Whiskey Butter Tarts

Whiskey Butter Tarts! With a name like that how could this dish be anything other than amazing?! Seriously, I love every single word. Whiskey. Butter. Tart. Fantastic! And let me tell you, these little devils live up to their name! You’ve got the buttery shortbread pastry, the gooey caramel like center and the crunchy chewy top along with a zing of Irish Whiskey flavor thrown in for good measure. Are you drooling yet?

I got the recipe for these delectable little darlings from one of my best friends, Theresa Storey, who just happens to also be a best selling, award winning author! A couple of years ago, Theresa published her first cookbook where you can find the recipe for this scrumptious treat along with over 100 other delicious seasonal fruit recipes. It is called Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen.

Theresa runs a business, The Green Apron, which is an artisan preserve company. She grows much of the fruit and vegetables she uses in her preserves at her family’s orchards at Derryclough and in the walled vegetable garden at her parents 18th Century castle, Glenwilliam.

Her award-winning preserves are made in small batches by traditional methods using locally sourced, organic produce where possible and without artificial preservatives, colours or setting agents. The Green Apron has won 15 Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards, 7 International Great Taste awards and is listed not only in McKenna’s Guide, but also in Georgina Campbell’s Guide. The Green Apron is also now offering workshops on sustainable living, preserving and bee keeping.

Theresa’s book, Fruit on the Table is a top 10 best-selling cookbook in Ireland , has won a Gourmond award there and has been selected to compete for an International Gourmond award. In her book, Theresa follows the seasons and tells you how best to keep fruit on your table all year round. It is an absolute treasure trove, filled not only with her family recipes for jams, jellies and chutneys but it also runs the full gambit of meals, including recipes for cocktails, snacks , mains and going all the way through to desserts. And it doesn’t stop with the mouthwateringly delicious recipes, Fruit on the Table also gives you the low down on growing your own fruit, the ins and outs of preserving, tips on foraging as well as drying fruit. I’m proud to be sharing this recipe from her book. I have shared quite a few over the years, but I’m telling you, they’re only the tip of the iceberg. You’ve just gotta get ahold of this essential cookbook. And speaking of those Green Apron recipes that I’ve shared before, let me just remind you of a few. A couple of years ago, I kicked off my St. Patrick’s Day blog-a-thon with her Prize-Winning Scones with Strawberry Jam & Clotted Cream.

I told you about her Batley Cake

which I filled with her deletable boozy Irish Whiskey Marmalade (also used to fill these tarts.

And this year, I’m sharing Butter Tarts. Truth be told, her recipe is for Canadian Butter Tarts. I just made them boozy by throwing in a few glugs of good ole Irish Whiskey! She also bakes her tarts in a traditional bun pan. I’ve shared a link for one below. I wanted a smaller little two bite tart, so I decided to make up a batch in a mini muffin tin and was very pleased with the results.

I’d wager you will be delighted as well. These treats are wonderful with a cup of tea, coffee or maybe a glass of whiskey if you’d prefer. They are amazing hot out of the oven, but a pleasure anytime. The perfect little nibble for your St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

• Servings: 48 mini muffin sized tarts/
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe very slightly adapted from: Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen by Theresa Storey

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

***The pastry ingredient amounts listed are if you plan to make the tarts in a mini muffin tin as I did. If you are using a proper bun pan or full sized muffin tin, half the pastry ingredient measurements. Keep the filling measurements the same no matter what sized baking tin you choose.

• 220 grams (8 oz./ 2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 450 grams (1 lb) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup cold water

For the filling:

• 3 Tablespoons Irish whiskey
• 170 grams (6 oz.) raisins
• 340 grams (12 oz.) light brown sugar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 30 grams melted butter, slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place raisins in a bowl and pour 3 Tablespoons Irish Whiskey over them. Set aside and allow the raisins to plump up.

Place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes, over the flour. Process until it resembles sand. Remove from processor and place in large bowl.

Add the cold water, 1 -2 Tablespoons at a time, mixing after each addition until the pastry holds together. You will likely not need all of the water. Turn the pastry onto a work surface and knead until smooth. Flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8″ thickness. Using a fluted cookie cutter, cut circles slightly larger than the holes of a mini muffin tin. ( I used a 2 1/2″ cutter) Try to cut out all of the pastry circles in one go if you can. The pastry is a bit persnickety when you attempt to re-roll it.

Line the wells of the muffin tin with the pastry circles.

Whisk the sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla bean paste, cornstarch and cinnamon together, mixing until smooth. Fold in the whiskey soaked raisins. (Do not drain the whiskey off, add the raisins and whiskey)

Half fill the tart cases with the sugar mixture, taking care to stir frequently as the raisins will settle to the bottom.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until the filling is set and pastry golden. Let cool for a few minutes before removing them from the tins onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Do not allow them to cool completely in the muffin tins as they may end up sticking.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful kitchen tools & ingredients for Irish Whiskey Butter Tarts:

Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Cuisinart Pro-Classic Food Processor

Nonstick Twelve Hole Shallow Bun Tin

Fireball Cinnamon Apple Jelly

Ok ya’ll, here it is almost Christmas. But not yet, not yet! It certainly doesn’t feel like Christmas as far as the temperature goes. It has actually been pretty balmy recently. Maybe like early Fall or even Spring. So I’m going to take this opportunity to give you one last lovely Autumn recipe for this year – Fireball Cinnamon Apple Jelly. I am giving folks a jar of this for Christmas, so it is not like you can only eat this scrumptious jelly in the Fall. No indeed! It is fantastic all year round.

I adapted this recipe from my friend Theresa Storey’s cookbook Fruit on the Table: Seasonal recipes from the Green Apron kitchen.

Theresa runs The Green Apron, which is an artisan preserve and tea company located in Ireland. She grows much of the fruit and vegetables that she uses in her preserves at her family’s orchards at Derryclough and in the walled vegetable garden at her parents 18th Century castle, Glenwilliam.

In her best selling cookbook, Theresa follows the seasons and tells you how best to keep fruit on your table all year round. It is an absolute treasure trove, filled not only with her family recipes for jams, jellies and chutneys but it also runs the full gambit of meals, including recipes for cocktails, snacks , mains and going all the way through to desserts. And it doesn’t stop with the mouthwateringly delicious recipes, Fruit on the Table also gives you the low down on growing your own fruit, the ins and outs of preserving, tips on foraging as well as drying fruit.

I have shared several recipes from her book over the years. Like this one for her Prize-winning Scones with Strawberry Jam and Clotted Cream.

I’m telling you, she does know her way around a jam jar! You will love her Cinnamon Apple Jelly too I wager. I’m the one who went and added that Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey into the mix. I couldn’t resist. You know me, if I can add booze to a recipe, I pretty much will.

I slather this jelly on toast, add a dollop atop my oatmeal or even swirl it into yogurt. Absolutely delish!

There are quite a few steps involved in this recipe, but I am telling you it is worth it! If you love that cinnamony apple flavor, you will be over the moon with this jelly! It’s like bottling up a little bit of autumn, you know…with some whiskey thrown in for good measure!

• Servings: makes roughly 52 oz. - how every you would like to divide it between jars. Personally I think the little 4 oz jars are perfect for jelly.
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe adapted from: Fruit on the Table: Seasonal recipes from the Green Apron kitchen by Theresa Storey

Ingredients:

• 6 lb apples, washed (I used HoneyCrisps. Use your favorite, or a blend of sweet and tart varieties)
• 2 cinnamon quills
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 ounces Fireball cinnamon whiskey, plus a bit extra

Directions:

Place a saucer into the refrigerator to chill

Roughly chop the unpeeled and uncored apples and place them in a large preserving pan. Add enough water to just cover them.Throw in the two cinnamon quills.

Cook over medium hight heat for about 45 minutes or until the flesh has turned to pulp and the skin has started to disintegrate.

Remove the cinnamon quills and thrown away. Put the apple pulp in a clean rinsed jelly bag placed over a large bowl. Leave it to drain for at least an hour, but it would be better to leave it overnight.

Measure the juice. Pour it into a clean preserving pan with 450 grams (1 lb) of sugar for every 600 ml. of juice. Stir in the 1/4 cup of lemon juice. The mixture will appear cloudy, but once you add the sugar and begin heating, it will magically become clear.

Cook over high heat. It may take anywhere from 20 -40 minutes until it reaches the setting point.

Spoon a little of the boiling preserve onto the cold saucer. Let it cool and then push it with your finger. If it has reached setting point, the top of the blob of jelly will wrinkle.

Once it has reached setting point, remove from heat. Stir in the two teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix well. Then add 60 ml (2 fl oz) of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey to the pan and stir to combine. It will bubble a bit but settle down quickly.

Pour into warm, sterilized jars to within 6 mm (1/4″) from the top. Splash a little bit of Fireball whiskey on the top of the jelly. Folks will love the whiff of boozy cinnamon goodness they get when they open a jar!

Wipe any drips off the rims of the jars to make sure there is a good seal between the jar and lid. A dampened paper towel works well for this. Place the lids on and seal.

If your plan is to scarf down all of this cinnamon apple jelly immediately, just put the lids on and place the jars in the refrigerator. If you would like to keep it for longer, screw rims onto jam jars. Using tongs, pick up the full jam jars and submerge them into a boiling water bath for 8 minutes.

After 8 minutes, remove the jars from the water bath and place them on the towel. As they cool, you should hear a ping type noise which tells you the jam jars are sealed. When you push down in the center of the top of the jar, there should be no click noise. Once the jars have cooled, make sure the rings are sealed tightly.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful kitchen tools & ingredients for Fireball Cinnamon Apple Jelly:

Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kilner Stainless Steel Jam Pan

Ball Mason 4 oz quilted jelly jars

Canning Magnetic Lid Wand

Norpro 600 Jar Lifter

Ball Canning Funnel

Apple Pie-Cake

Oh ya’ll…it’s almost the day. This is my penultimate (love to use that word) recipe for St. Patrick’s Day 2021 and boy is it a goodie. I give you (drum roll please) Apple-Pie Cake! Completely irresistible, it is chock-full of apples and warm comfy spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Now you might ask “Is it a Pie or a Cake”. Let me tell you – it is the best of both worlds. A perfect marriage of pie and cake. And I, for one, am just thrilled they got together!

I got the recipe for this Apple-Pie Cake from one of my best friends, Theresa Storey, who just happens to also be a best selling, award winning author! A couple of years ago, Theresa published her first cookbook where you can find the recipe for this scrumptious treat along with over 100 other delicious seasonal fruit recipes. It is called Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen.

Theresa runs a business, The Green Apron, which is an artisan preserve company. She grows much of the fruit and vegetables she uses in her preserves at her family’s orchards at Derryclough and in the walled vegetable garden at her parents 18th Century castle, Glenwilliam.

Her award-winning preserves are made in small batches by traditional methods using locally sourced, organic produce where possible and without artificial preservatives, colours or setting agents. The Green Apron has won 15 Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards, 7 International Great Taste awards and is listed not only in McKenna’s Guide, but also in Georgina Campbell’s Guide. The Green Apron is also now offering workshops on sustainable living, preserving and bee keeping.

Theresa’s book, Fruit on the Table is a top 10 best-selling cookbook in Ireland , has won a Gourmond award there and has been selected to compete for an International Gourmond award. In her book, Theresa follows the seasons and tells you how best to keep fruit on your table all year round. It is an absolute treasure trove, filled not only with her family recipes for jams, jellies and chutneys but it also runs the full gambit of meals, including recipes for cocktails, snacks , mains and going all the way through to desserts. And it doesn’t stop with the mouthwateringly delicious recipes, Fruit on the Table also gives you the low down on growing your own fruit, the ins and outs of preserving, tips on foraging as well as drying fruit. I’m proud to be sharing this recipe from her book. I have shared quite a few over the years, but I’m telling you, they’re only the tip of the iceberg. You’ve just gotta get ahold of this essential cookbook. And if you find yourself in Limerick, you simply must stop by the Limerick Milk Market and pay the Green Apron shop a visit!

And speaking of those Green Apron recipes that I’ve shared before, let me just remind you of a few. A couple of years ago, I kicked off my St. Patrick’s Day blog-a-thon with her Prize-Winning Scones with Strawberry Jam & Clotted Cream.

I told you about her Batley Cake

which I filled with her deletable boozy Irish Whiskey Marmalade (also used to fill these tarts.

And this year, I’m sharing her wonderful, Irish country kitchen style Apple-Pie Cake.

It was so quick and easy to make. I’d wager you already have the ingredients in your kitchen and could just whip this up in a flash.

As far as serving, it is so versatile. Warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream does nicely. Room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream. Or just as it is with a wee dusting of confectioners sugar. For dessert, for breakfast, for a snack (afternoon or midnight). I think you get it. So what are ya’ll waiting for? Get to baking this amazing Apple Pie-Cake today!

• Servings: 4-6
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: Fruit on the Table: Seasonal recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen by Theresa Storey

Ingredients:

• 60 grams (2 oz.) butter
• 140 grams (5 oz.) sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 110 grams (4 oz.) all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 60 grams (2 oz.) chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
• 2 medium eating apples (cored and diced) about 2 cups

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/Gas 4) and grease a 9″ (23 cm) pie dish.

Melt the butter and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and egg and mix with a spoon until well combined.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients. (It will look like there is way too much apple, but that’s fine.)

Spoon the batter into the pie dish and carefully flatten it out – it’s very lumpy and sticky.

Bake for 40 -45 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool and serve straight from the pie dish.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful kitchen tools & ingredients for Apple Pie-Cake:

Fruit on the Table: Seasonal recipes from the Green Apron kitchen by Theresa Storey

Meyer Lemon Curd

Who isn’t ready for a bit of sunshine after so many months of dreary, dark and soggy weather? Well, I’m not sure that I can order that up for you. Good ole Punxsutawney Phil, my favorite varmint, said that Spring was coming soon. But maybe in the meantime you can make due by whipping up a batch of golden bright Meyer Lemon Curd, which is veritable sunshine in a jar. I got the recipe for this Lemon Curd from one of my best friends, Theresa Storey. A couple of years ago, Theresa published her first cookbook where you can find the recipe for this Lemon Curd along with over 100 other delicious seasonal fruit recipes. It is called Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen.

Theresa runs a business, The Green Apron, which is an artisan preserve company. Theresa grows much of the fruit and vegetables she uses in her preserves at her family’s orchards at Derryclough and in the walled vegetable garden at her parents 18th Century castle, Glenwilliam.

Her award-winning preserves are made in small batches by traditional methods using locally sourced, organic produce where possible and without artificial preservatives, colours or setting agents. The Green Apron has won 12 Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards, 7 International Great Taste awards and is listed not only in McKenna’s Guide, but also in Georgina Campbell’s Guide. The Green Apron is also now offering workshops on sustainable living, preserving and bee keeping.

Theresa’s book, Fruit on the Table is a top 10 best-selling cookbook in Ireland , has won a Gourmond award there and has been selected to compete for an International Gourmond award. In her book, Theresa follows the seasons and tells you how best to keep fruit on your table all year round. It is an absolute treasure trove, filled not only with her family recipes for jams, jellies and chutneys but it also runs the full gambit of meals, including recipes for cocktails, snacks , mains and going all the way through to desserts. And it doesn’t stop with the mouthwateringly delicious recipes, Fruit on the Table also gives you the low down on growing your own fruit, the ins and outs of preserving, tips on foraging as well as drying fruit. I’m proud to be sharing these recipes from her book this year and I shared quite a few last year as well, but I’m telling you, they’re only the tip of the iceberg. You’ve just gotta get ahold of this essential cookbook. And if you find yourself in Limerick, you simply must stop by the Limerick Milk Market and pay the Green Apron shop a visit!

Over the years, I’ve shared quite a few of her fantastic recipes with you. Last year I kicked off my St. Patrick’s Day blog-a-thon with her Prize-Winning Scones with Strawberry Jam & Clotted Cream.

I told you about her Batley Cake

which I filled with her deletable boozy Irish Whiskey Marmalade (also used to fill these tarts.

And this year, I’ll be sharing her Lemon Curd recipe. Quite the game-changer, this quick & easy curd can be made in the microwave. You will have it ready in absolutely no time at all….well maybe 15 minutes or so.

Theresa used regular lemons in her recipe. I was lucky enough to have some Meyer Lemons in hand, so I used them. Meyer Lemons, which originated in China, are a cross between a regular lemon and a Mandarin Orange. This results in a somewhat sweeter, really vibrant tasting lemon without the acidic aspect. They are a gorgeous golden-yellow colour, kind of like egg yolks and have a much thinner skin than regular lemons. Because they are smaller than regular lemons, I used 5, rather than three, to make this recipe.

This delightfully sweet yet tart spread is delicious smeared on scones, swirled into your morning oatmeal or yogurt, or simply eaten by the spoonful! Brighten up your day with this reminder that the sun will soon reappear.

• Servings: 14 oz.
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen by Theresa Storey

Ingredients:

• 3 large lemons ( I used Meyer Lemons which are a bit smaller. I ended up using 5 Meyer lemons).
• 110 grams (4 oz.) butter
• 2 large eggs
• 225 grams (8 oz.) sugar

Directions:

Wash the lemons and carefully grate the zest off all three. Juice two of the lemons and measure the juice. You want about 5 tablespoons. If you don’t have enough, juice the last one.

Put the butter in a small bowl and microwave on medium heat for a bout one minute until soft and starting to melt. remove from the microwave, stir to distribute the heat evenly and then set aside.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until just combined. Add the lemon zest and juice and stir through.

Add the softened ed butter and whisk the whole lot together until combined

Place the bowl of curd mixture into the microwave and cook on medium heat for one minute. Take it out, give it a quick whisk and put in back in for another minute. Cook it in one minute burst on medium heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (It takes me about 5 minutes.) Beware of overcooking: it thickens as it coos.

Taste the curd. If it needs more lemon, add some more juice, one teaspoon at a time, until you are happy with the flavor, and then microwave ti for another minute to incorporate the newly added juice.

Now it is ready to eat, so pour it into warm sterilized jars, lid and seal. The curd will keep 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Curd brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links for helpful kitchen tools & ingredients for Quick & Easy Meyer Lemon Curd:

Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Ball Mason 4 oz quilted jelly jars

Canning Magnetic Lid Wand

Norpro 600 Jar Lifter

Ball Canning Funnel

Progressive Hand Grater/zester

Butterfly Cakes (aka Fairy Cakes) filled with Strawberry Jam & Topped with Baileys Whipped Cream

Woo-hoo! Today is St. Patrick’s Day!!! And as per usual, the last post of my St. Patrick’s Day recipe run features a cupcake. Well, not an American style cupcake, but what is known as a Butterfly Cake or also sometimes as a Fairy Cake in Ireland. Butterfly Cakes consist of a light Victoria sponge style cake that has a circle carved out that top, the resulting hollow has been filled with jam, topped with whipped cream and then had the halved top circle reinserted so as to resemble butterfly or fairy wings. Then the whole shebang is dusted with confectioners sugar. Butterfly Cakes are staples at children’s birthday parties. What I’ve got for you today is the adult version. My whipped cream is heavily laced with Baileys. Yup…these Butterflies are a wee bit tipsy!

And I did say that you might see that delicious homemade Strawberry Jam that I mentioned in my very first post this St. Patrick’s Day season – Theresa’s Prize-Winning Scones with Strawberry Jam & Clotted Cream. And it has indeed made an appearance again filling these adorable little butterfly gems. The recipe for that Strawberry Jam comes from my friend Theresa’s cookbook Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen.

Theresa runs, The Green Apron, which is an artisan preserve company. She grows much of the fruit and vegetables she uses in her preserves at her family’s orchards at Derryclough and in the walled vegetable garden at her parents 18th Century castle, Glenwilliam.

Her award-winning preserves are made in small batches by traditional methods using locally sourced, organic produce where possible and without artificial preservatives, colours or setting agents.

Theresa definitely knows her way around a jam jar. Every single creation of hers that  I have tasted has been exquisite and her Strawberry Jam is no exception. Simply divine! So I knew that it would be the perfect filling for these Butterfly Cakes.

It is strange that as popular as these lovely treats are in Ireland, they never really made it across the pond to the States. American cupcakes generally are piled high with very sweet buttercream frosting. Now don’t get me wrong. I love cupcakes, pretty much all of them. But I will say that my least favorite of all of the frostings is American Buttercream. It is often grainy and toothachingly sweet. As I’ve said in many previous posts, Swiss Meringue Buttercream is the way to go. If that is the frosting you’ve got, go ahead and pipe a mini mountain onto each cake! The Husband, who really doesn’t care much for chocolatey type sweets, but loves any fruit based dessert, thought these treats were the bees knees. Not too sweet and just bursting with jam and fresh cream. I’m sure the Baileys presence didn’t hurt either! A delight on St. Patrick’s Day but a great recipe to have in your arsenal for use the entire year through.

Well it looks like I’ve gotta get going…my blogging is done for a while. I’ve got some Patrick’s Day festivities to attend to. So see you in a week or so, Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daiobh (Happy St. Patrick’s Day)!

• Servings: 12
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 3/4 Cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg whites
• 3/4 Cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons, 1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (can substitute vanilla extract)

For the topping:

• strawberry jam – I just made up a batch! See the recipe here. or use store bought if you are short on time
• 1 cup (8 oz.) heavy whipping cream, whipped
• 2 Tablespoons confectioners sugar
• 1 -2  Tablespoon Baileys (optional)
• confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Directions:

Line cupcake tin with liners. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C)

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

Whisk egg white and buttermilk together in small bowl. Set aside.

In bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment beat butter until pale and creamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar, scraping down the bowl as needed and continuing to beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Add vanilla paste and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 4 additions alternating with the buttermilk/egg mixture, beating only until just combined.

Using 1/4 cup scoop, divide batter evenly among cupcake wells. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted shows a few moist crumbs.

Cool cupcake tin on wire rack for 5 minutes and then remove cupcakes from pan to finishing cooling on rack.

When ready to decorate, cut out the center of each cupcake, angling the knife at a 45° angle. The piece you remove should look like a cone. Cut the cone top of the cupcake in half so as to resemble butterfly wings. Fill the hollowed out part of the cupcake with strawberry jam. Top the jam with a dollop of Baileys whipped cream, or you can pipe the cream on as I did. Place the “wings” upright at an angle in the cream.

Dust generously with confectioners sugar.

Enjoy!

Butterfly Cakes brought to you by Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Butterfly Cakes filled with Strawberry Jam & Topped with Baileys Whipped Cream:

Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop

Oxo Good Grips Baker’s Dusting Wand

Batley Cake

Here we go, here we go, here we go! I’ve got my fourth St. Patrick’s Day recipe for you today and from now until March 17th I’ll be posting a new one every single day. Today’s gem is Batley Cake.

If you’ve never heard of it before, believe me you’ll be so glad I’m introducing you. Batley Cake consists of two layers of a soft shortbread cookie or a more cake-like scone with a layer of luscious jam sandwiched between them, all dusted with confectioners sugar. Absolutely perfect with a cup of tea, or coffee if that’s your thing.

Now you can use whatever jam for the filling that you like, provided it is a thicker, firmer jam, otherwise you risk it leaking out during the baking, leaving you with a rather amazing mess. Me? I chose that lovely Irish Whiskey Marmalade that I told you about when I made those Irish Whiskey Marmalade Tarts. The recipe for the Whiskey Marmalade, those adorable little Whiskey Marmalade Tarts, as well as the refreshing Irish Whiskey Marmalade Cocktail  that I just blogged about last week, all came from my friend Theresa’s debut cookbook Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen.

Theresa’s company, The Green Apron, is an award winning artisan preserve company which she runs from her family’s orchards at Derryclough located near Ballingarry, County Limerick in Ireland.

All of her preserves are made in small batches by traditional methods using locally sourced, organic produce where possible and without artificial preservatives, colours or setting agents. Her Irish Whiskey Marmalade is a three fruit marmalade consisting of grapefruit, oranges and lemons and a good glug of Irish Whiskey. It is one of The Green Apron’s best-selling jams and won a bronze Blas na h’Eireann in 2015. As you can see, jams are pretty versatile, delicious not only spread over bread and scones but also scrumptious when used in a variety of other dishes. And Theresa’s book is simply jam-packed full (har, har, har…-forgive me…) with her award winning preserves recipes. Just think of all the culinary masterpieces you can create… You simply must get a copy today!  So anyhoo, now that I’ve finished my shameless promotion of T’s book (for the moment that is…you might see another fantastic recipe of hers before St. Patrick’s Day arrives…) back to this Batley Cake.

The cake was so soft and tender, sweet but not too sweet. And what really put it over the top was that gorgeous thick layer of Irish Whiskey Marmalade – bright and fresh like a lovely spring day, which I think we’d all like to see at this point! And with that hint of whiskey flavor…well it’s just the thing to get you movin’ on a chilly March morning!

• Servings: One 8-inch cake
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen by Theresa Storey

Ingredients:

• 225 grams all-purpose flour
• 110 grams butter
• 110 grams sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• 3 Tablespoons firm jam ( I used the Green Apron’s award winning  Irish Whiskey Marmalade)
• 1 Tablespoon icing (confectioner’s) sugar

Instructions:

Grease a 20-cm. (8 inch) round cake tin and preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Put flour in a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and baking powder.

Beat the egg, vanilla extract and milk together in a small bowl and then add to the dry ingredients. Blend together using a fork to form a soft dough.

Divide the dough into two and roll or pat out each piece into a 20 cm (8 inch) circle to fit the baking tin. Place one piece of the dough into the tin.

Using the back of a spoon, spread the jam over the dough in the tin to within a half inch of the edge. (If you spread it right up to the edge, the jam will escape out the sides, burn to the sides of the pan and make a mess.) Cover with the second round of dough.

Bake for around 50 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Just before serving, sprinkle with icing sugar to make it pretty.

Enjoy!

Batley Cake brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links for helpful kitchen tools & ingredients for Batley Cake:

Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen by Theresa Storey

Mason Cash The Forest Owl Mixing Bowl

Norpro Silicone Pastry Mat

Fat Daddio’s Anodized Aluminum Round Cake Pan – 8″