Malted Coffee, Chocolate & Pecan Brack

Do I have any coffee lovers out there? I’m sure I do, so ya’ll are just gonna love this recipe – Malted Coffee, Chocolate & Pecan Brack! This delicious quick bread has a toasted malted flavor and is brimful with rich, coffee soaked fruit, nuts and with a bit of both dark chocolate thrown in for good measure.

This is my first time baking a coffee brack. I’ve done quite a few tea bracks in my day and I did couple of lovely Barmbracks, both yeasted and quick, a few years ago,

but never a coffee brack. In case you did not know, the word brack comes from the Irish word breac which means speckled or freckled. Bracks, which are kind of like a cross between bread and cake, are always shot through with fruit which gives it that speckled appearance. Most of the sweetness in the loaf comes from the fruit. Tea bracks are made with…well – tea if you didn’t guess. This one is made with…Coffee. I couldn’t wait to try it and was delighted with the results. The coffee flavor really shines through. So if you are a fan of coffee, you really must bake this quick and easy bread.

I found this recipe in a cookbook I got ahold of on my most recent trip to Ireland – Bake:Traditional Irish Baking with Modern Twists by Graham Herterich.

I love this cookbook! Visually it is gorgeous, but it doesn’t rely on looks alone. This book is chock full of fantastic recipes. Graham Herterich, better known in Ireland as the Cupcake Bloke, initially trained as a chef and then went on to open The Bakery in Rialto Dublin. In this, his first cookbook, he offers a traditional recipe followed by a modern twist on that recipe. This Malted Coffee, Chocolate & Pecan Brack is a delightful twist on the very traditional tea brack mentioned above.

I have been telling you all about my most recent trek to Ireland. Yesterday I told you all about our stay in the luxurious Cliff House Hotel and showed you a bit from our stroll along the cliffs. Today I wanted to show you a bit of charming village of Ardmore. Ardmore, from the Irish Aird Mhór meaning great height, is a gorgeous seaside resort and fishing village. It is home to 430 people but the population swells in the summer months. We visited in October, so the beach traffic was gone and the town had settled into its sleepy, off-season laid back vibe. Ardmore is the oldest Christian settlement in Ireland and was founded by St. Declan in the 5th C. Not to steal any glory from St. Paddy, seeings how his day is coming up very soon, but Declan was in Ardmore before St. Patrick arrived on the emerald isle.

Ruins of 12th Century Cathedral and earlier 9th Century Oratory.

12th Century Round Tower.

Ogham Stone.

Relaxing at the fun & funky beach themed Urchin Pub

But let me get back to that scrumptious Malted Coffee, Chocolate & Pecan Brack.

It was so easy to make, the hardest thing about it was remembering to soak that fruit in the coffee overnight. And do actually give it that soak. The fruit plumps up wonderfully and becomes infused with coffee goodness. In making this I ended up only dirtying one bowl. Less clean up is always better than more! The brack is so moist and rich and actually improves with age. So you can get it done well before your St. Patrick’s day festivities kick off. Have a slice (or two) slathered with butter along with your tea or coffee to start the day. That jolt of caffeine will give you all the energy you need to hit the parades!

• Servings: one loaf
• Difficulty: very easy, but allow for overnight soak of fruit
• Print

recipe from: Bake: Traditional Irish Baking with Modern Twists by Graham Herterich.

Ingredients:

• 300 grams sultanas (yellow raisins)
• 50 grams pitted dates, roughly chopped
• 25 grams pecans, chopped, plus extra for sprinkling on top
• 300 grams almost cold coffee
• 125 grams light brown sugar
• 25 grams dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 1 Tablespoon barley malt extract (You can ind this in health food shops, but if you can’t get it – substitute in 1 Tablespoon malted milk powder dissolved in 2 teaspoons cold water)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 225 grams self rising flour

Directions:

Place the sultanas, dates, pecans and coffee in a large bowl and leave to soak overnight at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 180 C (356F). Line a 900 gram (2 lb – I used a 9X5x3″) loaf tin with non stick baking powder, or you can butter and flour the pan. Your choice.

Add the brown sugar, chocolate, egg, barley malt extract and vanilla to the fruit/coffee mixture and mix well. Gently mix in the flour being careful not to crush the fruit. Transfer to the prepared baking tin. Sprinkle with additional pecans. (optional)

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 -65 minutes. It is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool fully in the tin before cutting into slices.

Serve with butter or a soft creamy cheese like ricotta or mascarpone.

Enjoy!

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Malted Coffee, Chocolate & Pecan Brack:

Malted milk powder

9X5X3″ Loaf Pan

Travel Planning Guide:

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

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

Ardmore, County Waterford Ireland

Pubs and Restaurants:

The Urchin – Fun and funky beach inspired pub featuring a full bar and signature cocktails. Serving snacks, burgers and pizzas. We loved their Gubbeen pizza! Their chips were also perfectly crisp! In the summer months, Urchin Adventures offers all kinds of sea activities like kayaking and paddleboarding.

The Pantry at Cliff – serving tea, coffee, baked goods, sandwiches and artisan lite bites.

Shopping:

Criostal Na Rinne – Criostal Na Rinne is is a hand cut crystal studio workshop situated in Ireland’s Ancient East in the picturesque Irish-speaking area of An Rinn, the Waterford Gaeltacht. Eamonn Terry, a master craftsman glass cutter, established the business in1987, producing Irish crystal of breathtaking quality and beauty. We purchased a couple of pieces on our trip and are now totally obsessed with it, which is strange because we never really cared for crystal before. It was always a bit much for us, a bit old-fashioned with all of its thousands of cuts. But this crystal is different. Gorgeous in its simplicity, it is sleek and modern. Each collection named with an Irish word reflecting nature and the environment. You can tour the workshop, which we did and were lucky enough to have met Eamonn. He was absolutely charming and spent a lot of time chatting with us. We have ordered several more pieces since we arrived back in the States and shipping has been quick and easy. You may have noticed it (champagne glass and whiskey tumbler from the Tonn – Irish for “wave” Collection) in the pictures of the Irish Coffee Truffles that I posted yesterday. Highly recommended!

Irish Coffee Truffles

It’s day 3 of my St. Patrick’s Day run up of recipes and have I got a winner for you today – Irish Coffee Truffles! These little dickens are rich, creamy and boozy with a zing of espresso. Perfect not only to get that St. Patrick’s Day party started, but also to keep it going or even as a perfect compliment to your nightcap!

Now there’s only a few ingredients needed to create these lovely little indulgences, so you want to make sure you use those of the best quality. And for the booze, I have some recommendations. I told you all about them in my first post of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day countdown – The Irish Coffee Martini. These tipples are new discoveries for me from our most recent trip to Ireland in October 2022 and I am absolutely wild about both of them! I strongly recommend that you get ahold of some West Cork Irish Whiskey as well as some Five Farms Irish Cream.

On our most recent trip to Ireland I was thrilled to be able to stay in the luxurious 5 Star Cliff House Hotel which is located in the charming fishing village of Ardmore in County Waterford. We have been dying to stay here for years so this was quite a treat! This small boutique hotel seems to defy gravity as it clings to the cliffs above the sea. Full advantage is taken of this birds eye location with nearly the entire sea facing side of the hotel consisting of floor to ceiling (sometimes spanning multiple floors) windows looking out over Ardmore Bay.

View from our Bedroom balcony towards the village

View from our living room balcony looking out over Ardmore Bay

Indeed every room boasts a seaview and either a balcony or terrace. The decor is sleek, modern and bright featuring stacked stone walls and gorgeous tweed throws on the beds.

The bathrooms are huge! The semi transparent wall between the bathroom and bedroom allows the natural light to stream in.

There are cozy fireplaces in both the bedroom and living room of the suites.

You can enjoy their abundant, cooked to order breakfast in their lovely restaurant while gazing out over the sea or enjoy a lazy relaxing start to the day as we did and have it delivered to your room.

The infinity pool at the spa seems to flow out into the sea. There is also an outside jacuzzi. We indulged in massages, facials and a very relaxing peat soak in outside bathtubs while gazing over the sea and wild cliffs.

The Cliff Walk is located steps away from the entrance to the hotel. This 4 km walk features beautiful seascapes and breathtaking views from Ardmore Head and Rams Head. It starts with Temple Dysert, the 10th C ruins of a monastery originally founded by St. Declan as well as his curative well.

We passed the wreck of the Samson which hit the cliffs in 1987.

And stopped to drink the curative waters from Fr. O’Donnell’s curative spring. With Covid still lurking about, we figured we should have all the help we could get!

But let me get back to today’s tasty treat – Irish CoffeeTruffles!

Made with rich dark chocolate, Irish Cream, Irish Whiskey and espresso, how could they be otherwise than divine! These truffles are easy to make, albeit the rolling of them can get a bit messy. But it is definitely worth it. I made the ganache one day and left in the fridge overnight and then on the following day, I rolled and coated the truffles. I used chopped pistachios, a combo of confectioners sugar, espresso powder and cocoa and then just plain pistachio flour, for those who maybe didn’t like the toothy vibe that the pistachio pieces provided.

I’m not sure which was my favorite. But that is the fun thing with these truffles, you can do you! Love coconut – do that! I have also dipped these truffles in chocolate coating before which is also a lot of fun. Folks at your St. Patrick’s Day festivities will be undoubtedly smitten with these indulgent boozy bites!

• Servings: 30
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe slightly adapted from: Once Upon a Chef

Ingredients:

• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons West Cork Irish Whiskey
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Pinch salt
• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, best quality such as Ghiradelli, chopped
• Cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-processed), confectioners’ sugar, espresso powder, finely chopped pistachios, pistachio flour or unsweetened shredded coconut, for coating*

Directions:

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the heavy cream, Five Farms Irish Cream, West Cork Irish Whiskey, espresso powder, butter and salt. Microwave on high power until the mixture comes to a boil, 70 to 80 seconds. Watch that it doesn’t boil over. Add the chocolate and let sit for about 30 seconds to melt. Using a whisk, stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is glossy and smooth. Refrigerate until completely firm, about 3 hours or overnight (to speed this chilling process up, pour the mixture into a wide, shallow bowl or pie plate).

Place your coating(s) on a plate. Remove the chilled truffle mixture from the refrigerator. If you’ve had the mixture in the fridge for longer than 3 hours, you may need to let it sit out at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes so it’s malleable enough to work with.

Using a small spoon, scoop out about 2 teaspoons of the chocolate mixture. Dust your fingertips with the cocoa powder or the confectioners’ sugar/cocoa mixture. Use your fingertips to shape into a rough ball. Quickly and gently roll in your palms to form into a smooth ball, then roll in your topping of choice. (If the chocolate starts to melt from the warmth of your palms, drop the truffle into the cocoa or confectioners’ sugar/cocoa mixture and lightly coat, then continue rolling. You may need to wash your hands in cold water from time to time.) Place the truffles in a single layer on a plate or in a storage container, cover, and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator about 10 minutes before serving (keep in mind that they’ll get too soft if left out at room temperature for too long). The truffles will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen for up to two months.

*For my toppings I used rough chopped pistachios, pistachio flour and a mixture of 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon espresso powder and 1 Tablespoon Dutch Process Cocoa.

Enjoy!

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Irish Cream Truffles:

Pistachio Flour

Espresso Powder

Small Cookie Scoop (2 3/4 – 2 tsp. /#100) or King Arthur Flour has this one.

Travel Planning Guide:

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

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

Accommodation:

The Cliff House Hotel – Luxurious 5 star boutique hotel in the picturesque fishing village of Ardmore. Boasts Michelin starred fine dining and amazing spa!