RealityBypass

To be truthful today has not been a great day for my brain power. I’m leaving for Disney World on Wednesday and my mind is firmly entrenched in humming Disney tunes and day dreaming of temperatures above 50. It’s such a nice thought, really. Due to this lack of brain power and a desire to stick with our Irish theme I’m going to share one of my favorite recipes for Irish Tea Cakes. I think one of the fun things about any holiday is enjoying the food which is associated with that time of the year or particular culture. I find the use of food in written matterials fascinating to as the relationship people have with food also extends to the relationships they have with each other. This is a thought I’ll expand on in a later blog. So without further ado: <!–[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]–>

Irish Tea Cake

3/4 cup butter- softened

1 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla extract

2 Eggs

3 oz Cream cheese- softened

1 3/4 cups Cake flour

1 1/4 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1 cup Dried currants (or dates)

2/3 cup Buttermilk

1/2 cup Confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 tsp Fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325F, with rack in center of oven. Grease and flour 9-inch (7-cup capacity) loaf pan. Set aside.

FOR CAKE, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well. Add cream cheese. Mix until well combined. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Put currants (or dates) in small bowl. Add 1/4 cup of flour mixture to currants and stir until well coated. Add remaining flour to batter, alternating with buttermilk. Mix until smooth. Use wooden spoon to stir in currants and all of the flour. Stir until well combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Smooth surface with spatula. Bake until well-browned and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 25 minutes (time will vary with individual ovens). Cake will crack on top. Let cake rest in pan for 10 minutes. Carefully remove cake from pan to cooling rack. Spread glaze on warm cake. Let cake cool completely before serving.

FOR GLAZE, combine sugar and lemon juice in small bowl. Stir until smooth.

~Jana