I picked up a recipe card in a grocery store in London for a fruit and tea loaf. It sounded good, so I was looking for the ingredients. A lovely lady with a lilting Irish accent was helping me, but she told me that I’d be better off making a real barmbrack than using a product-promoting recipe card. I’d never heard of barmbrack, so she explained that it was a traditional treat … [Read more...] about Irish Barmbrack (Fruit and Tea Loaf)
Cherries
Spiced Baked Fruit Casserole
Baked fruit casseroles are a favorite food memory for me. They always appeared at holiday buffets, usually when a ham was the centerpiece. Recipes for baked fruit are ubiquitous in community cookbooks, and I was particularly fond of a curried fruit casserole recipe that has always been a favorite around here. But my Mom made a version that involved amaretti cookies, which … [Read more...] about Spiced Baked Fruit Casserole
Almond Amaretto Cherry Muffins
A basket of nice, sweet muffins is a wonderful addition to a breakfast or brunch table, and these almond-y bites are made really moist with the addition of almond paste. A bite-sized version of my Simple Moist Almond Cake. Nice tart cherry is a great pairing with almond – if you use big Bings, you might want to snip them into smaller pieces. Almond Amaretto Cherry … [Read more...] about Almond Amaretto Cherry Muffins
Old Time Cherry Buttermilk Cake
On my month long food tour of France this summer, my first stop was in the Mayenne, serendipitously during cherry season. All around the property of the cookery school, cherry trees hung heavy with beautiful ripe cherries – petite, juicy griottines and big round pale reds, almost like a Queen Anne. I picked the fruit straight from the tree and ate it, still warm – what a … [Read more...] about Old Time Cherry Buttermilk Cake
