Whiskey & Tea (Whiskey Tea Barmbrack)
Lazy Irish Afternoon
There is something delicate and extraordinary about an Irish pub in the afternoon hours.
Depending on whether you find yourself in a bustling Dublin pub, like the many I frequented while living there in the late 90’s, to a languid Galway pub near the running River Corrib flowing down the way in full spate, a proper Irish pub in the afternoon is typically not filled with drunkards, nor dark, musty, and unkind.
It is bright; light moves itself into the often stained glass windows, like the nearby coastal rivers (if the pub be on a coast), and illuminates the various levels of pub food being eaten for lunch: lamb stew, chips, and the most iconic of my first daytime visit to a Dublin pub: the ham sandwich. If in a quieter version of the place, there may be a chess game or two going on; a banjo, a guitar. People whose internal clocks often aren’t wearing a watch come together in a very unique and momentous way, if not quietly so.
Barmbrack
The point of my lackadaisical Irish tale is that Barmbrack is the baked equivalent of one of these afternoons. Barmbrack refers to any quickly made bread–a sweet bread that is comprised of a thick dough vs. a cakey batter. It is often filled with dried fruit or raisins and, in typical Irish style, this Barmbrack has strong Irish tea (Barry’s and Bewley’s are my personal favorites) and a little Irish Whiskey too.
The process could not be simpler: soak the raisins and sultanas (today I used golden raisins in place of sultanas, it’s a taste thing) with the tea, the whiskey, brown sugar, and a little cinnamon and nutmeg for some additional warming components.
The resulting bread-like cake or sweet bread will keep you indoors this and every Sunday (and, if you’re reading this any time around the date of the original post, looks like keeping ourselves in is where it’s at, for better and for worse.) Dunk your Barmbrack into an American cup of coffee, a strong Irish tea, or an Irish coffee. Or just slather with (Kerry) butter and call it breakfast.
Whiskey Tea Barmbrack
Equipment
- Soak the raisins and sultanas (youcan add additional dried fruit if preferred) in a bowl overnight with thewhiskey, tea, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees andgrease/flour an 8-10 inch round cake tin (the dough is plentiful, so I used aspringform pan to hold it all).
- Into the soaking mix, stir inthe sifted flour and eggs until incorporated. As said,the dough will be very thick, but it will incorporate.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup sultanas (or golden raisins)
- 1 Cup raisins
- 1 Cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp whiskey
- 1 1/4 cup strong brewed Irish tea (don't use Lipton, you can find some!)
- 3.5 cups self raising flour, sifted
- 2 eggs, beaten
Honey or marmalade and raw or demerara sugar to glaze
Instructions
- Bake for at least an hour. Ovensvary, and it could take anywhere from an hour to an hour and 20 minutes. Makesure the toothpick test comes out clean and tidy.
- Towards the end of baking,brush honey or marmalade onto the top of the cake whilestill in the oven and sprinkle the sugar on top for a nice little additionaltexture.Let cool for at least 15-20minutes, slice, and sit back. You're not going anywhere today.
Notes
- Throw a towel over the soaking elements overnight so the mix can still “breathe.”
- This recipe really doesn’t require a stand mixer; a little light work with a wooden spoon is plenty. Relish and accept this fact.
- You can heat the honey or marmalade in a microwave for 15-30 seconds to give it some slack.