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Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: How to make the classic Baked Alaska — and mistakes to avoid
The most fun dessert from the '80s repertoire was a Baked Alaska. It is fussier to make than your average dessert, but when done well has a great novelty and wow factor. It gained a naff association with large banquet dining of questionable quality, but it holds its own when made with good ingredients. The hot and cold elements are not only fun, but they also work together on many levels of taste and texture. I think the sponge and ice cream are key, a nice homemade sponge with good soakage and quality ice cream elevates the dessert. Baked Alaska was first concocted by a chef in New York in 1876, when the United States acquired the territory of Alaska, and I guess the snowy peaks of meringue have visual symbolism which echoed the ice-topped mountains of that region. The chef was originally French and most likely used Omelette á la Norvégienne, a similar French delicacy as inspiration. As mentioned, it can be a little fiddly to make, so there are a few tips to ease the path, and many aspects can be created ahead of time and assembled before service. Raspberry and vanilla are the combination of flavours used here but there are plenty of options to experiment with. Baked Alaska recipe by:Michelle Darmody Raspberry and vanilla are the combination of flavours used here but there are plenty of options to experiment with. Servings 8 Preparation Time 60 mins Cooking Time 10 mins Total Time 1 hours 10 mins Course Dessert Ingredients for the sponge: 3 eggs, lightly whisked 90g caster sugar 90g self raising flour, sieved for the fruit compote: 250g raspberries 2 tsp honey for the meringue: 3 egg whites 170g caster sugar 1 tsp white malt vinegar 450g vanilla ice cream Method Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line an 8-inch round tin with parchment. Whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy and a trail is left from the whisk. Sieve the flour into the bowl and fold it in. Scoop the mixture into the prepared tin. Place in the centre of your oven and bake for about ten minutes or until it springs back when touched in the centre. Remove from the tin when it is cool enough to handle and set it aside on a wire rack to cool completely. To make the compote stew the raspberries gently for three minutes and then stir in the honey. Set aside to cool. Place the sponge on a large plate or serving tray and coat in the compote. Allow it to soak in as you make the meringue. To make the meringue, beat the egg whites until completely stiff and beat in the caster sugar and vinegar. When you are ready to serve your Baked Alaska, place the ice cream on top of the sponge. Heat your oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Cover the ice cream and sponge completely with the meringue. Swirl it around. Put the whole thing into the oven and bake for about 5 minutes until the tips of the meringue are golden. Serve straight away. Baker's Tips When whisking your egg whites for the meringue, ensure all of your equipment is clean and free from oil and grease, which will inhibit the egg whites rising. Also, it is best to ensure no yolk has gotten into the egg white. It helps to break and separate the eggs one at a time to make sure that you do not get yolk in the whites. When ready, the meringue mixture should be smooth and thick, and form peaks easily. You can add a layer of raspberry jam to the sponge as well as the compote if you wish. The assembly stage should be quick and smooth, so it is good to have the ice cream ready. Pre-cut ice cream to fit the size of the sponge and then put it back into the freezer until you need it. Another way to ensure it covers and sits well on the sponge is to line the sponge tin the day before, soften the ice cream and spread into the tin. Place the tin into the freezer. When the ice cream has firmed up, remove from the tin, leaving the disc of ice cream ready for easy assembly. One of the keys to the success of this dessert is keeping the ice cream as cold as possible. The ice cream is protected from melting by the insulating properties of the little bubbles of trapped air in the meringue. Ensure the meringue covers the other ingredients completely. If they are not fully covered, heat will get into the centre and melt the ice cream. When scorching the meringue, basically turn up your oven as high as it will go. Most ovens stop at 220°C but yours may go a little higher. Remove all trays and wire racks from your oven ahead of time. You can use a kitchen blow torch instead if you have one. Using either method you should have a golden-tipped, crispy outer layer. Three delicious variations Chocolate and cherry Add 15g of cocoa powder to 75g self-raising flour for the sponge. I often use pre-made maraschino cherries that I source in my local Italian shop. If you do not have access to these, you can stew frozen or fresh cherries to make a compote, add little sugar as you are stewing. Coffee Soak the sponge in a combination of coffee liqueur and strong espresso. This dessert is not for the faint-hearted. It is a caffeine and alcohol kick. You can use coffee ice cream as well for more intensity. Raspberry and chocolate In place of the sponge, cut a slab of chocolate brownie then top it with a layer of raspberry jam and then a block of raspberry ice cream. Swirl the meringue on top and continue to bake as per the recipe.
Irish Examiner
12-07-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: How to bake the classic cherry tart — and the mistakes to avoid
There are a few weeks in the year when the price of cherries drops much lower than in other months. I tend to buy quite a lot of them at this time, simply for eating as they are, but also for use in baking. No matter how you choose to eat your cherries, it is worth seeking them out at the moment. They may even help you get a good night's sleep as they contain melatonin. We have native wild cherries that grow in Ireland, but unfortunately these do not reach a sweetness level to be eaten, but they can be used for making jams and sauces. The sour fruits are smaller and harder than the commercially grown cherries, and are dark red, almost black in colour. Commercially grown cherries that we buy in shops are grown for the bigger sweeter berries they provide. A fresh cherry should have a shiny, taut skin and no soft patches. The colour can vary with different varieties, but most sold in Ireland are a deep wine colour, and the good ones are filled with dark pink juice that drips down your chin when bitten into. My favourite place to buy Irish grown cherries is The Apple Farm in Tipperary. It is a lovely stop on the Cork to Dublin journey. Cherry Tart recipe by:Michelle Darmody A fresh cherry should have a shiny, taut skin and no soft patches. The colour can vary with different varieties, but most sold in Ireland are a deep wine colour. Servings 10 Preparation Time 35 mins Cooking Time 42 mins Total Time 1 hours 17 mins Course Baking Ingredients for the pastry: 225g plain flour, sieved 140g cold butter, cubed 60g golden caster sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten and an extra egg yolk for the pastry glaze for the filling: 800g cherries, stoned and halved 150g cherry jam 1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp corn flour 40g golden caster sugar Method Add the small cubes of butter to the flour and rub them in until it looks like rough breadcrumbs. Stir the sugar into the egg to dissolve it slightly and add this to the flour mixture until it comes together as a dough. Wrap the pastry dough in baking parchment and place into the fridge to firm up for about two hours. Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Lightly grease and flour a 9-inch pie dish. I use one with fluted sides, the same one I use when making a quiche. Set the tin aside in a cool or cold place while you roll your pastry. Roll the pastry into a disc a few centimetres larger than your tart tin and gently nudge it into the prepared dish. Trim the edges. Keep any excess pastry to make the lattice on top. Prick the pastry base all over with a fork. Put a disc of parchment on top of the pastry and fill it with baking beans. Bake the tart case blind for 10 minutes until the edges are just starting to colour very slightly. Remove from the oven and remove the beans. Brush the pastry with some of the egg yolk and place it back into the oven for 2 more minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Toss the stoned cherries with the jam, vanilla, corn flour and sugar until everything is combined. Set aside. Reroll the bits of pastry and make strips for a lattice. Fill the case with the filling. Weave the pastry strips under and over in the opposite directions, creating a lattice pattern. Crimp all around the edge for a neat finish. Bake for in the centre of your oven for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden. Allow to cool for about an hour before eating. Bakers' Tips You can use the paper from the block of butter to rub the butter into the tart tin or tear a square of baking parchment and rub a teaspoon of butter onto all the crevices. After this add a teaspoon of flour into the greased tin and swirl it around so that all of the butter is covered in flour. You can line the base of your tin with parchment as well if you would prefer, to ensure it comes out easily. Make sure to rest your pastry in the fridge to ensure the crispiest result and do not stretch the pastry too much when placing it into the tin or it will shrink back when baking. If you need a bigger circle, roll the pastry a bit thinner. To preserve cherries and keep them fresh for as long as possible keep them as dry until ready to use. If the pastry edges of the tart are beginning to brown and the lattice is still pale you can cover the outside with some tin foil and place the tart back into the oven. If you cut the tart too soon, the cherry juice will flood out and make the pastry mushy. The corn flour allows the filling to set as it cools which prevents this. The tart will last about three days in the fridge. It does not freeze very well as it becomes mushy when defrosted. Three delicious variations Spiced cherry tart Warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg pair well with cherries. You can add a half a teaspoon of each to the cherries when you are adding the jam, sugar, corn flour and vanilla. Chocolate cherry tart Adding cocoa powder to the pastry will not only change the flavour it will also make it a lovely dark colour that looks good with the cherry filling. To make chocolate pastry, replace 25g of the flour with 25g of cocoa powder. Make sure to sieve the two together to ensure they are well combined. Cherry frangipane You can quite dramatically change the tart by adding a layer of frangipane on top of the blind baked case and dotting the cherries on top. Beat 110g of soft butter, 100g of golden caster sugar, 110g of ground almonds, 35g of plain flour, a ½ a teaspoon of baking powder with a ½ a teaspoon of almond extract and two eggs. Beat until combined. Pour this into your pastry case and place the cherries on top. Bake for about 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Turn down the oven slightly towards the end if the pastry is beginning to brown too much.
Irish Examiner
28-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: How to make the classic ice-cream sandwich — and the mistakes to avoid
Who doesn't love an ice cream sandwich? When I visited Australia a few years ago, there was a bakery near where I was staying which served about 15 different varieties, all delicious. They made the sandwiches with their own churned ice cream and homemade biscuits. It was a real treat to visit in the heat of the day. The same place also specialised in ice-cream cakes, which were a wonder. Layers of different-colour ice creams moulded, and piled high. I know I would have been very excited if one arrived at the birthday table when I was a child. The recipe here is a little simpler, but hopefully equally as tasty and refreshing. The biscuits do not get overly crisp so are nice to bite into alongside the soft centre. I find if the biscuit or cookie is too crisp, it makes the ice cream squelch out as you are eating it. A soft and chewy American style chocolate chip cookie works very well for example, while a snappy ginger nut biscuit not so well. There are many Irish-made ice creams you can choose from to fill your sandwich, plenty of delicious locally made versions that celebrate our rich and wonderful dairy history. Ice Cream Sandwich recipe by:Michelle Darmody There are many Irish-made ice creams you can choose from to fill your sandwich, plenty of delicious locally made versions that celebrate our rich and wonderful dairy history. Servings 12 Preparation Time 20 mins Cooking Time 12 mins Total Time 32 mins Course Dessert Ingredients 120g butter, soft 115g golden caster sugar 1 tsp baking powder 50g cocoa powder 240g flour 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 tbsp Golden Syrup 540g vanilla ice cream, soft Method Beat the butter and sugar until pale in colour. Sieve the baking powder, cocoa powder and flour together. Add the egg and |Golden Syrup to the butter mixture and combine. Stir in the flour mixture until it is also combined. Bring the dough together with your hands until smooth. Wrap in parchment and place into the fridge to firm up for an hour. Line two large flat baking trays with parchment. Preheat your oven to 180 °C/gas mark 4. Roll the dough to about 2 mm in thickness and cut it into rectangles about 8cm x 4.5cm in size. You should get about 24 biscuits. Place the biscuits onto the prepared trays. Bake in the center of your oven for 12 minutes. Baker's Tips: You can use a hot spoon to measure out the Golden Syrup; it is so viscous it can be difficult to weigh or measure otherwise. You can put the dough into the freezer or fridge if it gets too soft during rolling. Rolling it while soft will be very messy. Adding a little sprinkling of flour onto your rolling pin with help with the rolling. Leave some space between each biscuit on tray as they will expand as they heat up during baking. It may not need saying, but the biscuits will have to cool completely before making the sandwiches. Leave the biscuits to cool on the baking tray a little longer than you would other biscuits because they are soft when they are still warm. Once cooled place them onto a wire rack to cool completely. You can shape the ice cream around the edge of your biscuit for the neatest result, going around the biscuit with a warm knife can help with this. You can place the ice cream sandwiches on a baking tray and pop them back in the freezer to harden up before serving. This is advisable if it has taken a while to make them and the ice cream has got very soft. If the sandwiches are for an outdoor party or to be served later, you can wrap each one in a square of baking parchment for ease of transporting. This can also be helpful because once wrapped in parchment the sandwiches can be placed into the freezer for storage. They will last a few weeks in the freezer. If you are popping them into a zip-loc bag, squeeze out as much of the air as possible to prevent freezer burn or a build-up of excess ice. The biscuits will keep for a week in an airtight container before you make the sandwiches. Three delicious variations Mint chocolate chip Mint chocolate chip ice cream is a delicious addition instead of the vanilla ice cream. To be extra-decadent you can pour some melted (but slightly cooled) chocolate over the top of the sandwiches. Keep the prepared sandwiches on a tray in the freezer as the chocolate is cooling down, it will still need to be somewhat hot to be pouring texture. Remove the mint choc chip sandwiches from the freezer and drizzle the chocolate on top. Place the tray back into the freezer quite quickly and allow the chocolate to firm up before serving. Raspberry sorbet Raspberry and chocolate work very well together and you can make these sandwiches with a rich raspberry sorbet. I particularly like the version made by Murphy's Ice Cream; it works great for this recipe. You can sprinkle a few chopped raspberries on top of the sorbet before adding the top biscuit if you like. Neapolitan ice cream sandwich Neapolitan is a classic paring of colours and flavours. While ice cream sandwiches are said to have first been invented on the streets on New York for hurried workers on-the-go, to me they are synonymous with Italy, and this is a combination invented by Italian immigrants to the United States. You will need three different ice creams chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Freeze these in rectangle shapes so you can cut the ice cream blocks to fit the biscuits. Add three layers into each sandwich. Read More
Irish Examiner
21-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: Get that ricotta with this classic cheesecake — and the mistakes to avoid
Ricotta is a beautifully creamy and slightly sweet Italian cheese which is often made with sheep's milk. It always reminds me of idyllic trips to Sicily where we have eaten it at almost every meal, in both sweet and savoury dishes. The soft cheese is so intertwined with Sicilian life it gets delivered by its very own van, instead of the milk man calling, it is the ricotta man or woman that knocks on the door at sunrise. To choose the best ricotta, you need to take its texture into account, it should be creamy, but also a little grainy, and have a really fresh, light flavour, with residual sweetness. Chilled ricotta is denser and more creamy, while room-temperature ricotta is lighter and fluffier. For baking, I generally use ricotta that has come to room temperature. You can make ricotta at home if you are so inclined, using fresh milk and some straining techniques. Toonsbridge Dairy, based in Macroom, make a wonderful ricotta from local buffalo milk. This cake is a great base for adding flavours, even the addition of some lemon zest lifts it, adding a zesty new dimension. Ricotta Cheesecake recipe by:Michelle Darmody This cake is a great base for adding flavours, even the addition of some lemon zest lifts it, adding a zesty new dimension. Servings 10 Preparation Time 20 mins Cooking Time 60 mins Total Time 1 hours 20 mins Course Main Ingredients 370g ricotta, room temperature 3 eggs zest 1 orange 2 tsp vanilla extract (or the seeds from inside of 2 vanilla pods) 220g golden caster sugar 220g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder 115g butter, very soft 40g light muscovado sugar Method Line a 9-inch round spring-form tin with parchment. Preheat your oven to 190 °C/gas mark 5. Whisk the ricotta, eggs, zest and vanilla with the golden caster sugar until smooth. Sieve the flour and baking powder together. Gently stir the ricotta mixture and flour mixture together. Fold in the butter. Scoop the mixture into your prepared tin and smooth the top. Sprinkle the muscovado sugar on top. Bake in the center of your oven for about an hour or until a skewer comes out clean and the top is dark golden in colour. Allow to cool in the tin until cool enough to handle then gently place onto a wire rack. Baker's Tips: Using vanilla pods rather than a liquid essence or extract will boost the flavour considerably. For the best texture use very soft, but not melted, butter. Having all the ingredients, including the eggs and ricotta at room temperature ensures they combine well, and the batter is the best consistency. The ricotta cheese makes the cake rich without making it too dense. You can add a little butter to the tin before lining it with parchment to help the parchment stick. This ensures that the parchment does not wiggle around when you scoop the batter into the tin. As with most baking recipes, it is best not to over mix the flour. To avoid over mixing, stir until it is incorporated but no more. You can use a gluten-free flour in this recipe, but the cake will be denser in texture. When removing the cake from the tin, open the spring form clasp and if needed gently run a butter knife around the edges. Peel off the parchment and place the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. If your cake has sunken in the centre, it is probably because the batter was too wet, and the cake did not keep its structure during baking. If there is liquid in the ricotta before weighing, separate this and use the solid part of the cheese for the cake. Sugar adds sweetness to bakes but it is also a preservative. This cake will last about three days at a cool temperature. Three delicious variations: Raspberry Use 400g of raspberries in addition to the ingredients listed. Fold 300g of the raspberries in when you are adding the soft butter and sprinkle the rest on top with the muscovado sugar. Pink grapefruit and strawberry I like using pink grapefruit zest for something a little more unusual. Replace the orange zest with the zest of two pink grapefruits and use just one teaspoon of vanilla extract rather than two. Then fold in 350g of chopped strawberries with the butter. Chocolate chip and cherry Simply add a handful of dark chocolate chips and a handful of pitted cherries into the mixture when you are folding in the soft butter. Read More Michelle Darmody: How to bake classic chocolate peanut butter squares
Irish Examiner
14-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: How to bake classic chocolate peanut butter squares
Tomorrow is Father's Day, and this is a recipe that all the family can participate in making. The margin of error is quite low, so little hands can help without too many undue consequences. Breaking up the chocolate into small pieces is a favourite activity in our house, but I always need a bit extra, as some of it inevitably gets munched. Peanuts and chocolate are a delicious blend of flavours and textures. I always gravitate towards them as a combination. The creaminess of the peanut butter adds a beautifully soft texture to the squares. I use a crunchy peanut butter which also adds a little bite, but smooth works just as well. You can make your own peanut butter and blend it to whatever texture you desire. Add enough peanuts to fill your food processor to a third and pulse the power on and off for a few minutes until the nuts begin to breakdown. I use lightly salted peanuts. You will need to stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula a few times. It may seem like you need to add oil but if you hold your patience, the nuts will eventually begin to form a smooth paste. Blend until you have the texture you wish. This homemade nut butter will store for about four weeks in an airtight jar. If you use unsalted peanuts, you will probably have to add a few pinches of salt to bring out the flavour. Chocolate Peanut-Butter Squares recipe by:Michelle Darmody "The creaminess of the peanut butter adds a beautifully soft texture to the squares. I use a crunchy peanut butter which also adds a little bite, but smooth works just as well." Servings 9 Preparation Time 20 mins Cooking Time 20 mins Total Time 40 mins Course Dessert Ingredients for the base 3 eggs, separated 200g dark chocolate, broken into small, even-sized pieces 220g peanut butter 250g muscovado sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 100g self-raising flour, sieved for the topping 100mls cream 150g dark chocolate, broken into small even sized pieces ½ tbsp butter 2 tbsp chopped peanuts, roasted Method 1. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking tin with parchment. 2. Preheat your oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. 3. Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks and set aside. 4. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof dish over some hot water on a hob, or in your microwave. 5. Beat the sugar and peanut butter and add in the melted chocolate. 6. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. 7. Stir in the flour until combined. 8. Fold the egg whites into the mixture. 9. Scoop the batter into your prepared tin and smooth out the top. 10. Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are firming up. 11. Once cool enough to handle remove the bake onto a wire rack to cool completely. 12. Heat the cream and when shivering then remove it from the heat and stir in the chocolate pieces and butter until melted. 13. Allow the topping to come to just above room temperature then pour it over the bake. 14. Cut into nine squares. 15. Sprinkle the chopped roasted peanuts on top. Baker's tips: If you only have smooth peanut butter but would like a crunch you can stir a tablespoon of chopped peanuts into the batter as well. If you are melting the chocolate on the hob using the double boiler method, (sit a heatproof dish full of chocolate pieces over some hot water on a hob, making sure it doesn't touch the water) it is important to prevent any steam getting into the chocolate. Steam will cause it to seize up because the cocoa particles will clump together leaving you with a grainy mixture which tastes a far cry from smooth and shiny chocolate. You can try and reverse this process by whisking in some melted butter, a teaspoon at a time. Whisking vigorously between each teaspoon of butter added. When folding egg whites into the batter, it is best to stir a little in first to loosen the mixture then fold the remaining egg whites in. If the squares turn out very flat, it may be due to over-mixing. The air in the egg whites helps the squares to rise, so it is important to stop the air bubbles deflating and fold the egg white into the batter gently rather than stir. To do this, you cut down through the mixture with the side of your wooden spoon or spatula then lift a large spoonful of the mixture and fold it over. You can rotate the bowl as you do this to ensure all the mixture gets incorporated with the egg white. Shivering cream means that it is just below the boiling point. There will be very small bubbles beginning to form at the edges of the saucepan and the top of the liquid will literally look like it is shivering. These slices will last four days in an airtight container, or they freeze well, without the topping. The topping can then be added after the slices are defrosted. Three delicious variations: Hazelnut and almond By substituting the peanut butter for almond butter and then adding chopped hazelnuts on top, it changes the taste quite dramatically. Pistachio You can use pistachio butter in place of the peanut butter and then use nice green and pink chopped pistachios to decorate. This combination has become very popular lately. Chocolate peanut butter buns For this version you can simply scoop the batter into paper bun cases instead of baking it as a traybake. You may have to reduce your baking time by about five minutes, depending on your oven. Wait and allow the topping to firm up completely before piping it onto the buns. Read More Michelle Darmody: How to make a peach traybake that feeds a dozen
