Michelle Darmody: Cranberry barmbrack is a delicious twist on a Halloween tradition

And pumpkin and cinnamon cookies that are ideal for trick or treaters

Cranberries are a delicious addition to brack. 

The name barmbrack comes from the Irish name báirín breac, meaning ‘speckled loaf’ — the speckles being the dried fruit dotted in the cake. There are a few versions of this traditional Halloween bake; some have a yeast-based dough and others a heavier, denser crumb, more like a tea brack. The latter is quicker to make in a home kitchen.

If you have pumpkin flesh leftover after you carve a jack-o-lantern these cookies are a good option to bake. Butternut squash can also be used. Increasingly pumpkins epitomise Halloween but there are older food traditions such as apple bobbing or the addition of fortune-telling trinkets to the brack. Objects were added while stirring up the dough and if you found one buried in your slice, it told you what to expect for the year ahead: a pea for those who will not marry, a rag for the cash-strapped; a ring for those who are about to be wed.

Today you are less likely to find objects in your brack, but it tastes just as good as it always did. The recipe here deviates a little from tradition with the addition of dried cranberries. I think they add a nice tartness and they swell up beautifully in the tea and whiskey. The brack is rich, spicy, and comforting. Perfect with a hot cup of tea on an autumnal evening.

Pumpkin and cinnamon cookies

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

These lightly spiced cookies are delicious with a cup of hot chocolate

Servings

18

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 12 mins

Total Time

 22 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 220g soft butter

• 120g golden caster sugar

• 150g muscovado sugar

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 225g pumpkin, roasted and puréed

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp cake spice

• 1 tsp bread soda

• 240g self-raising flour

• A pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Pre heat your oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with parchment.

2. Cream the butter with both of the sugars until light and fluffy.

3. Mix the egg and pumpkin purée until well combined.

4. Sieve the cinnamon, cake spice and bread soda into the flour and mix well.

5. Then mix the three bowls of ingredients together until completely combined.

6. Spoon a dessertspoon-sized balls of the dough onto the prepared baking trays, leaving about two inches between each scoopful. Sprinkle the balls with a little sea salt. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until golden around the edges. Once cool enough to handle place on a wire rack.

Cranberry barmbrack

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

A delicious twist on the traditional brack

Servings

10

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 40 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 150g sultanas

• 200g golden raisins

• 100g dried cranberries

• 300mls warm, very strong tea

• 1 egg, lightly whisked

• 150g soft brown sugar

• 200g self-raising flour

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1 tbs whiskey

• 1 tbs natural yoghurt

• 50g mixed chopped nuts

• 1 tbs honey

Method

1. For the nicest results, it is best to soak the fruit overnight in the tea until it all becomes plump and swollen.

2. The next day preheat your oven to 180°C and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.

3. Add the egg, sugar, flour, spices, whiskey, yogurt, and the nuts to the fruit and mix with a wooden spoon. Scoop into the prepared tin and flatten the mixture. Bake for an hour and 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. While it is still warm brush the honey over the top. Allow to cool in the tin.