your imagination run wild!

There’s still time to whip up a batch of the naughty little indulgences before the sun goes down on this Halloween. And take a note from the misfortune these witches suffered…If you are imbibing this All Hallows Eve, don’t risk a crash! Call an Uber. Happy Halloween ya’ll!

Witch Crash Cupcakes

  • Servings: 18
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

recipe for cupcakes from: Pastry Love by Joanne Chang

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

  • 210 grams (1 1/2 cups) malted milk powder
  • 175 grams (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
  • 60 grams (1/2 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted after measuring
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 200 grams ( 1 cup) sugar
  • 2 large eggs ( about 100 grams) at room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk (about 20 grams) at room temperature
  • 110 grams (1/2 cup) vegetable oil (such as canola)
  • 240 grams (1 cup) whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • Vanilla Syrup (recipe noted below)

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting:

  • 5 large (150 grams) egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
  • 3 sticks (340 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

For the decorations:

  • 36 Tootsie Rolls (for the shoes)
  • 9 Oreo Cookies (for the hat brims)
  • 18 Hershey Kisses (for the pointy bit of the hat)
  • 36 pretzels, pocky sticks, chocolate mikado sticks or even striped straws (for the legs – you can get creative!)
  • Neon gel food color

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottoms of two regular cupcake pans with cupcake liners. Spray the sides lightly with pan spray or very lightly brush with vegetable oil. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the malted milk powder, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the sugar, whole eggs and egg yolk on medium hight speed until the mixture falls back onto itself in ribbons when you lift the whisk up. Turn the mixer to low and slowly drizzle in the oil. Turn off the mixer and add about one third of the flour mixture. Turn the mixer on to the lowest speed and mix just until most of the flour mixture has been incorporated into the eggs, about 10 seconds. Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the whisk. Add about half the milk along with the vanilla and turn the mixer back onto the lowest speed. Gently combine until most of the milk is mixed into the batter. stop the mixer and again scrape the bowl and the whisk. Add half the remaining flour mixture; mix on low until it’s mostly mixed in, then stop and scrape. Add the rest of the milk and mix again on low util it is mostly mixed in. Remove the bowl from the mixer , add the last of the flour mixture, and gently fold by hand with a rubber spatula until all of it is incorporated into the batter. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake tins.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans midway through the baking time, until the cupcakes spring back when you poke them in the middle and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when you insert it into the middle of the cake. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool in the baking pans on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, make the frosting and vanilla syrup and set them aside.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, remove them from the tins. Using a pastry brush, paint and soak the tops of the cupcakes with the vanilla syrup. 

For the Frosting:

Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer with paper towel and lemon juice or vinegar to remove any trace of grease. Make a double boiler by placing the mixer bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.

Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl, whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140°F, or until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl no longer feels warm, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Switch over to paddle attachment and, with mixer on low-speed, add the butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated. Continue beating until it has reached a silky smooth texture. If the buttercream curdles simply keep mixing and it will come back to smooth. If the buttercream is too thin and runny, refrigerate for about 15 minutes before continuing mixing with paddle attachment until it comes together. Add the vanilla and salt, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.

Divide the frosting into three bowls. Add green, purple and orange food coloring gel to each bowl of frosting until it reaches desired hue.

If you would like to make this frosting ahead of time, keep in airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let come to room temperature and rewhip in the mixer with the paddle attachment before using.

For the assembly:

Form the Tootsie Rolls into boots, shoes. Microwave for 5 -10 seconds until the candy is pliable. I used a chopstick to make the heel impression. Make an impression in the top of the boot for whatever type of leg you are going to use. Insert legs gently into boots.

Twist open the Oreo cookies and scrape away the white filling. Pipe a small amount of colored frosting in the center of each cookie. Place a Hershey Kiss on top to form the hats.

Fill three piping bags with the different color frostings and top each cupcake. Place a hat on top of each cake and then add two of the leg/boots.

Enjoy!

Vanilla Syrup

Ingredients:

  • 120 grams (1/2 cup) water
  • 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar 
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with the water and bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool before using.

The syrup can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge indefinitely.

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Witch Crash Cupcakes:

*Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase*

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Ateco disposable piping bags

King Arthur Bensdorp Dutch Process Cocoa Powder

Carnation Malted Milk Powder or King Arthur Malted Milk Powder

Vanilla Bean Paste

Pastry Chefs Belgian Striped Mikado Sticks

Pocky Sticks

Pastry Love by Joanne Chang – LOVE this cookbook!

1 Comment | Halloween, Holidays, Samhain | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Cinnamon Browned Butter Cupcakes with Whiskey Buttercream Frosting

March 17, 2025

Woo-hoo! Today is St. Patrick’s Day!!! And as per usual, the last post of my St. Patrick’s Day recipe run features a cupcake. Today I give you Cinnamon Browned Butter Cupcakes with Whiskey Buttercream Frosting! Oh be still my heart!!! A moist light cinnamon cake infused with all the rich nutty caramel notes that come with browned butter topped with a devilishly silky whiskey kissed frosting. Does it get any better?!!

As I mentioned, I have always ended my St. Patrick’s Day run of recipes with a cupcake offering. Last year it was these decadent Chocolate Shenanigans Cupcakes – A moist chocolatey malted cake topped with a decadent rich malted chocolate Irish Cream frosting which is then dusted with Malteser bits. 

But there were many more of these tempting little treats over the years. Feast your eyes on these:

Baileys Tres Leches Cupcakes
Irish Whiskey, Ginger & Lime Cupcakes
Butterfly Cakes (aka Fairy Cakes) filled with Strawberry Jam & Topped with Baileys Whipped Cream
Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Malted Scáiltín Cupcakes
Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes
Irish Cream Cupcakes

Phew! That is a lot of St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes! And there are even a few more to be found in my recipe library. If you can’t find a cupcake that appeals to you there, I think maybe you just don’t like cupcakes!

IMG_5368

But let me get back to today’s featured cupcake – Cinnamon Browned Butter Cupcakes with Whiskey Buttercream Frosting!

IMG_5347

I understand that browning butter can take a bit of time, but I’m telling you that you will not regret it! It gives these cinnamon cupcakes that extra something that makes them irresistible! And that whiskey buttercream frosting! Get out!!! So as usual, I haven’t made any old buttercream, this is Swiss Meringue Buttercream which is sooo silky and decadent, yet light and airy. Absolutely dreamy I say! So what are you waiting for? I’m sure you’ve all the ingredients? I mean it’s St. Patrick’s Day for goodness sake – surely you have a bit of Irish Whiskey hanging around (assuming I’ve caught you early in the day)! Get baking! I wish everyone a safe, healthy and happy holiday! Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daiobh (Happy St. Patrick’s Day)!

IMG_5348

Cinnamon Browned Butter Cupcakes with Whiskey Buttercream Frosting

  • Servings: 18 cupcakes
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, browned and cooled slightly
  • 2 1/3 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon Viennese Cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste
  • 2/3 Cup Whole milk

For the Frosting:

  • 3 Large Egg Whites, at room temp.
  • 112.5 grams (1/2 Cup + 1 Tablespoons) Granulated Sugar
  • 7.5 oz (3/4 Cups + 3 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter cubed, room temperature
  • 3-5 Tablespoons Irish Whiskey – I used Redbreast

Directions:

Place the butter in a pan, preferably with a light-colored interior. Melt the butter over medium-high heat. Once the butter melts, it’ll start to bubble, foam, and turn golden around the edges. Keep a close eye on it—before long, it’ll turn a deep golden brown and smell nutty. Do not walk away from the pan. The butter can go from perfectly browned to burnt in seconds. You might notice little bits of light brown specks forming in the bottom of the pan. That is fine, but don’t let it go any further. Burnt butter tastes terrible! Take the butter off of the heat. Set it aside and let it cool.

While the butter is cooling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the browned butter and sugar together on medium speed until combined. Add the vanilla. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

On low speed, add the flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.

Using a large scoop, place the batter in the prepared cupcake tin. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting.

Place a small pot containing a little water on a burner over low heat until it reaches a simmer. Then place a larger heatproof bowl on top making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water- the steam from the simmering water will cook the mixture. Add the sugar and egg whites to the bowl and whisk until the mixture reaches about 150F/65C or until the sugar has dissolved and the texture has slightly thickened and its foamy. If you rub the mixture between your fingers you should not feel the sugar granules. This should take approximately 3 – 5 minutes.

Add the mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed for 5-8 minutes until the mixture has cooled and appears thick and glossy.

Next, add the butter cubes one at a time, mixing until the butter is fully incorporated before adding the next cube. If the mixture starts to look a bit curdled don’t worry, just keep mixing. It will eventually come together and have a lush smooth texture.

Once you have a smooth buttercream add the Irish Whiskey to taste and mix again until fully incorporated.

Frost the cupcakes once they have cooled; using a pastry bag fitted with either a star or round tip.

Enjoy!

Just for fun, here is a song from 2 Johnnies – The Irish Comedy Duo. “St. Patrick Drove a Honda Civic” Thought you’d enjoy it for the day!

 

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Cinnamon Browned Butter Cupcakes with Whiskey Buttercream Frosting:

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop

Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Bean Paste

Wilton Edible Gold Stars

Travel Planning Guide:

Getting there: Icelandair! We love Icelandair and have always had great experience with them. Icelandair flies to Dublin, Ireland. Take advantage of their Stopover program on your next flight to Europe.

Car Rental: New Way Car Hire – Love the all-inclusive pricing on these cars as well as the Dublin Airport pickup!

Accommodation: Number 31 – This luxurious hotel is half traditional Georgian townhouse and half modernist mews which are connected by a charming courtyard. The Georgian townhouse half is where we have always chosen to stay and we love the mildly eccentric jazz age flamboyance. The location of this decadent hideaway is also superb. It is steps from St. Stephen’s Green in the heart of the city. We would not dream of stying any where else and cannot wait to visit again!

Restaurants/ Cafés/ Bakeries/ Pubs:

The Thomas House – The finest dive bar in Dublin City!

The Summer Inn Asian Food – This is where the Munchie Box was procured.

Murphy’s Ice Cream – I LOVE Murphy’s Ice Cream! We used to only be able to get it when we visited Dingle, but now they have opened several shops and one is in Dublin, just steps off of Grafton Street! Their ice cream is made with fresh from the farm milk, lots of local cream, free range eggs, and organic sugar. No colourings, flavourings, or powdered milk. My favorite flavor, though it is so hard to choose because they are all so exquisite, is probably Brown Bread.

Xi’an Street Food – Modern Asian Cuisine with authentic & bold flavours from Xi’an region in China. Looking for late night takeaway while visiting Dublin, or a delicious meal anytime for that matter, this is the place.

The Brazen Head Pub – dates all the way back to 1198! Mind you the date of 1653 is what has been officially documented for this establishment. The current building dates to 1754. We visited on a Friday night and it was jammers. Pints were all we sampled, though we understand the pub grub here is definitely respectable.

Toners Pub-This cozy, traditional pub is one of Dublin’s oldest, established 1734. It is said the W.B. Yeats would occasionally imbibe here. They boast a lovely beer garden out back for when the weather is good. We found it very friendly and welcoming. Though laid back and relaxed when we visited, we understand that if there is a big sporting event going on, we understand the place can be absolutely mad!

Bar 1661 – Voted Ireland’s Bar of the Year in 2022! My favorite cocktail bar full stop! Not just in Ireland, but everywhere! Folks, if you are visiting Dublin and you like cocktails at all, this is an absolute must!!! The ambiance is in point, not to mention the historical significance as well as the absolute enthusiasm everyone there has for crafting exceptional cocktails! I will say, make sure you book a reservation. You do not want to miss this!

The Porterhouse -This large airy brewpub offers a wide selection of ales, lagers and stouts. It has a fun, folksy atmosphere and often you can catch some live music. They serve some tasty pub grub as well and some of the best chips I’ve had in Dublin.

The Old Storehouse – The Old Storehouse is a great venue, kind of like three different pubs all rolled into one. They’ve got the cozy, intimate snug area, the lively main bar and then Flaherty’s Pub downstairs for bands. They also have a lovely covered outside area.

2 Comments | Cupcakes, desserts, Holidays, Ireland, Recipes, St. Patrick's Day, Travel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Steak & Curry Pie

March 16, 2025

Tomorrow is the day! Are ya’ll ready? Well, if you are still looking for something to serve at your festivities that will totally knock the socks off your guests have I got the dish for you – Steak & Curry Pies! Would you just look at these delectable little darlings! Enrobed in crispy, flaky golden puff pastry and stuffed full of a flavorsome blend of steak, leek, red chili and thyme in a curry gravy, these pies cannot be beat!

Now I will admit, we are very fond of meat pies around here. I’ve posted about quite a few in the past

Irish Beer & Cheese Chicken Pot Pies
Mince & Cheddar Pasties
Irish Jambons
Scottish Pies
Smithwicks Beef & Cheddar Pies

Yup, you just can’t go wrong with a pie! Portable, tasty and absolutely fantastic for sopping up some of that alcohol when you’re out on a tear! Speaking of which, the very next morning after “The Garden Fête” portion of the birthday celebrations, we bundled ourselves into cars and hit the road back to The Big Smoke (Dublin) for part two of the festivities – “The Debauch”. This shindig took place at The Thomas House bar, the finest dive bar in Dublin city. Welcoming all miscreants and weirdos. Punks, Rockabillys, Psychobillys, Indie heads, metallers and those who escape definition, the pub has been going strong since 2011 and was the perfect place for this birthday bash!

The price of admission was throwing back a shot of Malört. For those of you unfamiliar with it (you’ve been lucky..) it is a traditional Swedish spirit made with wormwood and other botanicals and it is BITTER! Charlie Kolodziej said in a New York Times article “it tastes a little like sucking dandelion juice through a straw made of car tires.” I think that about sums it up nicely.

Post shot Malört Face!

A great time was had by all and just as we were about to call it a night, the birthday boy had arranged for the arrival of a couple of Munchie Boxes. Needless to say, we turned right back around and stayed for just a bit longer! For those unfamiliar with a Munchie Box, it is sold by many a Chinese takeaway establishment in Ireland. Think of a pizza box filled with all sorts of fried appetizer type things like: chicken balls, chicken wings, shredded chicken, spare ribs and chips seasoned with salt chili and served along with curry sauce. Late night, post-pint (or mid pint as the case may be) perfection!

But wait, let me get back to today’s featured dish – The Steak & Curry Pie.

These little devils would also be great, you know if you couldn’t get ahold of a Munchie Box. Just kidding (well, sort of. I really did enjoy that Munchie Box) But until they’re available here, you won’t go wrong by baking up some of these succulent, flavorsome pies. The ready to use, store bought pastry is a wonderful time saver. These are fabulous as a meal or a snack and easy to take when you are on the go. Perfect for whatever St. Patrick’s Day might bring!

  • Servings: one 9inch pie or 8 small pies
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

recipe from: The Raglan Road Cookbook by Kevin Dundon

Ingredients:

  • 600 grams ( 1 lb.80z) sirloin beef, cut into thin strips
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium sized onion, sliced very thinly
  • 3 garlic cloves, diced
  • 1/2 red chili, finely diced
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 1 leek, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 3 -4 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
  • 1 teaspoon tomato purée
  • 2 teaspoons red curry paste
  • 200 ml (7 fl. oz) red wine
  • 600 ml (1 pint/2 1/2 cups) beef stock, boiling hot
  • salt & pepper
  • 4 sheets puff pastry
  • 1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 teaspoons of water for egg wash

Directions:

Drizzle some oil into a saucepan over a high heat and add the beef strips. Cook for 4 -5 minutes stirring occasionally until the beef is browned all over. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

Add the sliced onions, garlic, chili, carrots, leeks, turmeric and thyme. Allow them to cook gently until they are softened for about 4 -5 minutes.

Squeeze in the tomato purée and curry paste and stir until the mixture coats the meat.

Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pan, stirring the bottom to catch any of the browned bits there. Next pour in the hot beef stock and allow this mixture to come to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer gently, covered with a lid for another 40 – 50 minutes.

While the steak mixture in cooking, butter a large pie dish and dust with flour before lining it with the puff pastry. Reserve some pastry for the lid. Or you can make individual pies as I did.

Once the steak mixture has finished simmering, place 1 tablespoon flour in a dish. Slowly add some of the steak mixture liquid to the flour and stir until a smooth consistency is reached. Add this to the steak mixture and stir until incorporated. This will thicken the liquid to a gravy like consistency.

Fill the pastry-lined pie dish (or dishes) with the meat mixture and brush the edge of the bottom pastry with egg wash. Pop the top on the pie, pinch to seal top pastry to bottom pastry and then brush the entire top with egg wash. Pierce the top pastry several times to allow it to vent.

Bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees C/ 400 degrees F/ Gas mark 6 for 20 -25 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.

Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Steak & Curry Pie:

*Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase*

The Raglan Road Cookbook by Kevin Dundon

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Scanpan Classic 12 1/2″ Chef pan

Mini Tart Pans – I like the removable bottoms on these pans as it makes it so much easier to get the pie out of the pan. They do make little mini pie plates that can be used as well which are a bit deeper, but without the removable bottom.

Chicago Metallic Pie Pan Set – This is what I actually used, but looks like it is out of stock everywhere. Thought I would include the link in case they get more in stock.

Travel Planning Guide:

Getting there: Icelandair! We love Icelandair and have always had great experience with them. Icelandair flies to Dublin, Ireland. Take advantage of their Stopover program on your next flight to Europe.

Car Rental: New Way Car Hire – Love the all-inclusive pricing on these cars as well as the Dublin Airport pickup!

Accommodation: Number 31 – This luxurious hotel is half traditional Georgian townhouse and half modernist mews which are connected by a charming courtyard. The Georgian townhouse half is where we have always chosen to stay and we love the mildly eccentric jazz age flamboyance. The location of this decadent hideaway is also superb. It is steps from St. Stephen’s Green in the heart of the city. We would not dream of stying any where else and cannot wait to visit again!

Restaurants/ Cafés/ Bakeries/ Pubs:

The Thomas House – The finest dive bar in Dublin City!

The Summer Inn Asian Food – This is where the Munchie Box was procured for The Debauch.

Murphy’s Ice Cream – I LOVE Murphy’s Ice Cream! We used to only be able to get it when we visited Dingle, but now they have opened several shops and one is in Dublin, just steps off of Grafton Street! Their ice cream is made with fresh from the farm milk, lots of local cream, free range eggs, and organic sugar. No colourings, flavourings, or powdered milk. My favorite flavor, though it is so hard to choose because they are all so exquisite, is probably Brown Bread.

Xi’an Street Food – Modern Asian Cuisine with authentic & bold flavours from Xi’an region in China. Looking for late night takeaway while visiting Dublin, or a delicious meal anytime for that matter, this is the place.

The Brazen Head Pub – dates all the way back to 1198! Mind you the date of 1653 is what has been officially documented for this establishment. The current building dates to 1754. We visited on a Friday night and it was jammers. Pints were all we sampled, though we understand the pub grub here is definitely respectable.

Toners Pub-This cozy, traditional pub is one of Dublin’s oldest, established 1734. It is said the W.B. Yeats would occasionally imbibe here. They boast a lovely beer garden out back for when the weather is good. We found it very friendly and welcoming. Though laid back and relaxed when we visited, we understand that if there is a big sporting event going on, we understand the place can be absolutely mad!

Bar 1661 – Voted Ireland’s Bar of the Year in 2022! My favorite cocktail bar full stop! Not just in Ireland, but everywhere! Folks, if you are visiting Dublin and you like cocktails at all, this is an absolute must!!! The ambiance is in point, not to mention the historical significance as well as the absolute enthusiasm everyone there has for crafting exceptional cocktails! I will say, make sure you book a reservation. You do not want to miss this!

The Porterhouse -This large airy brewpub offers a wide selection of ales, lagers and stouts. It has a fun, folksy atmosphere and often you can catch some live music. They serve some tasty pub grub as well and some of the best chips I’ve had in Dublin.

The Old Storehouse – The Old Storehouse is a great venue, kind of like three different pubs all rolled into one. They’ve got the cozy, intimate snug area, the lively main bar and then Flaherty’s Pub downstairs for bands. They also have a lovely covered outside area.

1 Comment | dinner, Holidays, Ireland, Recipes, St. Patrick's Day, Travel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Wild Forest Mushroom Soup

March 15, 2025

Oh my, oh my – Day three of my annual St. Patrick’s Day countdown! Only two more days ya’ll! And what a winner recipe I have for you today – Wild Forest Mushroom Soup! This rich soup is so creamy and decadent. And, you don’t need very many ingredients to make this superb comforting dish. It’s just the thing to warm you, body and soul, on a damp rainy day.

And I’m thrilled to report that on the day we set out from Dingle to head towards Ballingarry, County Limerick for the first round of birthday celebrations for Rascalcook, it was absolutely gorgeous blue skies. A bit of cloud cover on top of the pass, but all things considered, very nice!

Not a raindrop in sight, which is, as you might have guessed, somewhat rare for Ireland. And as promised I can now show you the Conor Pass on a clear day.

With driving the pass done and dusted we proceeded on to the sight of The Garden Fête – the absolutely stunning Glenwilliam Castle!

Now I’ve told you about Glenwilliam in previous St. Patrick’s Day posts. It is the family home of one of my best friends, Theresa Storey, who just happens to also be a best selling, award winning author!

A few years ago, Theresa published her first cookbook with over 100 other delicious seasonal fruit recipes. It is called Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen.

Theresa runs a business, The Green Apron, which is an artisan preserve company. She grows much of the fruit and vegetables she uses in her preserves at her family’s orchards at Derryclough and in the walled vegetable garden at her parents 18th Century castle, Glenwilliam. RascalCook is Theresa’s son, so as many suspect, there likely is a “cooking gene”. There was a Shakespeare theme for the birthday festivities and a blast was had by all!

Birthday Boy!
Glenwilliam Interior
cheers!
Looking over walled garden
Aga Stove!
Round Tower Stairs
Finn, The Best Boy ever!
Arrow Slit View

So the castle is gorgeous no? Theresa has led folks foraging for wild mushrooms on its grounds, which is what made me think of Mushroom Soup for today’s featured dish. Now truth be told, the only foraging I did to obtain my ‘shrooms was to venture out to the local market. I wouldn’t trust myself to be able to identify an edible mushroom versus a deadly one, so I am confident I made the right choice there in my sourcing.

This soup comes together quickly and is chockfull of earthy umami flavors which are complemented by the fresh thyme. The addition of a sprinkling of pancetta is sublime, but if you are vegetarian you could top it with a few toasted pine nuts instead. St. Patrick’s Day around here is usually a bit blustery, so I know this Wild Forest Mushroom Soup will be just the thing to warm you after spending time at the parades.

Wild Forest Mushroom Soup

  • Servings: 4 bowls
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

recipe slightly adapted from: The Raglan Road Cookbook by Kevin Dundon

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoon olive oil
  • 125 grams (4 1/2 ounces/ generous 1/2 cup) room temperature butter – diced
  • 150 grams (5 1/2 ounces) onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 550 grams (1 1b. 4 oz) mixture of forest mushrooms such as chanterelle, oyster or shiitake mushrooms
  • 120 ml (4 fluid ounces) white wine
  • 900 ml (1 1 /2 pints/4 cups) vegetable stock
  • 150 ml (5 fl oz/ 2/3 cup) heavy cream
  • salt and pepper

To Garnish:

  • parsley
  • additional mushrooms
  • pancetta
  • toasted pine nuts

Directions:

Fry the pancetta until crispy. Remove to paper towel lined plate. Set aside for later.

Heat a heavy -based pan, then add the olive oil and the butter. Once the butter is foaming, tip in the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Cook for 4 -5 minutes until tender. Take out some of the mushrooms and reserve for garnish.

Add the wine to the pan and allow to evaporate until reduced by half, then season to taste. Add the vegetable stock stirring to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes until slightly reduced and all of the flavors have had a chance to infuse.

Stir the cream into the pan and leave to simmer and thicken for another few minutes, then transfer to a food processor and whizz the lot to purée. Or you could use an immersion blender as I did.

Season to taste and ladle into warm serving bowls. Garnish with reserved mushrooms, pancetta and chopped parsley.

Enjoy!

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Wild Forest Mushroom Soup:

*Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase*

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Breville Immersion Blender

The Raglan Road Cookbook by Kevin Dundon

Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen. – you don’t actually need this cookbook for this recipe, but I thought you might just like to have it for all the other awesome recipes it contains.

Travel Planning Guide:

Getting there: Icelandair! We love Icelandair and have always had great experience with them. Icelandair flies to Dublin, Ireland. Take advantage of their Stopover program on your next flight to Europe.

Car Rental: New Way Car Hire – Love the all-inclusive pricing on these cars as well as the Dublin Airport pickup!

Accommodation:

The Mustard Seed – The Mustard Seed, is an oasis of countryside bliss surrounded by verdant pastures in the heart of Co. Limerick. On the doorstep to Adare, the restaurant is legendary with superb food and warm hospitality.

Dunraven Arms – The Dunraven is a stylish, luxury, family-run hotel situated in the heart of Adare, a picturesque and world renowned village in Co. Limerick. This Four Star Luxury Hotel is one of the oldest establishments in Ireland and dates back to the Eighteenth Century. We might have even seen a ghost (not a scary one!) on our absolutely delightful stay. Highly recommended. And the 13th century village of Adare is so charming and known as “Ireland’s Prettiest Village”!

Restaurants/ Cafés/ Bakeries/ Pubs:

The Mustard Seed – The restaurant is a destination in itself!

Leave a Comment » | dinner, Holidays, Ireland, Recipes, soup, St. Patrick's Day, Travel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Dingle Gin Ice Cream

March 14, 2025

Day two of our countdown brings us to this delightfully boozy treat – Dingle Gin Ice Cream! Now I know some of you out there might be a bit skeptical of Gin flavored ice cream. I mean, I’d wager it’s definitely not anything you could buy a pint of at your local market. But let me tell you, you will be amazed! Smooth and creamy with citrus flavors and of course a kick of juniper infused Dingle Gin. What a taste sensation!

I first came across Gin flavored ice cream at Murphy’s Ice Cream, my favorite ice cream shop in the world. Located originally in the town of Dingle, but now also with shops in Dublin, Killarney, Galway and Cork, it is a must stop shop for anyone visiting Ireland. All of their flavors are to die for! I am very fond of their Irish Brown Bread as well as their Dingle Sea Salt. At Murphy’s they take care to use quality locally sourced ingredients with no artificial colors or flavorings. So I was very happy when we set out from Dublin to spend a bit of time in Dingle.

Now Murphy’s Ice Cream isn’t the only wonderful thing about Dingle. Dingle and the entire Dingle Peninsula is one of my most favorite places to be. Located on the West Coast in County Kerry (or known to the locals as the Kingdom of Kerry) it is a magical place of stunning beauty. The town of Dingle is surrounded by the mountains and the sea and offers so many things to do from hiking, boat tours, beach combing, shopping, dining, concerts, and pub crawls – just to name a few. But to enjoy all these activities, you’ve got to get there. The drive from Dublin is pretty easy,

but once you get to the town of Tralee, there is a decision to be made. Do you drive along the coast to arrive in Dingle town or do you go over the Conor Pass? The coastal drive is lovely, but if you are a bit adventurous, you’re going to need to drive over the pass! The Conor Pass is one of the highest mountain passes in Ireland and offers up some of the most dramatic wild and beautiful scenery imaginable. I should also say it is winding, peppered with the occasional wandering sheep or two and very narrow. Indeed portions of it only allow for one car to pass, although there is two way traffic, which can result in some nerve-racking moments to say the least. And on top of it all, this narrow road with a mountain wall on one side and sheer drops on the other, has very little in the way of guard rails. I’ve driven over the pass many times, a few times with locals who drove it quite skillfully but at speeds far exceeding the posted limit (definitely some white knuckle moments there). I’ve also seen some out of town folks get to the one way traffic bit and completely freeze up. Thankfully a local was able to jump out of his passenger seat in another car and drive the traumatized visitor down off the mountain. My husband (the dare devil) loves to drive it, so our choice was pretty much already made. On our way into town, as you’ll see in the video below, visibility was terrible, which did add to the excitement I must say.

The good news is we made it off the mountain in one piece. And even better, I’ve another video for you of us driving over the pass in good weather, so you’ll actually be able to see the lovely views. Make sure to stay tuned. So we did luck out, the next day the weather was absolutely gorgeous – sun splitting the stones for most of it. We met up with friends and spent the day eating and shopping and maybe doing a bit of drinking around town.

And of course we stopped into Murphy’s Ice Cream

Murphy’s uses a local gin from the Dingle Distillery which happens to be the 2019 Worlds Best Gin Winner – Dingle Gin.

They then infuse that lovely gin for 3 weeks with a mixture of juniper berries, coriander seed and lemon & orange peel. Only then do they blend it into their delectable ice cream.

The recipe I’m sharing with you today is from Murphy’s blog. Now don’t get me wrong – you should definitely plan a trip to Dingle and go get the real deal from Murphy’s. However, until that happens, you should without a doubt churn up a batch of Dingle Gin Ice Cream for yourself. How perfect to have it on hand for those St. Patrick’s Day celebrations!

Dingle Gin Ice Cream

  • Servings: 1 pint
  • Difficulty: easy, but does require special equipment
  • Print

recipe from: Murphys Ice Cream

Ingredients:

  • 1 cardamon pod
  • 15 Juniper berries – Lemon & Orange Zest to taste
  • 130 grams sugar
  • 4 Egg Yolks
  • 240 ml heavy cream
  • 200 ml whole milk
  • 60 ml Dingle Gin

Directions:

Add the Cardamon, Juniper, Lemon and orange zest to the gin and allow to sit for at least 4 hours.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the Sugar and Egg Yolks together until thick and pale yellow.

Bring milk to a low simmer

Slowly add the milk to the egg/sugar mixture with the mixer running.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook, stirring continuously, on low heat until it reaches 65 C/ 150 F. It should coat the back of a spoon.

Refrigerate until cold

Remove from the fridge pour into an ice cream maker with the cream.

Add the gin after about 20 minutes

Continue to process until the consistency reaches that of soft ice cream

Transfer to a container and put in the freezer until hard.

Enjoy!

See the folks at Murphy’s make this ice cream themselves:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt--NmNiLwY&w=450&h=254]

Useful links for Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Dingle Gin Ice Cream

*Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase*

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker

ThermoPop Instant Read Thermometer

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Oxo Egg Separator

Travel Planning Guide:

Getting there: Icelandair! We love Icelandair and have always had great experience with them. Icelandair flies to Dublin, Ireland. Take advantage of their Stopover program on your next flight to Europe.

Car Rental: New Way Car Hire – Love the all-inclusive pricing on these cars as well as the Dublin Airport pickup!

Accommodation: The Dingle Skellig Hotel – This 5 star hotel is close walking distance to all the town has to offer and is situated with stunning views out over the Dingle Bay. Has a well appointed spa and leisure center as well.

Restaurants/ Cafés/ Bakeries/ Pubs:

Murphy’s Ice Cream – I LOVE Murphy’s Ice Cream! Their ice cream is made with fresh from the farm milk, lots of local cream, free range eggs, and organic sugar. No colourings, flavourings, or powdered milk. My favorite flavor, though it is so hard to choose because they are all so exquisite, is probably Brown Bread.

John Benny’s Pub – Our favorite pub in Dingle! Serves lunch and dinner. Hosts many live trad sessions. Has outside seating areas and will even rent you an apartment round the back if you’re in need of accommodation!

Dannos Bar & Restaurant – local cuisine, outside covered beer garden, fabulous chowder and soup and resident cat overseeing it all!

Shopping:

Fiadh Woven Design– favorite shop! Absolutely to die for!

Lisbeth Mulcahy – Siopa na bhFíodóirí – great woolens, lovely pottery

Dingle Surf Shop – fun surf wear, t-shirts, hoodies

Commodum Art & Design – Lovely woolens

Leac á Ré – Great woolens. Lots of books, a bit of pottery. Fantastic!

Attractions:

Dingle Distillery – Why not take a tour of the Dingle Distillery while you are on the peninsula? Not only do they have spectacular award winning gin, but they also do Vodka as well as a mean whiskey!

Slea Head Drive – First advice is drive this route clockwise, it will help you avoid coming head on with a huge tour bus! Absolutely stunningly gorgeous drive! See the beautiful Ceann Trá beach in Ventry. Take in Dunbeg Fort and the Beehive Huts. Go past scenic Dún Chaoin pier and gaze out to the Great Blasket Island. Check out Gallarus Oratory and the fishing village of Ballydavid! Truly you don’t want to miss this

The Conor Pass – Only for the brave! Just kidding – you can do it. And the rewards at the top are amazing!

2 Comments | desserts, Holidays, Ireland, Recipes, St. Patrick's Day, Travel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Spicy Poitín Basil Smash

March 13, 2025

Alrighty, here we go! Day one of our delicious countdown features an Irish Cocktail – The Spicy Poitín Basil Smash. Let’s get this party started, right? This refreshing sipper is an Irish take on the classic Gin Basil Smash. The spice comes from a Hot Honey, which gets its kick from Scotch Bonnet as well as Habañero peppers. And the Gin is sitting this one out as Mad March Hare Poitín takes its place. Fresh Basil gives it that vibrant green hue that makes it look just perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!

Now, I’m thinking one or two of you might be thinking, “Poitín?” Oh ya’ll… let me tell ya all about it! Poitín is an Irish word that can be translated to “small pots” which is in what this spirit was traditionally distilled. It has also been called “Irish Moonshine” by some, or perhaps that “Old Mountain Dew” by others. In 1661, poitín was banned in Ireland. This ban was not lifted until 1997!

As I mentioned yesterday, the Husband and I had the pleasure of visiting Ireland in July for a family birthday. RascalCook (Xander Storey-Cosgrave), who I introduced you to last year when he did a guest blog featuring The SpiceBag / Mala Spiosrach, was having his 30th Birthday festivities and there is no way we were going to miss out on that. (Stay tuned, I’ll be telling you all about it….) On our last trip, it was the Rascal Cook who got us very excited about Poitín and specifically a particular Poitín Bar – the exquisite Bar 1661. Their menu proudly boasts “Staunchly Irish & Fiercely Independent”, and celebrates Poitín’s place in the modern canon of Irish drinks. This phenomenal cocktail bar deservedly won Bar of the Year in 2022 from Hospitality Ireland. Indeed, I can honestly say this is the best cocktail bar I have ever been to, anywhere…full stop! While they celebrate all Irish drinks, 60% of their drinks feature poitín. As I mentioned, we went for our first visit in January 2024 and upon arriving in Dublin in July, met up with RascalCook and made a beeline to Bar 1661 to get in some early birthday celebrations.

Hmmm, I guess we did do a fair bit of early celebrating that evening. But let me get back to today’s featured cocktail – The Spicy Poitín Basil Smash. The most difficult thing about making this cocktail is sourcing the Poitín. I won’t lie, it took a wee bit of searching, but I was able to find some of the authentic stuff in this Mad March Hare Poitín . This delightful tipple is distilled in West Cork from malted barley. Check out their website for fantastic cocktail recipes and without a doubt, score a bottle for yourself!

Once you get ahold of it, make sure you shake up a refreshing Spicy Poitín Smash. Perfectly green for St. Patrick’s Day as well as Spring, which I hear is right around the corner. And if you don’t care for spicy, don’t despair, just make the honey syrup with regular honey. You will still enjoy every wonderfully herbaceous lemony sip!

Spicy Poitín Basil Smash

  • Servings: 1 cocktail
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

recipe from: Moody Mixologist

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz poitín (I used Mad March Hare)
  • ¾ oz spicy hot honey syrup
  • ¾ oz lemon juice
  • 10 basil leaves

Directions:

Make the honey syrup by adding 1 part Savannah Bee Company Hot Honey (if you don’t like spicy, just use regular honey) to an equal part of water. I used 1/2 cup each so that I would have enough for multiple cocktails. Mix until the honey dissolves.

Place the basil leaves and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker and muddle them well! The more you muddle, the more flavorful and green your cocktail will be.

Add the remaining ingredients and fill the shaker 3/4 of the way with ice. Shake until chilled. Strain through a fine strainer into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with basil leaves.

Slainte!

Useful links for Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Spicy Poitín Basil Smash

*Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase*

Mad March Hare Irish Poitín

Oxo Cocktail Shaker

Oxo Measuring Cups -7 Piece Nesting Measuring Set. I absolutely love this set and it is very useful!

Oxo Fine Mesh Cocktail Strainer

Savannah Bee Company Hot Honey – We love a spicy kick! It is great in this cocktail and also fantastic in cornbread!

Criostal Na Rinne – Like the crystal tumblers I served this cocktail in? They are crystal glasses from the Tonn Collection at Criostal Na Rinne. Criostal na Rinne is a hand cut crystal studio workshop situated in Ireland’s Ancient East in the picturesque Irish-speaking area of An Rinn, the Waterford Gaeltacht. Eamonn Terry, a master craftsman glasscutter of over 50 years experience, started his career with Waterford Crystal before establishing Criostal na Rinne in 1987, producing Irish crystal of breathtaking quality and beauty. And you don’t have to go to Ireland to purchase, they ship to the US. I have ordered from them several times and the packages always arrive promptly and in perfect condition!

Travel Planning Guide:

Getting there: Icelandair! We love Icelandair and have always had great experience with them. Icelandair flies to Dublin, Ireland. Take advantage of their Stopover program on your next flight to Europe.

Car Rental: New Way Car Hire – Love the all-inclusive pricing on these cars as well as the Dublin Airport pickup!

Accommodation: Number 31 – This luxurious hotel is half traditional Georgian townhouse and half modernist mews which are connected by a charming courtyard. The Georgian townhouse half is where we have always chosen to stay and we love the mildly eccentric jazz age flamboyance. The location of this decadent hideaway is also superb. It is steps from St. Stephen’s Green in the heart of the city. We would not dream of stying any where else and cannot wait to visit again!

Restaurants/ Cafés/ Bakeries/ Pubs:

Bar 1661 – Voted Ireland’s Bar of the Year in 2022! My favorite cocktail bar full stop! Not just in Ireland, but everywhere! Folks, if you are visiting Dublin and you like cocktails at all, this is an absolute must!!! The ambiance is in point, not to mention the historical significance as well as the absolute enthusiasm everyone there has for crafting exceptional cocktails! I will say, make sure you book a reservation. You do not want to miss this!

The Porterhouse -This large airy brewpub offers a wide selection of ales, lagers and stouts. It has a fun, folksy atmosphere and often you can catch some live music. They serve some tasty pub grub as well and some of the best chips I’ve had in Dublin.

The Old Storehouse – The Old Storehouse is a great venue, kind of like three different pubs all rolled into one. They’ve got the cozy, intimate snug area, the lively main bar and then Flaherty’s Pub downstairs for bands. They also have a lovely covered outside area.

Xi’an Street Food – Modern Asian Cuisine with authentic & bold flavours from Xi’an region in China. Looking for late night takeaway while visiting Dublin, or a delicious meal anytime for that matter, this is the place. Their Spice Bag is top notch!

Attractions:

Dublin Castle – 13 Century castle. Today Irish Govenment and Conference Center.

Grafton Street – One of the principal shopping streets in the city center. Mostly pedestrianised and lined with many cafes, shops and street performers.

Temple Bar- Busy riverside neighborhood with many pubs, restaurants and quirky boutiques.

Guinness Storehouse – Learn about the history of Ireland’s most iconic beer over seven floors. Enjoy 360 degree views of the city from the Gravity Bar!

The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology – ( Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann – Seandálaíocht), often known as the “NMI”, located on Kildare Street in Dublin specialises in Irish and other antiquities dating from the Stone Age to the Late Middle Ages. The NMI’s collection contains artifacts from prehistoric Ireland including bog bodies, Iron and  Bronze Age objects such as axe-heads, swords and shields in bronze, silver and gold, with the earliest dated to c. 7000 BC. It holds the world’s most substantial collection of post-Roman era Irish medieval art. In addition, it houses a substantial collection of medieval metalwork, Viking artefacts including swords and coins, and classical objects from Ancient Egypt, Cyprus and the Roman World.

1 Comment | Cocktails, Holidays, Ireland, Recipes, St. Patrick's Day, Travel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

St. Patrick’s Day 2025 Recipe Countdown!

March 12, 2025

St. Patrick’s Day 2025 Recipe Countdown starts tomorrow!

Oh my goodness ya’ll…St. Patrick’s Day is only 5 days away. Tomorrow I will be starting my annual St. Patrick’s Day blog-a-thon. Yup, I’ll be sharing one lovely Irish-y recipe everyday with you, right up to the big day Monday March 17th! Last year, St. Patrick’s Day 2024, I had a wee bit extra to offer because I had recently visited Ireland. And guess what? We were there again this past July! So I’ve not only got some tasty recipes in store for you, but also some travel tips and pics! Hurray! Believe me, you don’t want to miss out, so make sure to stay tuned every day right up until Monday March 17th!!!

Now I think managing to publish one recipe daily for five days straight is a pretty impressive feat. But, a few years ago I was completely mad and used to start on March 1st and do a new recipe each day until March 17th. That is why you can find well over 100 delicious St. Patrick’s Day recipes on my blog. If you’d like to take a peek at my past St. Patrick’s Day posts, you can click Runcible Eat/Recipes up at the top navigation bar and scroll down to the St. Patrick’s Day category. That’s where you’ll find them all! And stay tuned here for my latest additions this year. And don’t forget, for the past two years I have also included some travel tips for Ireland. If you’re planning to vacation on the Emerald Isle, you just might want to take a peek not only at what I’ll be telling you about over the next 5 days, but you might also want to look at my past Ireland travel tips. Find them all on the top tab “Travels”. Today I thought I might inspire you with some of my favorite St. Patrick’s Day dishes from years past. I’d like to first remind you of the dishes on deck last year in case you missed them:

Belfast Coffee
Tayto Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tomato & Irish Gin Soup with Cheddar Cheese Straws
Guinness Braised Short Ribs
The Spicebag
Five Farms Irish Cream Frozen Mochaccino
Chocolate Shenanigans Cupcakes

And the year before the offerings on deck weren’t too shabby either:

Irish Coffee Martini
Orange-Cranberry Soda Bread with White Chocolate
Irish Coffee Truffles
Malted Coffee, Chocolate & Pecan Brack
Colcannon Twice Baked Potatoes
Irish Jambons
Irish Cream Cupcakes

How about some drool worthy mains?

Guinness Beef Stew
Irish Stew
Smithwick’s Beef & Cheddar Pies
Chicken Skink
Guinness Braised Beef Short Rib Sandwiches on Waterford Blaa
Crockpot Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup
Dublin Coddle
Vegetarian Cottage Pie

I’ve made so many decadent desserts over the years. Let me tempt you with a few:

Baileys Bite Sized Cheesecakes
Baileys & Coffee Pots de Crème with Baileys Whipped Cream Topping
Guinness Pretzel Truffles
Guinness Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bailey’s Irish Cream & Pistachio Fudge
Brownie Tart with Irish Whiskey Meringue

Is your mouth watering yet? Quite the galleries of goodies if I do say so myself. And this is barely scratching the surface of all the epic St. Patrick’s Day recipes to be found on my blog as well as five new ones starting tomorrow! Along with some lovely pictures, my travel recommendations and the must have recipe of what all the folks in Ireland will be feasting on/ detoxifying with after their St. Patrick’s Day festivities . Don’t miss out! I’ll see you tomorrow!

Just for some fun leading up to the big day, check out this song “St Patrick Drove a Honda Civic” by the Irish comedy duo The 2 Johnnies:

1 Comment | Cake, Cookies, Cupcakes, desserts, dinner, Holidays, Ireland, Recipes, St. Patrick's Day, Travel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie

February 13, 2025

My oh my! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Are ya’ll ready? I mean don’t they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? The Husband, who conveniently also happens to be my Valentine, generally doesn’t like any chocolatey super sweet sugar bombs that seem to be all the rage for this holiday.  Which is totally unlike me. That is exactly what I would want. Truth be told…in a the shape of a cupcake if all were going my way. Just saying…He, on the other hand, prefers fruit forward desserts. And since I’m making these treats for him, not me, I oblige. So bring on the fruit! And the fruit in question? Well this year it is all about the banana. Yup – b-a-n-a-n-a-s Go Bananas! Which is what you will do when you get a taste of this luscious Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie! Sweet, fresh Banana slices are enrobed in a salty & somewhat boozy banana pudding which is cradled in a crispy, crunchy vanilla wafer/pistachio crust and topped off with light and zesty crème fraîche!

So I’ve been on a fruit-centric Valentine Day treat for some time now. Back in 2023, I featured a Tarte Au Citron. Golden like the sun, with its crisp buttery crust and its luscious, dreamy – not too sweet not too tart- zingy lemon custard filling, it totally worked its magic to ensnare my beloved.

These mini Passion Fruit & Berry Pavlovas were a big hit.

Just like this lovely Cashew Crusted Blackberry & Lime Tart was a few years ago.

One year he was delighted with these  Luscious Lemon Squares;

And I don’t want to forget about that Poached Pear Tart with Lemony Cream.

One year, I was even clever enough to combine what he loves, a good Gin & Tonic, and what I love, cupcakes by making  Pink Grapefruit Gin & Tonic Cupcakes:

And a couple of years ago, I was pretty sly with these Mimosa Butter Sweetheart Cookies. I really like cookies and was able to not only add some of his favorite jam into the mix with these, but was also able to get some champagne on deck. Always up for a glass of bubbles!

So yeah….a veritable cornucopia of Valentine’s Day goodies for the fruit lovers out there. But let me get back to this years delicious dish – Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie!

This pie is truly epic! I don’t even care for fruit desserts and after hearing folks rave, took a little bite. Wowza! If you are truly a banana lover, or have one such person close to your heart, you simply must make this! Now, I won’t pretend I just threw it together. It did take some time, but I’m sure you can do it! And I know this recipe calls for unsalted pistachios, but I gotta say, I just used salted ones and it came out wonderfully. My Valentine is also a bit crazed for salt, but if you are worried about it being too salty you could just not add the kosher salt when making the crust, but really we thought it was fine. More than fine – absolutely amazing. We’re still dreaming about that silky smooth and boozy banana pudding! So treat your Valentine (or yourself) to a scrumptious slice of Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie this year.

Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie

  • Servings: 9 inch pie - 8 servings
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

recipe from: Vaughan Vreeland via New York Times Cooking

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

  • 1½ cups/175 grams vanilla wafer crumbs (from about 50 wafers)
  • ¼ cup/50 grams granulated sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons/85 grams melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or ½ teaspoon fine salt
  • ¼ cup/30 grams shelled unsalted pistachios, very finely chopped

For the Banana Pudding:

  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 3 Tablespoons/27 grams cornstarch
  • ¾ packed cup/165 grams dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup/240 grams heavy cream
  • 1 cup/240 grams whole milk
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 Tablespoon dark rum or vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or ½ teaspoon fine salt, or more to taste
  • 3 to 4 ripe medium bananas, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

For the Whipped Cream:

  • ¼ cup/60 grams crème fraîche or sour cream
  • 1 cup/240 grams cold heavy cream
  • 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons rum or vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup/30 grams shelled unsalted pistachios, finely chopped, for garnishing or you could use little chocolate crunchies or mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix together the wafer crumbs, granulated sugar, butter, salt and pistachios. Pour the crust mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and use the bottom of a lowball glass or measuring cup to press evenly along the bottom and sides. Freeze for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the crust for 15 minutes, until it begins to turn a slightly deeper golden brown. Cool completely.

Make the pudding: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and cornstarch until thickened. Set aside close to the stove. In a heavy saucepan, heat the brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of water over medium until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil and continue to cook for 4 to 6 minutes, until the bubbling slows. (It should reach about 240 degrees on an instant-read thermometer; be careful not to burn it). Turn off the heat, and add the cream and milk carefully as they will bubble vigorously at first. Whisk thoroughly. You may have some bits of undissolved sugar, but they will continue to melt.

Return to medium heat and cook the cream mixture until it begins to simmer, an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully and slowly pour about ¼ cup of the hot cream into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan while whisking, then continue to cook, whisking continuously, until large bubbles form on the surface. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the butter, rum and salt. Taste the pudding and stir in more salt if you’d like.

Layer half of the banana slices over the bottom of the cooled crust. Pour the warm pudding over the bananas and smooth out the top. Place the remaining bananas on top, cover loosely with plastic wrap so a skin doesn’t form and let cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Chill the pie completely, for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make the whipped cream: Use a hand mixer and a large bowl or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to beat the crème fraîche and heavy cream on high speed until medium-stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and rum and beat until just incorporated. Dollop the whipped cream on top of the chilled pie, top with chopped pistachios or mini chocolate chips or pearls as you prefer. Slice and serve immediately. The pie will keep, refrigerated, for up to 4 days.

Enjoy!

Useful links for Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie:

*Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase*

Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Cuisinart Food Processor

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Lavatools Javelin Pro Instant Read Thermometer

Set of 3 Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainers

Oxo Egg Separator

Valhrona French Chocolate Pearls – These are what is pictured above. Mini chocolate chips or chopped pistachios would also work well in this recipe.

Leave a Comment » | desserts, Holidays, Recipes, Valentine's Day | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Nutella Panna Cotta

February 5, 2025

So is anyone out there craving something rich and creamy, maybe a little chocolatey and nutty? Well have I got just the thing to satisfy those cravings – Nutella Panna Cotta! It’s got all the goodness of Nutella with just a bit of lovely bittersweet chocolate thrown into the mix!

So I gotta ask….are there any Nutella fans out there? Cause let me tell you I love me some Nutella! I actually didn’t even know it existed until I was living in Ireland and my friend Theresa had a jar. I watched with amazement as she spread it over her toast. I was like “What! You can eat chocolate on toast!” I had no idea it was a thing. Yup, love at first bite. It is not by chance that I’m blogging a recipe which features Nutella today. Today February 5th is World Nutella Day. This celebration of all things Nutella was started in 2007 by Sara at Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle at Bleeding Espresso as a day to celebrate, get creative with and most importantly, to EAT Nutella.

A couple of years ago, the founders have transferred Nutella Day to Ferrero the company who owns that most beloved spread. Take a peek at their Facebook page and see how folks are celebrating the day! I love Nutella so I usually try to participate with a Nutella laden recipe every year. One of my favorite Nutella creations was this Nutella, Double Chocolate & Banana Tart which was quite stunning if I do say so myself.

Last year I baked these gorgeous little Chocolate Nutella Cookies

And the year before I gave you a batch of these Fudgy Nutella Brownies:

and would you just look at these delicious Homemade Banana Toaster Tarts drizzled with Nutella

And how do you like this big ole Malted Nutella & Biscoff Brownie Torte 

Then there was this gorgeous Nutella Star Bread:

And some amazing Nutella Chocolate Chip Babka:

And I don’t want to forget these irresistible Salted Peanut Butter & Nutella Sandwich Cookies – sweet salty bliss I tell you!

But let me get back to today’s tasty treat – Nutella Panna Cotta. Panna Cotta, which means “cooked cream” in Italian is a classic Italian dessert. It sounds oh so fancy but is actually quite easy to whip up.

It is similar to pudding but is lighter, yet still rich with a decadent velvety creamy texture. Folks will be absolutely delighted with a serving of this lusciously silky dessert!

Nutella Panna Cotta

  • Servings: 6 ramekins
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

recipe from: Melissa Clark via New York Times Cooking

Ingredients:

  • 1⅛ teaspoon powdered gelatin
  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1 cup Nutella
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1½ cups heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • ¼ cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts, for serving (optional)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk gelatin with 3 tablespoons cold water. Place chopped chocolate in another medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine Nutella and salt.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring cream to a boil. Pour half the cream over gelatin mixture and whisk gently to combine; stir in vanilla. Pour remaining cream over chopped chocolate; whisk until smooth. Combine two mixtures; whisk well.

Pour one-third of the gelatin-chocolate mixture over Nutella; beat using an electric mixer on low speed until a smooth paste forms. Pour in remaining mixture and milk; beat until fully combined.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into six ramekins. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until set, about six hours or overnight. Serve sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts, or even some whipped cream if desired.

Enjoy!

Useful links for Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Nutella Panna Cotta:

*Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase*

Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Fine Mesh Strainer Set

1 Comment | desserts, Holidays, Nutella Day, Recipes | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Kouign Amann (Breton Butter Cakes)

February 1, 2025

Ok! We made it through January and here we are, right at the start of February. And hooray! We are starting it off with the ever delectable Kouign Amann, my absolute favorite pastry! It is a laminated dough pastry, similar to a croissants but I would say vastly superior. It is, without a doubt, buttery caramelized flaky perfection! The one pastry to rule them all!!!

Yes, it is upside down, but how utterly yum does it look! Explanation of orientation to come…

But before we get into making these delectable little delights, I’d just like to say that today is February 1st. This particular day lies half way between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It is St. Brigid’s Day. Brigid is one of Ireland’s three patron saints along with St. Colmcille and St. Patrick. Ireland marks her Feast Day with a permanent Bank Holiday on the first Monday in February, which is February 3rd this year. Hooray! Who doesn’t like more holidays?!! According to Irish hagiography, Brigid was an early Christian nun & abbess who preformed many miracles. She also shares the name with an important Celtic goddess who is associated with the festival of Imbolc which was celebrated at this time as well, which suggests that the early church might have adopted the legends of the goddess and transformed them into the Christian persona. Interesting huh? I don’t know how many of you folks out there remembered to put a scarf out last night. You see on St. Brigid’s Eve you should always place a scarf or other piece of fabric outside.

When Brigid passes over the land that night she will bless it. You then can fetch it back inside the next day and thanks to Brigid, it has the power to protect and heal headaches, sore throats and fevers throughout the coming year! What with all the Covid still lurking around, I wasn’t going to take any chances. My little scarf was pretty cold and quite sodden this morning, but is happily thawing away now, freshly imbued with healing powers. As I mentioned, today marks the festival of Imbolc as well as Candlemas, both of which are associated with fertility, fire, purification and weather divination. And speaking of weather divination, tomorrow my favourite varmint, Punxsutawney Phil, will be stepping out of his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob and letting everyone know if there will be 6 more weeks of winter or if instead Spring is on the way.

One extraordinary rodent!

I don’t know if good ole Phil will see his shadow tomorrow or not. I must admit, I’m kind of hoping he predicts more winter. I love winter. In fact, I might have some plans to head out to an even colder destination here soon, so even if Spring is on its way here, I’ll get my snow fix regardless! So this is quite an auspicious time of year! I’m very happy to be marking another event today as well. February 1st just happens to be the 14th year anniversary of  the my cooking blog! Yup… Fourteen years ago today I posted my first recipe. It was for Cream Tea Scones with Currants.

I’ve managed to do an anniversary post nearly every year since. Pretty impressive considering how slack I can be! Last year I made these delicious and oh so pillowy soft Faux Laminated Maple Brioche Buns.

I shared this amazing Cranberry Orange Filled Wool Roll Bread.

And the year before, I featured this Cranberry focused dish – exquisite Cranberry Chiffon Pie!

And a couple of years ago I was all about this rich & creamy Ground Beef Chili with Chocolate & Peanut Butter. Get. out!

And the year before, I posted about these scrumptious Morning Buns!

One of my favorite recipes that I shared with you on an anniversary was: Model Bakery’s English Muffins:

Then there were those decadent  Banana Rum Muffins:

That jaw-dropping, over the top Crack Pie:

And who can forget that magical “caviar of the South” – Pasture’s Pimento Cheese. Keep this one in mind for the Super Bowl!

But let me get back to today’s recipe – Kouign Amann.

Pronounced close to “Queen Ah-mahn”, these fantastic treats hail from Brittany. “Kouign” is the Breton word for cake and “Amann” means butter, hence Breton Butter Cakes. I would even say it is The Queen of all pastries. That’s how you can remember the pronunciation. I am so clever. Anyhoo, as I mentioned, this is a laminated dough pastry.

What that means is you make a yeast dough, roll it out and add a good thick layer of butter over the top. You fold the dough over the butter to seal it in and then you begin to roll and fold and roll and fold and roll until you just can’t go on! But the result of all that effort is that when baked the dough forms all these multitudes of lovely layers.

But that isn’t all this pastry has going for it. No indeed. Towards the end of all the rolling/folding you add a hearty amount of sugar into the mix. The sugar caramelizes on baking and you get this gorgeous crisp coating over the buttery flaky center. Absolutely divine I say!

Now I’m not pretending that this is a recipe that you can just roll out of bed and whip up for breakfast. No indeed! It takes quite a bit of planning as well as a fair time investment. But it is so worth it. And you can do this over several days (see what I mean about the planning) and actually get to the point where you roll out of bed and seemingly whip these up – like magic (‘cept with a whole lot of hidden background effort). I suggest on day one you make the dough and refrigerate it overnight for the rise. The next day you can do all of your rolls/folds through shaping the Kouigns and putting them in the muffin tins. You put the tins in the fridge for an overnight rise and then – Voila! On day three, you wake up and pop them directly in the oven and they be crunchy butter caramelized perfection on your breakfast table!

Making laminated dough is definitely time consuming. And rolling dough into a perfect rectangle is definitely challenging. So try to be patient. It is important to try to keep the dough in that rectangle shape as much as possible. Take it slow. It will work. And once you get all the way to the point where you are bringing these little beauties out of the oven, remember to remove them from the muffin tins as soon as you can handle them. Otherwise that caramelized sugar goodness will make it so the cake becomes one with the tin for the foreseeable future. Also make sure you place them upside down to cool. Again that caramelized layer will form an unbreakable bond with your cooling rack if you don’t.

So I hope you will bake up a batch of Kouign Amann, my favorite of all the pastries, soon. At the very least if you see it offered in a bakery you’ll at least know what went into making it before you devour it! And speaking of devouring, I’ve got a whole batch of Kouign Amann right before me. Time to pop open the champagne, celebrate another blog-a-versary and enjoy a delightful start to St. Brigid’s this year.

Kouign Amann

  • Servings: 12 large muffin sized Kouign Amann
  • Difficulty: moderate - big time commitment, lots of steps
  • Print

recipe slightly adapted from:  Pastry Love by Joanne Chang

Ingredients:

  • 3.5 grams / 1 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast
  • 240 grams / 1 cup room temperature water
  • 385 grams / 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 15 grams / 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp
  • 225 grams / 1 cup/ 2 sticks butter, at warm room temperature
  • 200 grams/ 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more (about 1/2 cup)for sprinkling

Directions:

In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, mix together the yeast and the water until the yeast dissolves. Add the flour, salt and melted butter and mix on low speed until the dough comes together and is smooth, 3 -4 minutes. The dough should be soft and supple and should pull away from the sides of the bowl when the mixer is running.

Remove the dough from the stand mixer and place in a lightly butter bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. Move the dough to the fridge after the first rise and let it rise there for another hour.

Generously flick flour over the work surface. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on the floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 16 inches wide from side to side and 10 inches long from top to bottom. With your fingers, press or smear the room temperature butter directly onto the right half of the dough, spreading it in a thin, even layer to cover the entire half. Fold the left half of the dough over the butter and press down to seal the butter between the dough halves. Rotate the dough 90 degrees clockwise so that the rectangle is about 10 inches wide from side to side and 8 inches long from top to bottom. Lift the dough and dust flour underneath it and dust more over the top.

Press the dough down evenly with the palms of your hands, flattening it before you start to roll it out with a rolling pin. Slowly begin rolling out the dough from side to side into a rectangle about 24 inches wide and 12 inches long. The dough might be a bit sticky, so again, make sure to flour the dough and work surface as needed to prevent sticking.

Using a bench scraper, lightly score the rectangle vertically into thirds. Each third will be about 8 inches wide and 12 inches long. Brush any loose flour off the dough. Pick up the right third of the dough and flip in over onto the middle third. Then take the left third of the dough and flip that on top of the middle third ( like folding a business letter). The dough should now be about 8 inches wide, 12 inches long and about 1 1/2 inches thick. Rotate the dough clockwise 90 degrees so that the folded seam in on top, away from you.

Repeat the process once more, patiently and slowly rolling out the dough into a long rectangle. The dough will be a bit tougher to roll out and a bit more elastic at this point. Try to keep the dough in a nice rectangle, flipping it upside down as roll it back and forth to even it out. Give the dough another trifold and turn again as explained above.

Place the dough on a baking sheet and cover it completely with plastic wrap, tucking the plastic under the dough as if you’re tucking it into bed. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. ( This will relax the dough so that you can roll it out again and give it more trifolds and turns.) Don’t leave the dough in the fridge much longer than 30 minutes or the butter will harden too much and it won’t roll out properly.

Generously flick flour over the work surface. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on the work surface with the long side of the rectangle facing you and the seam on top. Again, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 24 inches wide and 12 inches long. Sprinkle approximately 1/2 of the sugar (about 1/2 cup) evenly over the dough and use the rolling pin to gently press it in. Give the dough another trifold and turn.

Roll the dough out again into a long rectangle. Sprinkle the remaining sugar (about 1/2 cup) over the dough and use the rolling pin to gently press in. Give the dough one last trifold and turn. Place the dough back on the baking sheet, cover agin with plastic wrap and refrigerate another 30 minutes.

Generously butter a 12 cup jumbo muffin tin. Generously sprinkle the work surface with granulated sugar. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap it. Place the dough on the sugar and sprinkle more over the top. Roll the dough out into a long rectangle, 24 inches wide and 8 inches long The sugar will make the dough gritty and sticky but will also make it easier to roll. Using a chef’s knife, cut the dough in half so that you have two strips of dough, each 24 inches wide from side to side and 4 inches long from top to bottom. Cut each of the strips into 6 squares, each 4×4 inches.

Working with one square at a time, fold the corners of the square into the center and press down so they stick in place. Shape and cup the dough into a little circle and press the bottom and the top in sugar. Place the dough into a well in the prepared muffin tin. It will just barely fit. Repeat with the rest of the squares.

Cover the Kouign Amann with plastic wrap and let them proof in a warm place for about 2 hours, until the dough has poured up and Kouign Amann seem light and filled with air.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and place a rack int the center of the oven. Remove the plastic wrap from the Kouign Amann. Turn the oven down to 350 degree F just before placing them in the oven. Bake until deep golden brown, 30 – 40 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway through the baking time.

Remove from the oven and as soon as you can handle them, pop them out of the muffin tin and place them upside down on a wire rack to cool for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

*Kouign Amann can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days; refresh in a 300 degree F oven for 6 – 8 minutes before serving.

Useful links for Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Kouign Amann:

*The links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase*

Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Lavatools Javelin Pro Instant Read Thermometer

6 Quart Dough Rising Bucket

Dough Rolling Mat

Norpro Ravioli/Pastry Wheel

Oxo Multipurpose Scraper– Bench Knife

Pastry Love by Joanne Chang – LOVE this cookbook! As a teaser, her Kouign Amann recipe in the book actually combines Kouign Amann with her sticky buns, so it has cinnamon, brown sugar and pecans along with sticky bun goo!

1 Comment | Anniversaries, bread, Breakfast, brunch, Groundhog Day, Holidays, Imbolc, Recipes, St. Brigid's Day | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

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