From our Mothers’ Kitchen
Stirred with love
Thursday Club, a community group in West Waterford by the sea, collected our shared memories of cooking with our mothers, this is our book.
blank - inside cover
A little about the ‘Thursday Club’ Group
On 5th May 2000 a group of ladies began running the ‘Thursday Club’ a social afternoon for a retired group. That has grown over the years and is based in Kinsalebeg Hall each Thursday from 2 o’clock to 5pm.
Our group have been involved in many things over the years (including a book of stories from our members a few years ago). So this year, we decided to work together on a book of recipes.
We enjoyed recalling nostalgic experiences of home, our Mums cooking with us, and us later cooking with our children. Recipes, smell and taste that connect us to our childhood.
Whether it be life-changing or simply something we took for granted at that time but now wish we could go back to.
Thursday Club Committee
Helen Collins Chairperson
Gabriel Power Vice-Chairperson
Karen Byrne Treasurer
Colette Foley Assitant Treasurer
Joan Curtin Secretary
Mary Trihy
May Murphy
Mary Dowd
25th Birthday Celebrations in Fota House, May 2025
Helen, Joan, Gaby & Colette
Mary, Helen, Colette, Joan & Karen
Helen Collins, Catherine Foley(RIP), Mary Trihy, Gabriel Power, May Murphy, Colette Foley Karen Byrne, Joan Curtin, Peg Wickham (RIP) & W.J.Curtin (RIP)
Ann, Frances & Pat
Helen Byrne Mary & Helen
Karen, May, Mary, Colette, Helen, Joan & Mary
Fish
Smelts (Baked)
Ingredients
2 oz flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 oz butter
Method
Mix together the flour, salt and pepper. Toss the smelts carefully in the flour, etc. Spread out on a buttered tin or plate. Pour melted butter over the fish and bake in the oven for 15 minutes with the “Regulo” at mark 5. Serve with tomato or other suitable sauce.
Plaice (Stuffed)
Ingredients
1 plaice, 1 ½ lbs
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 egg or a little milk
A dust of nutmeg
Salt, pepper and a trace of cayenne
½ pint brown stock
Browned breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped suet
½ tsp chopped parsley
Method
Remove the brown skin from the plaice and cut down the centre as for the filling; raise the fillets to the fins, but do not remove them. Forcemeat, prepared from the above ingredients (except the stock), should be laid under each fillets, but only one side of the fish should be stuffed.
The fish, with the stock, should be baked in a tin for 45 minutes with the “Regulo” at mark 5. Dish, strain the seasoned gravy over the fish, sprinkle with browned breadcrumbs and serve hot.
Pat Morrissey’s Plaice (Stuffed), Salmon Croquettes, Smelts (Baked) & Smoked Salmon Pate
Salmon Croquettes
Ingredients
1 oz butter
1 oz flour
¼ pint milk or stock
6 oz tinned or cooked salmon
Seasoning
Egg and breadcrumbs
Method
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, and stir in the flour. Add the milk slowly while heating gently, stirring briskly all the time until the mixture thickens and leaves the side of the pan. Add seasoning and flaked fish. Turn on to a plate, and when quite cold, divide into pieces of equal size and form into cork-shaped rolls. Coat with egg and breadcrumbs. Fry in deep fat and garnish with lemon and parsley.
Smoked Salmon Pate
Ingredients
75g (3oz) smoked salmon
200g (7oz) Philadelphia Cheese light
Squeeze on tbsp lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp creamed horseradish (optional)
Method
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz for 2 minutes, till smooth.
Place mixture in a bowl and sprinkle with paprika to serve. This delicious pate will keep up to one week in the fridge. Delicious piped on crackers. Serve with brown bread, Melba toast or French bread, sliced, coat with olive oil and bake in preheated over 400 degrees F, 200 degrees C or gas 6 for approximately 5 minutes.
Fish Pie
Ingredients
100g butter
5 bacon rashers cut into 1cm cubes
1 medium diced onion
300g plain flour
1tbs Keens mustard powder
650ml milk
4 white fish fillets cut into 2cm cubes
1tsp McCormick tarragon
1 sheet puff pastry
Method
Pre-heat oven to 180C.
Melt butter in medium saucepan, add bacon and onions and fry for 2 minutes. Add the flour and mustard powder and mix well for 1 minute. Add milk slowly and continue to stir until thickened. Add diced fish fillets and tarragon into the sauce. Pour into an oven, proof dish. Top the dish with puff pastry, have extra over, hang to allow shrinkage.
Cut a cross in the centre of the pastry, brush with milk. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, until pastry is golden and fish is cooked through.
Serve with steamed vegetable or fresh salad.
Aggie Hurton’s Fresh Fish Pie
“This is my husband, John Hurtons’ recipe”
Fresh Fish
Ingredients
Fresh Fish (Boned & Skinned)
Garlic butter
Cherry tomatoes on vine
Spring onions
Method
Place fish knob of garlic butter. Tomatoes left on the vine and spring onions cut in half into tinfoil. Loosely close up tinfoil. Steam or over for 20-25 minutes.
Serve with salad, rice, or baked potato or brown bread.
Clare Fish & Potato Pie
Ingredients
1 ½ lb filleted cod, whiting or haddock
8 cooked potatoes
⅓ pint milk
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
Breadcrumbs
A little butter or margarine
To serve - chopped parsley
Method
Remove skin and cut fish into fairly small pieces. Grease a pie dish or casserole and fill with alternate layers of slice potatoes and fish, ending in a layer of potatoes. Mix eggs with milk and add salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the fish and potatoes. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and dot with butter. Bake in a moderate over 400F or gas 6 for 40 minutes. Serve sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Sligo Steamed Fish
Ingredients
1 sole, whiting, haddock or any white fish
Lemon juice
Salt
Parsley
White sauce
Some boiling water
Method
Trim and clean the fish, remove any skin. Have ready two buttered plates. Place the fish between the plates. Sprinkle with lemon juice - season - put the plates over a saucepan of boiling water an make sure the water keeps boiling. Cook until the flesh is white and leaves the bone easily. Then place in a dish with wafer thin lemon slices in between. Sprain sauce over it - garnish with well chopped parsley.
Traditional Baked Fish
Ingredients
1 fillet of cod or white fish
Butter
4 oz milk
Parsley
Chopped onions
Good quality white breadcrumbs
Method
Place the fillet in a baking tray. Cover with breadcrumbs and onion and drizzle melted butter across the top. Pour the milk around the fish. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a medium oven 275F.
Discard milk and garnish with parsley.
Cottage Pie
Ingredients
900g/ 2lb potatoes
Salad and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp milk
50g/ 2oz butter
500g minced beef
1 large onion
2 carrots
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp plain flour
300mls hot beef stock
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
6 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
Method
Peel the potatoes and cook in a pan of salted water for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and return to the pan. Add the milk and butter and heat gently until the milk is boiling. Remove from the heat and mash until smooth. Season to taste. Set aside.
Meanwhile heat a pan, add the beef and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the beef is browned, stirring occasionally to break any lumps. Peel the onion, carrots, and garlic and chop. Add to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Blend in the stock and bring to the boil. Stir in the remaining ingredients and seasoning and bring back to the boil.
Preheat the oven to 200C/ 400F/ gas 6. Spoon the meat mixture into an oven-proof dish. Spread over the mashed potato, fluffing up slightly. Bake for 25 minutes until the potato is golden.
We were lucky we had a gas cooker, but no electricity ” “
Fillets of Beef
Ingredients
1 ¼ lbs fillet steak
2 oz butter
½ lb tomato
Salt and pepper
1 oz flour
½ pint stock
Method
Divide the meat into fillets ¾ inch thick. Dip the seasoned flour and fry in the butter until brown. Cut the tomatoes into slices ¼ inch thick, place in a tin, season, and bake in a slow oven for 5 minutes. Melt ½ oz butter in a small pan, fry in it the trimmings from the tomatoes. Stir in the flour, add stock, seasoning, colouring if necessary, and boil up. Dish the fillets down the centre of the dish with a slice of tomato between each and surround them with the strained gravy.
Beef steak & Kidney Pie
Ingredients
454g/ 1lb beefsteak
2 sheep kidneys or ½ lb ox kidney
Flour
1 large chopped onion
Stock or water
8 oz suet pastry
Salt and pepper
Method
Grease a 6 inch pudding bowl and line it with ¾ of the pastry. Cut the steak into pieces and coat with seasoned flour. Remove skin and core from the kidneys cut into pieces and flour them. Fill the bowl with prepared meat, onion and 2-3 tsp stock or water. Put pastry on top, sealing the edges well. Cover wit greased paper or cloth and steam for at least 3 hours.
You could also use flaky pastry instead of suet pastry. Put the meat mixture in pie dish, add stock, cover with flaky pastry, make two slits on top to allow steam to escape. Bake in a fairly hot oven 200C/400F (gas mark 5) for 1-1 ½ hours.
Irish Spiced Beef
Ingredients
1 fresh beef brisket (6lbs)
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup coarse sea salt
¼ cup chopped onions
4 bay leaves crushed
3 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried rosemary crushed
2 tsp dried thyme
1 ½ tsp ground all spice
1 ½ tsp ground cloves
4 medium onions sliced
2 cups stout or beef broth
Method
Peg Collender’s Irish Spiced Beef.
“I remember spiced beef at christmas”
Place beef in a baking tin 15x10x1, rub with brown sugar, refrigerate, covered - 24 hours. In a bowl mix salt, chopped onion, bay leaves and seasonings - Rub over beef. Refrigerate, covered. 3 days turning and rubbing salt mixture into the beef once a day. Preheat oven to 325F. Remove and discard salt mixture - place beef, onions carrots celery and stout in a roasting pan, add water to come half way up the brisket. Roast covered 4 - 4 ½ hours or until meat is tender. Cool meat in cooking juice for 1 hour. Remove beef - discard vegetables and cooking juices. Transfer beef to a 13x9 in baking dish. Refrigerate covered overnight. Cut diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve with rye bread, cheese and mustard.
Chicken
Waterford Chicken
Casserole
Ingredients
2lbs chicken - cut up into frying pieces
½ oz butter
Cream of chicken soup
¼ pint milk
3 tbsp of finely chopped onions
1 tsp salt
A dash of pepper
4 carrots cut into thin strips
1 tbsp of finely chopped parsley
Some paprika
Method
Heat the fat in the frying pan and brown the chicken pieces. Remove the chicken to a casserole dish and pour off most of the fat from the pan. Add the soup, milk, onions, salt and pepper to the remaining fat. Add the carrots and parsley to the casserole pan, pour the sauce over and baked covered in a moderate oven for one hour or until the chicken and carrots are tender. Sprinkle with paprika just before serving.
One-Pot Chicken & Dumplings
Ingredients
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion minced
1 stalk of celery thinly sliced
2 carrots diced medium
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
3 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of diced cooked chicken
½ pound green beans trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 tsp of baking powder
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus one for topping
½ cup whole milk
Method
In a large saucepan melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium to light. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add ¼ cup of flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute gradually add the broth, stirring constantly then bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in chicken and green beans and season with salt and pepper.
Make dumplings. Whisk together 1 cup of flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of coarse salt and 2 tablespoons parsley. Cut in 2 tablespoons of butter, stir in milk.
Drop leaping spoonfuls batter on top of chicken mixture.
Cook and simmer until dumplings are cooked about 12 minutes.
Serve with chopped parsley.
Lamb
Pat
Morrissey’s
Lamb Madras Curry
“If
you wanted supper you had to collect kindling”
Lamb Madras Curry
Ingredients
4 tbsp sunflower oil
1 kg/ 2 lbs diced Irish lamb, trimmed of fat, diced small and seasoned
2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
15-30ml/ 1-2 tbsp fresh root ginger, grated
1 handful stalks of coriander chopped
1x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
570ml/ 1 pint chicken stock, strong
45ml/ 3 tbsp cumin, ground
1 tbsp hot curry powder (more if you like it hotter)
7ml/ ½ tbsp ground coriander
7ml/ 1 ½ tsp ground cardamom
Big handful or coriander, chopped
Method
Add sunflower oil to a large frying pan, and over a high heat sauté the lamb until sealed (you know it is sealed when it turns brown on the outside). Lightly sweat off onions in a large wide pan. Add garlic and ginger with all the spices and coriander stalks (cook out the spice, be careful not to burn the spice) stir all time.
Add tomatoes and chicken stock, cover and allow simmer for 10 minutes. Blitz the tomato mixture with a hand-blender until smooth. Add the sealed lamb, cover and simmer until lamb is tender, which will take approx. 45 minutes to 1 hour (give it 2 hours if the lamb chunks are very big)
Add chopped coriander and serve with rice or couscous.
Cait Troy’s Lamb Stew
“served with soda farls.”
Lamb Stew
Ingredients
2 tsp vegetable oil
800g diced lamb shoulder
1 large onion, roughly chopped
4 large carrots cut into large chunks
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp tomato puree
750ml lamb stock
2 bay leaves
Rosemary sprig
Method
Heat the oven to 160C/ 140C fan/ Gas 3. Heat the oil in a large flame-proof casserole dish. Add the meat in batches and brown over a high heat for 5 minutes and take out into plate. Tip in the onions and carrots and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until starting to colour. Scatter over the flour and stir in for a few minutes hen stir in the tomato puree and cook for a few minutes more. Tip the meat and any resting juice into the dish and stir well. Bring to a simmer then remove from the heat. Cover with a lid and pit in the oven for about 2 ½ until the meat is tender - have to settle for a minute or 2 then sever with mash and greens.
Nora Hickey ” “
Nothing like toast from the open fire
Mutton Cutlets
Ingredients
2lbs best end neck of mutton
2 oz breadcrumbs
1 egg
Frying fat
Pepper and salt
Method
Saw off the chine bone and divide the meat into cutlets, leaving a bone to each ; bare the top end of the about 1 inch down, pare off the fat and beat the cutlets, put them in shape again, brush over with egg and roll them in breadcrumbs, seasoned with salt and pepper. Put in basket and fry in smoking-hot fat 7 or 8 minutes. Drain on soft paper; dish in a ring, with tomato sauce poured in the centre - not over; or the sauce may be served in a separate tureen.
Aggie Hurton’s Shephards Pie
“This is my husband, John Hurtons’ recipe”
Shepherds Pie
Ingredients
Potatoes
500g minced meat
2 carrots
Knorr Shepherds Pie Mix - add water
Cup of peas
Small tin kidney beans
Onion
Garlic
Oxo beef cube
Soy sauce
Brown BBQ sauce
Method
Boil potatoes and carrots. Add peas at the end, Fry onion, add garlic, add mince, add oxo cube and soy sauce. Add shepherds pie mix and add kidney beans, carrots and peas. Add 2 tablespoons of brown sauce. Bring it all together at the end.
Pork Cutlets
Ingredients
8 pork cutlets
Salt and pepper for seasoning
6 eating apples
Butter
Method
Cut cutlets from best end of pork - trim and season with salt and pepper. Melt butter in frying pan - put in cutlets. Fry on both sides until half done. Peal and slice apples. Butter on oven proof dish and lay slices of apple in the bottom. Place the half cooked pork on top and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for ½ hour making sure the pork is fully cooked.
Irish Coddled Pork with Cider
Ingredients
Small knob butter
2 pork loin chops
4 rashers smoked bacon cut into pieces
2 potatoes cut into large chunks
½ small swede cut into chunks
½ large cabbage cut into smaller pieces
1 bay leaf
100ml Irish cider
100ml chicken stock
Method
Heat the butter in a casserole dish until sizzling the fry the pork for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned- remove from the pan. Tip the bacon, carrot, potatoes and swede into the pan, then gently fry until slightly coloured, stir in the cabbage, sit the chops back on top, add the bay leaf, then pour over the cider and stock. Cover the pan then leave everything to gently simmer for 20 minutes until the pork is cooked through and the vegetable are tender. Serve at the table spooned straight from the dish.
Family Favourites
Calf’s Sweetbreads
Ingredients
2 or 3 calf’s sweetbreads
1 egg
Seasoning
3 oz breadcrumbs
2 or 3 oz butter
Method
Soak the sweetbreads, wipe and drop into boiling water for a few minutes, lift out, dry, cut in half, season, brush over with egg and roll them in the crumbs. Make the butter hot and fry in it the sweetbreads on both sides; dish, pour over the butter and garnish with the peas, puree of spinach of mixed vegetables.
Corned Beef & Cabbage
Ingredients
4lb corned beef
Cold water
1 sprig of thyme
1 bunch parsley - bound together
1 onion stuck with 6 cloves
Pepper
1 whole carrot
1 green cabbage
Method
Tie the beef into a neat shape. Soak for 2 hours to remove excess salt. Put into a large pot and cover with cold water (no salt). Add all the other ingredients except the cabbage; and bring slowly to the boil, without the lid so you can see what is happening - simmer very gently for 3 hours. Skim when a scum rise. Remove the thyme, parsley and cloved onion. Now add the cabbage - which has been cut into quarters and washed well in salted cold water. Simmer for a further 20 minutes or until cabbage is cooked. Remove the meat and cut the string - strain the cabbage, pepper well Serve on a dish surrounding the beef.
⁎ If the corned beef water is too salty - cook the cabbage in separate water - adding three cup of the beef stock to salt and flavour it.
Liver & Bacon Hot pot
Ingredients
227g liver
2 onions
1 tsp flour
Water or stock
2-3 slices streaky bacon
680g potatoes
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt
Method
Wash, dry and cut up liver and roll in seasoned flour, dice bacon. Peel and slice onions and potatoes. Put a layer of potatoes in a greased casserole. Then cover with some chopped onions and bacon and liver. Season to taste. Repeat layers of potato, onions and meat and finish off with potatoes. Add stock to come half way up casserole. Cover and cook for 2-2 ½ hours at 190C/360F (gas 4).
Dublin Coddle
Ingredients
5-6 potatoes peeled and sliced into ½ inch slices
1 or 2 onions sliced thinly
8 good quality sausages
8 rashers of bacon
Chopped parsley
1 pint of water
Method
In a heavy bottomed saucepan layer the potatoes, then onions, sausages and bacon until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with potatoes and parsley. Then pour in pint of water and put on the heat. Never boil a coddle. Heat slowly and gently for a couple of hours so that the flavours have a chance to infuse and the potatoes to cook.
Bacon Cheddar Devilled
Eggs
Ingredients
12 large eggs
4 slices of bacon
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp finely shredded cheddar cheese
1tbsp mustard
Method
Boil the egg and let them stand in the hot water for 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove eggs from hot water and rinse under cold tap water to cool
While the eggs are standing in the hot water, cook the bacon until evenly browned. Drain on a paper towel and then crumble. Peel the cooled eggs and cut in half length wise. Transfer the yolks to a bowl.
Add mayonnaise, bacon, cheddar and mustard to the yolks and mask to combine.
Spoon the egg yolks mixture into the egg white half halves. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Leek, Potato & Bacon Bake
Ingredients
600ml chicken or vegetable stock
1kg potato thinly sliced
6 leeks thinly sliced into rounds
25g butter
4 rashers - streaky bacon snipped
3 tbsp double cream
Method
Heat oven to 200C. 180C gas 6
Boil the stock then add potatoes and leeks. Bring to boil for 5 minutes. Drain well, put stock in a jug. Butter a large baking dish. Layer up the potatoes and leeks, season as you go. Scatter the bacon over the top. Season and then pour the 200ml of stock then pour the cream. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Mushroom & Basil Lasagne
Ingredients
1 kg / 2 ¼ lbs fresh spinach
200g/7 oz mushrooms
1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
200g/ 7oz lasagne
100g/ 4 oz grated parmesan
50g/ 2 oz butter
For the sauce
6 fresh basil leave or ½ tsp dried
25g/ 1 oz butter
2 tbsp plain flour
500ml/ 18fl oz milk
Pinch of nutmeg
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ Gas 4. Wash the spinach, pull away any tough stalks, coarsely chop. Cook in a pan, with just the water that clings to the leaves, until the leaves wilt. Drain. Wipe the mushrooms with damp kitchen paper and slice.
Peel and chop the onion. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the mushrooms, season and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and remove the pan from the heat.
To make the sauce, finely chop the fresh basil leaves. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute until golden.
Gradually stir in the milk. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and summer for 5 minutes, until the sauce is smooth and thick. Add the basil.
Layer the spinach mixture, sauce and lasagne in a greased oven proof dish, finishing with sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan and cut the butter into pieces and dot on top. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden.
Side Dishes
Old Fashioned Potato Soup
Ingredients
¼ cup butter
1 large onion chopped
6 potatoes - peeled and diced
2 carrots diced
3 cups of water
2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
Ground black pepper
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 tbsp dried parsley
¼ tsp dried thyme
Method
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onions and cook until soft about 5 minutes. In another pot bring to boil, diced potatoes,carrots, water and chick bouillon. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Don’t overcook. Season with ground pepper to taste.
Add flour to cooked onion to make a paste. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes, gradually add milk and stir well. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until warmed through. Add potato and carrot mixture. Stir in parsley and thyme and heat through. Serve hot.
Potato
Cakes
Sieve 2 cold boiled potatoes add to it ½ oz of melted butter or dripping, a pinch of salt and ½ oz of flour. Mix well then turn out on to a floured board kneed lightly roll out ½ inch thick cut into squares or rounds. Fry in a little hot dripping in the frying pan or place on a greased tin and bake in a hot oven until golden brown.
Yorkshire Pudding
Ingredients
6 oz flour
1 pint milk
Pink of salt
2 eggs
Method
Mix the flour, milk and salt gradually. Beat the yolks and whites of the egg separately then add those to the mix. Pour into baking tray; with a good supply of hot dripping. Bake in a warm over for 25 to 30 minutes.
Chutneys & Relish
Apple & Raisin Chutney
Ingredients
4lb cooking apples - peeled, cored and chopped
4 medium onions, chopped
2 tsp garlic salt
Juice of 1 lemon
1 ½ pint malt vinegar
1tbsp pickling spice tied up in a muslin
1lb raisins
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp salt
2oz soft brown sugar
Method
Put the apples, onion, garlic salt, lemon juice and 1 pint of the vinegar, with the pickling spice in a large saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring well. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, until the mixture is soft, stirring occasionally. Add the raisins, ginger, salt sugar and remaining vinegar and simmer, stirring frequently until the chutney is thick - remove the muslin log. Pour the boiling chutney into hot Kilner jars and seal immediately, with the rubber rings, have been dipped in boiling water. Immerse the bottles in a pan of hot water fitted with a false bottom, Raise the water to boiling and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and immediately tighten up the lids and leave to cool. After 24 hours test the seal to see if a vacuum has been formed.
Yorkshire Relish
Ingredients
1 oz peppercorns
½ oz cloves
¼ oz cayenne peppers
2 oz salt
½ lb demerara sugar
Water
Method
Place the ingredients in a pot and cover with water. Boil the ingredients together for 20 minutes. Strain through a sieve and store in a vinegar bottle.
Indian Chutney
Ingredients
8 oz chopped sour apples
8 oz tomatoes
8 oz brown sugar
8 oz salt
8 oz stones raisins
4 oz powdered ginger
4 oz cayenne
2 oz garlic
2 oz shallots
3 quarts vinegar
1 quart lemon juice
Method
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, put in a well covered jar, keep in a warm place and stir every day for a month taking care to close the jar tightly each time. Steam but so not squeeze dry and store in a cool place.
Cakes
Pound Cake
Shred 2 oz peel very finely taking equal quantities of orange, lemon and citron. Blanch 1 oz of sweet almonds and chop them finely. Sieve 10 oz of flour onto a sheet of paper and add the peel, ½ lb of currants and the almonds to it.
Put the ½ lb of butter into a clean bowl and beat it up to a light cream with the hand. Then add a ½ lb of caster sugar and give it another beating, add in 1 large or 2 small eggs one at a time beating them after each addition and when these bring the mixture to proper cake batter consistency.
Turn unto a round tin lined at the bottom and sides with white greased paper. Bake from 1 ½ to 2 hours and let the oven be well heated when the cake is first put in, otherwise the currants will all sink to the bottom.
Irish Whiskey Cake
Ingredients
1 orange
2 tbsp Irish whiskey
3 eggs
8 oz sifted flour
6 oz sultanas
6 oz butter
6 oz sugar
A pink of salt
1 tsp baking powder
Method
With a sharp knife peel the rind off the orange. Soak the rind in whiskey for a few hours to draw out the whiskey. Discard the rind and soak the sultanas in the whiskey. Cream the butter ans sugaradd the eggs one at a time with a teaspoon of flour and beat well after adding each egg an flour. Sift flour, salt and baking powder together and fold into the egg mixture. Lastly fold in sultanas and whiskey Put into an oiled 7 inch cake tin that is lined with grease proof paper. Bake at 350F for 1 ½ hours. Reduce the heat during the end of baking times - Eat while fresh.
Barmbrack Tea Cake
Ingredients
4 teabags
330mls boiling water
125g currants
125g sultanas
125g raisins
330g (2 cups) of self raising flour
155g (¾ cup) brown sugar
1 egg
Method
Place 4 teabags and the boiling water in a jug and steep for 5 minutes to infuse so it’s strong. Place the fruit in a heatproof bowl, discard the teabags, then pour the hot tea over the fruit. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 6 hours or overnight to soak.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan forced/bake. Grease and 11 x 21 cm loaf tin, line with baking paper. Combine the self raising flour, brown sugar, and spices in a large bowl, add the soaked fruit, one egg, stir till mixed then pour into tin. Bake 1 hour 20 or until cooked.
Karen Byrne’s Barmbrack Tea Cake.
She remembers her mother making Brack years ago telling her it was not fattening as there was no fat in the recipe. except for the lashing of butter on top!
All of her sisters continue to make the brack today
Peg Wickham’s (RIP) Half Hour
Chocolate
Cake
&
Gaelic Coffee cakes
Half Hour Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
2 oz chocolate
8 oz sugar
1 oz butter
1 egg
Method
4 oz plain flour
1 level tsp baking powder
¼ level tsp salt
9 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
Pre-heat oven to mark 3 (350F). Melt chocolate and allow to cool. Sift sugar. Beat butter and eggs together and gradually add sugar. Beat well - sift flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and vanilla essence. Add sifted ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with liquid. Beat until the better is smooth. Add the cooled chocolate. Turn into two greased 8 inch cake tins and bake in a moderate over for about 25 minutes or until cake is done. Cool and ice with water icing.
Gaelic Coffee Cake
Ingredients
4 oz flour
3 oz sugar
3 eggs
1 dessert spoon instant coffee
7 inch sandwich tins
Method
Filing
2 oz butter
4 oz icing sugar
1 tbs liquor or whiskey
1 dessert spoon coffee
Walnuts
Beat eggs and sugar together until pale and still, add sifted flour and lastly fold in coffee. Put into sandwich tin and put in oven at 220C (425F - gas mark 7) and bake until firm on top, about 10 minutes, remove and cool.
Filing
Cream butter and sugar together, add whiskey and coffee. Fill between 0 chop half walnuts and add. Put remainder of filling on top and decorate with remaining walnuts.
Apple Cake
Ingredients
1 ¼ cups (200g/ 7 oz) self raising flour
Good pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of salt
¼ cup + 3 tbsp (100g/3 ½ oz) unsalted butter
3 cooking apples (810g/ 28 ½ oz)
¾ cup (150g/5oz) castor sugar
2 medium eggs
¼ cup + 3 tbsp (100mls) milk
1 tbsp of demerara or granulated sugar
Method
Grease a 7” or 8” tin. Preheat the oven 190C/374F. Sieve flour, ground gloves and salt into a large bowl. Cut in the butter and rub it in until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs. Peel the cooking apples, and slice thinly into the mixture with the sugar. (The amount of sugar depends on how much sweetening the apples need). Mix the egg and milk together and add to the mixture, stir until fully mix in. (The mixture will have a fairly-stiff consistency). Place in the prepared tin and level the top with a spoon. Sprinkle demerara or granulated sugar on top. Bake in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until golden brown. (Test with a skewer to ensure it’s fully cooked). When baked, remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Gabriele Power’s Apple Cake
Has gathered recipes over the years and tends to stick with them. She also makes brown bread for the Thursday Club
Boiled Fruit Cake
Ingredients
1½ cups of white sugar
12 ounces candied mixed fruit
One Cup of milk
¾ cup of butter
5 oz glazed cherries roughly chopped
2 ounces of candied mixed peel
2 ounces of chopped walnuts
One teaspoon ground allspice
12 ounces sifted self-raising flour
2 large eggs
one teaspoon baking soda
Method
Preheat oven to 325° F (160° C), line an 8-inch-deep cake pan with parchment paper.
Place sugar and candied mixed fruit, milk, butter, cherries, citrus peel, walnuts, allspice and baking soda in a medium sized saucepan. Bring to boil reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to cool slightly.
Stir flour and eggs into fruit mixture, pour batter into prepared pan. Wrap the outside of pan with brown paper. Bake cake in preheated oven for 40 minutes reduce temperature to 300°F (150° C) and continue baking cake for 1 1/2 hours. Let cake set at room temperature for 5 minutes then put on wired rack. Remove paper and flip cake to allow to cool.
Can be stored in an airtight container for six months
Johannah Merrigan’s (RIP) Apple Cake & Boiled Fruit Cake.
She made Joan Curtin’s wedding cake.
Joan Curtin and her husband on their wedding day with their beautiful wedding cake.
Caraway Seed Cake
Ingredients
18 oz all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
6 oz (1 ½ sticks) butter
12 oz confectioners sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp caraway seeds
Approx 2 tbsp milk
Method
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease and line a 6-7 inch diameter deep cake tin. Sift the flour and baking powder together into a plate. Cream the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Beat the eggs and add a little at the time with a tbsp flour with each addition, beating lightly between additions. Add the caraway seeds. Stir in remaining flour and milk. The mixture should be soft but not runny. Place in the tin and smooth on top. Bake for 30 minutes, lower the temperature to moderate and continue baking at 325F for additional 45 minutes to 1 hour until cake is well risen, golden brown and firm. Leave in tin for 10 minutes then turn onto wire tray to cool.
Porter Cake
Ingredients
454g/ 1lb of flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
227g/ ½ lb sugar
227g/ ½ lb margarine
½ tsp each of nutmeg and mixed spice
454g/ 1lb sultanas
57g chopped peel
2 eggs
1 cup porter
Method
Sieve flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Add sugar, nutmeg and spice. Rub in the margarine until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs. Add fruit, add porter mixed with beaten eggs. Bake in a greased tin 8 inch round or 7 inch square for 1 ½ hours in a moderate oven 190C/ 375F/ gas mark 4-5.
Peg Collender’s Ginger Cake. This is Peg’s favourite recepie she made with her mother.
Her mother would often swap recipes with friends
Ginger cake
Ingredients
7 oz self-raising flour
7 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 oz margarine (plus extra for greasing)
1 free range egg beaten
One tablespoon golden syrup
9 fluid ounces of hot water
Preheat oven to 180° C / 350° F / Gas 4
Grease a 28 x 18 cm / 11 x 7 inches baking tin with baking paper
Method
Mix the flour, sugar, ginger, bicarbonate of soda together in a bowl. Using your fingers rub the margarine in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the beaten egg, syrup, and hot water and mix well with a wooden spoon until combined.
Pull mixture into prepared tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and top is springy to touch there’s nothing there.
Leave to cool. When cool cut into squares
Sent over the field to farms to get skimmed milk (cream off top) to bake scones
Patricia Morrissey
Puddings
Chocolate Fudge Pudding
Ingredients
Pudding
4 oz butter
4 oz castor sugar
2 medium eggs
3 oz self raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp vanilla essence
1-2 tbsp milk
Sauce
4 oz soft brown sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
½ pint boiling water
Method
Set oven to 375F or mark 5. Place all the pudding ingredients into a bowl and heat to a soft consistency. Put into a 2 ½ pint oven proof dish. Make the sauce by combining the sugar and coca in a bowl and add the hot water. Mix well - pour this sauce over the pudding mixture. Bake for 40 minutes. Turn out the pudding and a thick chocolate sauce will be formed, coating the light sponge pudding. It is delicious served with a thick cream.
Granny Steam Cake
Ingredients
4 oz butter
4 oz sugar
4 oz marmalade
4 oz flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
Method
Beat the butter to a cream. Mix in the other ingredients - wit the eggs last. When mixed pour into a well- buttered dish and steam for 1 ½ hours.
Orange Steamed Pudding
Ingredients
1 cup orange juice
½ cup of caster sugar, extra
Pudding
150g chopped butter
¾ cup of caster sugar
1tbsp orange zest - finely grated
2 eggs
2 cups of self raising flour
½ cup orange juice
½ cup dried apples chopped
½ cup dried apricots - chopped raspberries to serve
Method
Lightly brush a 6 cup capacity pudding basin with melted butter and line base with round non stick baking paper. Get a sheet of foil and a sheet of baking paper each about 35cm long. Lay foil on paper and fold a pleat in the double layer about 5cm wide across the centre.
Beat butter, sugar and orange zest until light and creamy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well. Sieve flour over the butter mixture and add orange juice. Fold together until combined. Fold in the chopped dried fruit. Spoon in prepared basin and smooth the surface. Foil side up, tie with kitchen string around sides to seal. Place a trivet or upturned saucer into a large saucepan and sit basin on it. Pour in boiling hot water to come about ⅔ of the way up the side of the basin. Put lid on pot and boil over medium heat for 1 ½ hours adding boiling water as necessary.
To make syrup
Combine juice and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over low heat, without boiling until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium and bring to boil and cook without stirring for 10 mins or until thickened slightly.
Carefully lift pudding from the pan. Remove foil and paper. Lift into serving plate and drizzle with syrup. Serve with raspberries.
Frances Morrissey’s
Connaught Pudding & Free Kirk Pudding
Baked Bread Pudding
Ingredients
½ lb stale bread
3 oz sugar
2 oz butter, margarine or dripping
A little nutmeg and grated lemon rind.
Method
Connaught Pudding
Ingredients
2 oz butter
2 oz flour
¾ pint milk
3 oz breadcrumbs
Rind of 1 lemon
Method
4 oz castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 ½ oz ratafias
A few glacé cherries
Butter a mould, dust with sugar and decorate with cherries. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, add milk, boil up and stir until it thickens, stir into this the breadcrumbs, ratafias, grated lemon rind, sugar and vanilla, also the eggs, well-beaten. Pour the mixture into the mould until three-parts full. Cover with buttered paper and steam for 1 ½ hours.
Free Kirk Pudding
Ingredients
5 tbsp flour
2 oz butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp spice
3 tbsp rice flour or breadcrumbs
Method
3 tbsp raisins
3 tbsp currants
1 tsp bicarbonate
soda
Milk to mix
Sift the flour and add the rice-flour or breadcrumbs. Rub in the butter. Add the sugar, spice, raisins and currants and mix together. Dissolve the soda in a little milk and mix into the ingredients with sufficient milk to make a fairly slack dough. Turn into a greased mould, cover with greased paper and steam for 2 hours or longer.
1 egg
2 oz currants
2 oz raisins
12 pint milk
Soak the bread 1 hour in some cold water, squeeze it, and mix with it the currants, raisins, sugar, lemon rind, nutmeg and melted fat, also the egg well beaten with the milk. Pour into a greased pie-dish and bake for 1 ½ hours at gas mark 4.
Baked Apples
Ingredients
Apples
Sugar (brown)
Method
Wipe the apples and either remove the centre with an apple corer or make an incision in the skin round each apple. Place the apples on a baking-tin with the brown sugar in the place of the core or on the top of the apples. Pour a little water round the apples and bake in the oven gas mark 6. The time required will vary with the kind and size of apple. 1 hour is the average time.
Baked Pancakes
Ingredients
2 oz butter
2 oz sugar
2 eggs
Method
2 oz flour
⅜ pint milk
Lemon
Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, add the eggs and flour and the milk to make a fairly thin batter. Allow to stand for an hour or two. Pour the batter into a well-buttered saucers. Bake for 15 minutes at gas mark 5.
Dish in a pile, with sugar and lemon juice, or jam between.
Cait Troy’s Apple Charlotte, Baked Apples, Baked Pancakes,
& Baked Bread Pudding
Apple Charlotte
Ingredients
2 lbs apples
4 oz sugar
2 tbsp water
Stale white bread
Butter
Method
Peel, core and cut up the apples; grease a medium sized pie-dish, and line with thin bread dipped in melted butter. Fill with apples, sugar and bread in layers, having a layer of bread on the top. Cover with a greased paper, and bake for 40 minutes with the “Regulo” at mark 4. Turn out and sprinkle with sugar before serving.
Irish Bread & Butter
Pudding
Ingredients
¾ pint whole milk
3 large eggs
4 tbsp of granulated sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
6 thin slices of white bread
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup raisins
Method
In a large bowl, which together the milk, eggs, sugar and cinnamon, set aside. Spread the slices of bread with almost all the butter and grease the dish with the rest. Cut off the crusts and cut each slice into triangles. Butter-side up in the dish. Scatter the raisins between the slices. Pour the custard over the bread, soaking every slice. Set it aside at room temperature to absorb for 30 minutes. Bake the pudding at 350F (180C) for 50-60 minutes or until the pudding has risen and is golden in colour. Serve immediately. Top with freshly whipped cream.
Remember vinegar splint on the shelf that was used to make the bread
Peg Collender
Robbie Whelan remembers her Grandmother used to make ckaes for her.
She put the dry ingredients in first and then the wet ingredients on top.
As a treat she made either a lemon or chocolate sponge, but usually a chocolate sponge as this was Robbie’s favourite.
You would walk into Grandma’s home and the whole house would smell wonderful either the cake cooking, or cinnamon rolls.
Bakewell Pudding
Ingredients
8 oz puff pastry
Strawberry jam
4 egg yolks
2 egg whites
4 oz butter
4 oz sugar
Almond essence
Method
Set oven to 425F or mark 7. Roll out the pastry and line a pie plate and spread the pastry with a thick layer of strawberry jam. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl, mix in the egg yolks, the beaten egg whites and the almond essence. Spread this egg mixture over the jam on the plate. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 350F of mark 4 for 20 minutes. The filing is meant to remain soft and not intended to set.
Baked Apple Dumplings
Ingredients
½ lb short pastry
3 or 4 apples (medium sized)
Method
Roll out the pastry and cut into rounds large enough to cover each apple completely. Peel and core the apples, place them on the rounds of pastry. Fill the centres with sugar. Cover the apple with pastry and cut the folded side of the dumpling on to the baking sheet. Brush over with water, dust with coarse sugar. Bake for ½ hour gas mark 7.
“
Bastible on the fire, and we would be sent out for kindling. The Soda bread would be made. Taken out to cool and nothing like it with butter!
Patricia Morrissey
Pies
Pippin Pie
Ingredients
2 eating apples per person
1 orange for every 4 apples
I piece of cinnamon stick per apple
1 or 2 cloves per apple
Almonds
Sultanas
8oz shortcrust pastry
Method
Set oven to 375F or mark 5.
Put peeled, cored apples in a pie dish (greased). Fill the centre of each apple with a few almonds, sultanas and a piece of cinnamon stick. Push the cloves into the apples and sprinkle with a grated orange rind. Squeeze the oranges and pour the juice over the apples. Roll out the pastry on a floured board and cover the dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes until apples are cooked and the pastry is brown. Serve with custard or cream.
Old-Fashioned Rhubarb &
Cream Pie
Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups fresh rhubarb, diced
½ tsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
1-2 tbsp salted butter
9 inch unbaked pastry pie crust
Method
Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add diced rhubarb and toss to coat. In a separate bowl, whisk together orange zest, vanilla extract, heavy cream, and eggs until well blended. Pour the egg mixture into
the rhubarb mixture, stirring to combine. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell. Do the top with small pieces of butter. Bake for 45-50 minutes, covering the pie with aluminium foil after the first 20 minutes to prevent excess browning. Bake until the filling is set and the crust is golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Fruit Flans
Ingredients
Fleur Pastry
¼ oz gelatine
Small tin of fruit or fresh fruit
Colouring
Strawberries
Cherries
Sugar
Method
Line a flan or deep sandwich tin with the pastry. Trim and decorate the edge. Prick the pastry at the bottom of the tin and cover lightly with a piece of greased paper. Place a few crusts on the paper. Bake on the top shelf for 20 minutes at gas mark 5, remove the crusts and paper and bake for a further 5 minutes. Turn out of the tin carefully on to rack and leave to cool.
To make syrup; Take ¼ pint of juice from the tinned fruit and soak and dissolve the gelatine in it. Colour as desired and add extra sugar, if required. Leave to cool but not to set. Arrange the fruit in the cold flan case and pour the syrup over it. Leave to set and serve cold.
Whipped cream can be piled upon the flan. When fresh fruit is used, juice from crushed or stewed fruit can be employed.
A second method of finishing the flan is to make a meringue mixture, using two whites of eggs and 4 oz. Castor sugar, and to pile the mixture on to the fruit in place of the syrup. The flan must then be placed in the for 20 minutes with the “Regulo” turned to mark 1/4. The flan can then be served hot or cold, but will not keep crisp for long.
Cait Troy’s Fruit Flans
The Old-Fashioned Custard Pie
ngredients
1 unbaked pie shell
3 large eggs
½ cup of sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg
2 ⅔ cups milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Method
Pre-heat the over to 350C. Beat the eggs slightly, then add sugar, salt, nutmeg, and milk. Beat well and pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
Sprinkle the top of the pie with fresh ground nutmeg and serve.
Zesty Lemon Flan
Ingredients
3 oz butter or margarine
6oz digestive biscuits
¼ pint of cream
1 small tin of condensed milk (Nestle)
Finely grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
Method
Melt butter in a saucepan and mix in crushed biscuits. Press crumbs into a flan dish or pie plate.
Keep aside a few centre slices from a lemon, finely grate the remaining lemons, and squeeze juice.
Whip cream and stir in condensed milk, lemon rind, and juice. Beat until thoroughly blended.
Pour onto the prepared biscuit base, chill, and set.
Decorate with cream (piped in roses) and lemon slices or sprinkle with crushed biscuits.
Tea Time
Peach Tartlets
Ingredients
Rich short pastry
Whites of 2 eggs
4ozs. caster sugar
Vanilla or almond essence
Small tin of peaches
Method
Line some large patty tins with the pastry, prick the centres with a fork, and bake fore 15 minutes with the “Regulo” at mark 7. When baled, put half a peach into each pastry case, whip the whites of the eggs until very stiff, and fold in the castor sugar and flavouring. Put a spoonful of the meringue on top of each peach, and place for 10 minutes on the bottom-plate over, to brown and set meringue. Serve hot or cold.
Eccles cakes
Ingredients
½ lb of rough puff pastry
2 oz demerara sugar
2 oz of butter
4 oz of currants
2 oz mixed peel
Method
Roll out the pastry ¼ inch thick, stamp into rounds with a cutter about four inches in diameter. Warm the butter, mix with the sugar, chopped peel and currants. Put a teaspoonful of this mixture in the centre of each round of pastry, what the edges, draw together and seal in the centre, turnover, roll out to required size and make two or three small cuts across the middle. Brush over with white of egg or water, and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 20 minutes at ‘regulo’ setting mark 7 or 220C
Jam Puffs
Ingredients
Trimmings of puff or rough pastry
Jam
White of egg
Castor sugar
Method
Fold the trimmings of pastry together and roll out very thinly. Cut into large rounds. Place a small spoonful of jam in the middle of each of round. Damp the edges with beaten white or egg or water. Fold the pastry to the centre into a three-cornered shape - make sure the flaps are sealed together and twist the corners. Place on the cake tray with the folded sides underneath. Brush over with white of egg and sprinkle lightly with castor sugar. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes with the “Regulo” at mark 8.
Cait Troy’s Eccles Cakes, Jam Puffs, and Peach
Tartlets
Rock Cakes
Rub ¼lb of butter, ½ lb of flour, ¾ of teaspoon of baking powder and a ¼ of moist sugar well together. The flour should be dried and sifted. Mix in 1 egg well beaten a half a teaspoon of essence of lemon and ½ gill of milk. Drop the cake mixture on a baking tin as roughly as possible and bake for about a ¼ of an hours in a rather quick oven. Currants or peel can be added if liked.
German Empire Biscuits
Ingredients
175g (¾ cups) butter (softened)
175g (¾ cups) plain flour
50g (½ cup) icing sugar
50g (½ cup) corn flour
To decorate:
Strawberry or raspberry jam
100g icing sugar
Water
Glacé cherry halves or jelly tots - you can use any decoration
Method
Combine ingredients, cut out biscuits, put in baking tray, bake at 180 - 160 fan 25 minutes. Let cool decorate.
Cinnamon Mini Fruit Cakes
Ingredients
100g self raising flour
100g margarine
100g sugar
2 eggs
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
50g dried fruit (e.g. raisins)
Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 (200C) and line a cake tin with cupcake cases. Cream the margarine and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until soft and fluffy. This should not take long if you are using soft margarine. Sieve in the flour and add in the eggs. Mix the ingredients together until everything is well combined and smooth. At this point you can add cinnamon. Add the desired amount of cinnamon one teaspoon at a time, mixing until you are satisfied with the colour of the mixture. Add in the raisins or dried fruit and briefly mix to incorporate.
Using 2 table spoons, spoon one tablespoon of the mixture into each cupcake case. Divide the mixture equally between all cases, scraping clean each spoon. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. These cakes taste light and fluffy hot and denser when cool.
Sweet Tooth
Apple Crumble
Ingredients
Roasted Rhubarb
Ingredients
550g Rhubarb
Karen Byrne’s Apple Crumble
1 ½ sticks butter melted, plus more for pan
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans - plus more for serving
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
6 large apples cored and cut into wedges
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
Juice of ½ lemon
Vanilla ice-cream for serving
Method
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a large baking dish with butter. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pecans, brown sugar and salt. Stir in melted butter until texture is coarse and sandy. Add apples, sugar cinnamon, ginger and lemon juice to a baking dish and toss to combine. Spread in an even layer then press crumb mixture on top of apples. Bake until apples are bubbling and topping is golden, about 50 mins. Serve warm with ice-cream.
Swiss Roll
Sieve 4 oz flour and 1 tsp of baking powder. Whisk 2 eggs and 4 oz of caster sugar until creamy, stir the flour lightly in, add a little milk if necessary turn into a greased tin and bake in a hot oven turn out upside down on to a sugared paper, spread on some warm jam and roll up firmly.
85g golden castor sugar
Method
Heat the oven to 200C/ fan 180C gas 6. Rinse the rhubarb. Trim and cut into finger sized pieces. Put rhubarb in dish. Tip the sugar over and toss together. Place in a single layer and cover with foil and roast for 15 minutes. The sugar should have dissolved. Give a shake and roast for another 5 minutes until tender and juices are syrupy. Serve with ginger ice-cream.
Cinnamon Toast
Ingredients
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 slices of bread (white)
Margarine or butter (for buttering toast)
Methods
Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
Toast bread until brown.
Butter while hot.
Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the toast. Can be served with a poached egg
Johannah Merrigan’s (RIP) Swiss Roll
Home baking and washing were done on a Monday
Banana Bread
Ingredients
227g/ 8oz self-raising flour
Half a level teaspoon salt
113g/ 4oz butter
170g/ 6 oz castor sugar
113g/ 4 oz sultanas or seedless raisins
27g/ 1 oz chopped walnuts (optional)
2 eggs, preferably free-range
4-5 very ripe bananas (approx 460g weighed out of skins)
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/ Gas 4
In a large, wide mixing bowl, sieve the flour and salt
Rub in the butter, add the sugar
Stir in sultanas or seedless raisins and walnuts (if using)
Mask the bananas with a fork, add the eggs, and mix this well into the other ingredients.
The dough should have a nice soft consistency. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and spread evenly. Place in the centre of a moderate over and bake for 50 minutes.
It is vital that the oven door is NOT opened during the cooking or the banana bread will collapse.
Cool before removing from the tin.
Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
150g (70% dark chocolate) pulse extra to serve
6 whites of egg
2 tbsp golden castor sugar
4 tbsp crème fraiche and grated chocolate to serve
Method
Melt the chocolate stirring every 30 seconds until just melted. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Scatter in the sugar and which again until the mixture forms stiff peaks when you lift the which out about 30 seconds.
Add a third of the egg white to the melted chocolate and mix vigorously working fast so the chocolate doesn’t cool and harden. Then fold in the remaining egg whites carefully. Using a spatula or
large metal spoon, spoon into 4 glasses or ramekins and set in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Serve each with a dollop of crème fraiche and shaving of dark chocolate.
Clotted cream & Ginger
Ice-cream
Ingredients
300g tub top-quality, ready made custard
2 tubs clotted cream
4 tbsp syrup from stem ginger jar
2 pieces of stem ginger finely chopped
Roasted rhubarb
Method
Fold the custard, clotted cream and ginger syrup together in a bowl until completely combined. Pour this into ice-cream machine and churn according to machine instructions. If you don’t have an ice-cream machine pit the bowl in the freezer or about 1 ½ hours or until the mixture start to freeze around the edges. Give it a good stir to break it up then repeat. When the ice cream is completely churned, mix in the chopped ginger so it speckles in the ice-cream, then serve in scoop with roasted rhubarb.
Milk Jelly
Use ¼ boiling water to dissolve jelly. Leave liquid to cool otherwise you will curdle the milk. When cool top up to 1 pint level using milk. Pour into moulds and leave to set. Pop into the fridge. It usually don’t take as long to set as normal jelly depending on the size of the moulds.
Peg Collender’s Milk Jelly
Bread
Soda Farls
Ingredients
250g plain flour
½ tsp sugar
1 heaped tsp bicarbonate soda
225mls butter milk
Method
Cait Troy’s Soda Farls.
“soda farls and stew, yum.”
Irish Coarse Brown Bread (Traditional)
Ingredients
8 oz whole meal
4 oz self raising flour
2 oz natural bran
4 oz pin head oatmeal
2 tsp bread soda
Method
Tip flour into a large bowl and stir through the salt, sugar and bicarbonate soda. Mix a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk - then swiftly stir to combine. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Roll into 20cm circle and cut into quarters.
Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a low medium heat. Add the farls and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from heat and leave the farls to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Split open and eat warm with butter.
Can be served with a bowl of stew or soup.
Power’s
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
¾ to 1 pint buttermilk
1 oz wheat germ
Mix well the dry ingredients, add buttermilk. Bake 375F for 1 hour 15 minutes in a 2lb tin.
White Soda Bread
Ingredients
1lb flour
1 tsp cream of tarter
½ pint buttermilk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
Method
Mix all dry ingredients - add buttermilk and mix to a light elastic dough, divide into two shape in rounds, put on a greased tin, cut a cross twice. Bake in a hot oven 15-20 minutes.
Kathleen Curtin’s (RIP) Irish Coarse Brown Bread (Traditional)
Gabriele
White Soda Bread
Hallowe’en
Hallowe’en Brack
Ingredients
227g/ 8ozs raisins
227g/ 8ozs sultanas
170g/ 6ozs soft brown sugar
113g/ 4ozs butter
113g/ 4ozs mixed peel
½ pint/ 250 ml col tea - strained
454g/ 1lb plain flour
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 eggs - lightly beaten
1 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
50 ml whiskey (optional)
Pink of salt
Method
Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/ Gas mark 4
Place raisins, sultanas, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Strain the cold tea and add to the mixture.
Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, then allow to cool (this may be left to stand overnight if wished.)
To the cooled mixture, stir in the mixed peel, grated orange rind, melted butter and beaten egg
Sieve flour, baking powder, spices, and salt together. Gradually stir into the fruit mixture, making sure all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together.
Put the mixture in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round lined tin. Bake in preheated oven for 1 ½ hours. When baked, the centre top of the cake should feel firm to the touch. Test with a skewer. Allow to cool in tin, cut and serve buttered.
Ann Dalton’s Hallowe’en recipes & Christmas Pudding
Toffee Apples
Ingredients
227g/ 8 oz demerara sugar
½ tsp vinegar
28g/ 1 oz butter
110ml water
2 tbsp golden syrup
6 apples (eating, Cox’s pippin)
6 wooden skewers/ ice lolly sticks
Method
Dissolve the sugar in the water over a moderate heat. When it has dissolved, stir in the vinegar, syrup and butter. Bring to the boil and cook without stirring, until it reaches hard-crack stage (138C), or hardens into a ball when dropped into a jug of cold water. This should take around 10 minutes boiling time. While the syrup is cooking, pierce each apple with a wooden stick. Once the toffee is ready, dip each apple into the hot toffee, turning it around in the syrup, so that each one is fully coated. Leave to harden on a lightly oiled tray or stick into a secured oasis once the toffee has set. If you are planning to keep them for a day or two, wrap the apples in cellophane.
Christmas
Mince Pies
Ingredients
Pastry, Rough Puff, Puff, or Short Crust
Mincemeat
Method
Roll out the pastry and cut it into rounds. Place half the rounds on the cake tray or in patty pans on the cake tray. Fill up with mincemeat, damp the edges of the pastry and cover the remaining rounds—make a hole in the top of each with a skewer. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes with the “Regulo” at mark 8 for the Rough Puff or Puff Pastry, or mark 7 for Short Crust Pastry
Cait Troy’s Mince Pies
Christmas Pudding
Ingredients
¼ lb flour
½ lb breadcrumbs
½ lb suet
½ lb brown sugar
½ tbsp baking powder
½ tsp allspice
6 oz currants
6 oz sultanas
Method
12 oz raisins
3 oz mixed peel
1 oz ground almonds
Grated rind of 1 lemon
¼ grated nutmeg
4 eggs
Brandy, old ale or milk
Wash and pick the currants, stone the raisins, chop the peel; put all ingredients into a bowl, mix thoroughly with the well-beaten eggs, and enough brandy, old ale or milk to moisten the whole; pour into well-butters moulds, cover with buttered paper. Steam 8 or 9 hours. Serve with brandy sauce or hard sauce.
Rich Christmas Cake (1949)
Ingredients
1 lb of butter
1 lb caster sugar
1 ½ lbs. Plain flour
1 lb currants
1 lb small sultanas
1 lb of raisins
4 oz candied peel
2 oz whole almonds
Method
4 oz glacé cherries
Ten eggs
Rind of 1 lemon
2 tsp lemon juice
One tsp salt
One tbsp sour milk
1 tsp Baking Powder
Glass of whiskey
Bring butter and sugar to cream, add in each egg separately, beating well, stir in sifted flour, salt, fruit, chopped almonds, and flavourings. Then dissolve baking powder in sour milk, adding lastly to mixture. Put into tin well lined with greased paper and cook for five hours in moderate oven.
Almond Paste
1 lb ground sweet almonds
½ pound each caster and icing sugar
Two eggs
One teaspoon orange flower water
A few drops of almond essence you know
Tablespoon Sherry or whiskey
Teaspoon lemon juice and a drop of vanilla essence
Put sugar and ground sweet almonds into a bowl. Beat up eggs and pour into centre of ingredients. Add all flavourings. Turn on to a sugared bored. Knead until free from cracks. Roll out to size of cake. Brush over top of cake with beaten yolk of egg. Then place paste on top and press down sides and roll top with roller. Leave for 24 hours.
Flow coat for royal icing
3/4 of a pound icing sugar and I little hot water. Soup sugar through a sieve mix to a thin paste with hot water. Pour over cake until covered.
the Christmas pudding was cooked in a linen cloth, we would light it at Christmas dinner
Peg Collender
Jams
Strawberry Jam made easy
Ingredients
1 kg small strawberries
1kg jam sugar
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Small knob butter
Method
Wash the strawberries and allow to dry, then hull. Place in a preserving pan or large saucepan and add the sugar. Add the lemon juice and zest and stir well. Use the side of the spoon or a potato masher to lightly crush some of the strawberries so that the juice starts to run. Place over a low heat and heat gently while stirring frequently until all the sugar has dissolved. Once all the sugar has been dissolved bring the mixture to a rolling boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached. This should take about 5 minutes. Skim off an scum, then stir in a knob of butter and stir to disperse any remaining froth. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before potting into sterilised jars, cover and seal immediately. Label when cold.
Apple Jelly
Ingredients
3 ½ pounds apples, cored and diced
3 cups water, or as needed
7 ½ cups white sugar
½ tsp butter
1 (2 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin.
Method
Place apples in a large pot; cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Crush cooked apples and simmer for 5 more minutes. Transfer crushed apples to a sieve or cheesecloth. Let drip into a bowl until all liquid has drained, pressing gently to release all the juice. Measure 5 cups apple juice, adding water if necessary to have the exact amount. Stir sugar into juice; add butter to reduce foaming.
Bring juice mixture to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin; boil for exactly 1 minute to dissolve pectin, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off excess foam with a metal
spoon. Sterilise the jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. Ladle apple jam into the hot, sterilised jars, filling the jars to within ⅛ inch of the top. Run a knife or ta thin spatula around the insides of the jars after the have been filled to remove any food residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings.
Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil and lower jars into the boiling water using a holder. Leave a 2-inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary to bring the water level to at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a rolling boil, cover the pot, and process for 5 minutes.
Carefully remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool.
Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lids do not move up or down at all). Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Store in a cool dark place.
Kathleen Curtin’s (RIP) Apple Jelly & Strawberry Jam made easy.
She strained her jams & jellys using a pillowcase.
Blackcurrant Jam
Ingredients
Don’t wash blackcurrant unless vital.
Month: July/ August
1:1 ratio of sugar to fruit
About 100ml water
Soften the blackcurrants in a saucepan with water. Add the sugar and soften over low heat until the sugar crystals have dissolved. Bring to boiling point and boil for 15 minutes. Take pan off heat while you test if its set. If not set put it back on to heat for a rolling boiling of 5 minutes. Pour the hot jam in sterilised jars fill to the top to minimize air between jam and lid. While jam is hot seal with sterilised slides and when cold check it’s sealed properly.
Sterilised jars
Give jars a good wash and then while they are still wet put up on a baking tray upside down in an oven at 150C. Start cleaning when you start to make jam.
Set Jam
The flake test, it drop off a spoon.
The wrinkle test, use a cold saucer from the fridge, gentle push your finger through the jam, if it wrinkles its ready, if not put back to boil for further 5 minutes.
Or you can use a thermometer.
Johannah Merrigan’s (RIP) Blackcurrant Jam
Apricot & Brandy Sauce
Ingredients
A jar (half pound) apricot jam
½ pint water
1 orange, juice and grated rind
1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water
3 tbsp brandy
Method
Heat together jam, water, orange juice and rind. Blend into cornflour mixture. Return to pan. Stir until boiling, simmer for 2 mins. Stir in brandy and serve hot.
Orange Sauce
Ingredients
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange
2 tsp cornflour
1 dessert spoon vinegar
1 dessert spoon brown sugar
1 meat cube dissolved in a cup of water
¼ tsp powdered cloves
Pepper
Method
Blend the cornflour with the orange juice - add all the rest of the ingredients. Pour into a roasting pan and boil rapidly until the sauce thickens.
Picking blackberries were hard work, but worth it!
Joan Curtis
Drinks
Honey & Lemon Drink
Ingredients
3 tbsp honey
4 lemons
2 pints boiling water
Method
Peel the lemons very thinly and put its rind in a jug with the honey. Pour on boiling water, add lemon juice and strain and serve.
Peg Collender’s
Honey & Lemon
Drink & Blackcurrant
Drink
Mulled Ale
Put a ¼ of good ale,a table spoon of caster sugar, a pinch of cloves, a pinch of grated nutmeg and a good pinch of ground ginger into a stew pan and bring nearly to boiling point. Add a glass of rum or brandy an more sugar and flavouring if necessary and serve at once.
Mulled Claret
Heat 1 pint of claret nearly to boiling point, add ½ pint of boiling water, nutmeg and cinnamon to taste and serve hot. Any kind of wine maybe mulled, but port and claret are usually selected for this purpose.
Blackcurrant Drink
Ingredients
2 tbsp blackcurrant jam
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 dessert spoon of honey or sugar
½ pint of hot water
Method
Simmer all ingredients together for 5 or 6 minutes gently stirring well. Strain through muslin laid in a sieve and drink very hot.
Our group, The Thursday Club, is a retirement active social group who meet weekly in Kinsalebeg Hall, and share playing bingo, drinking tea and homebaking. Cards, music/song, Quizzes, crafts, having a chat, chair yoga and information talks are some of our activities.
We love to go on outings. We do Easter, Summer tour, Halloween, Christmas Shopping and a big Christmas Party. Our group sure love to Party with meals and music, and days out. We help to get Personal Alarms for people. And do our best to support our members in the good times and the sad times.
It’s all about Community and our wonderful members past and present who have shared our journey for the past 25 years.
Beannacht De oraibh
To all who shared their Mum recipes and cook books, it’s so nice to have these memories, kept and passed to younger family members and that was the point of this book. It created a lot of discussion, and exchanges of how things were done years ago. Cakes were made, sugar and butter creamed, ingredients added with a plain wooden spoon in a stoneware mixing bowl - no electric mixers available.
Thanks to Aine and Tracey, from the Community Education Program in the WWETB. Your help and advice is very much appreciated, and you have put on many adult Education Classes with our group over the years. Phil Mortimer, your artwork, experience and skill in helping to put this all together is amazing.
Without all of you, this would not have been possible.
Go Raibh Maith Agat Corraighe le Gra
