Using alcohol to add flavour to your baking
There are a few strange bottles of alcohol shoved to the back of the cupboards in our house, one that a friend brought as a gift from a Greek island, others samples of liqueurs all sitting side by side with half empty bottles of obscure sherry, writes Michelle Darmody.
I find, what is often better than drinking them, is using the alcohol to add flavour to cooking or baking.
Alcohol works very well for tenderising meat or for adding a nice kick to gravy, it helps to bind the fat and the water which enhances flavour. I particularly like a dash of Marsala or some dry Martini in a rich, salty gravy.
When it comes to using alcohol in baking I do like the flavour of dark rum. It works very well in its traditional pairing with raisins or also with chocolate or coffee.
Sherry is a great addition to trifles or a sweet sherry such as the Pedro Ximenez, used here, works wonderfully with dried fruit or dark chocolate. Its depth and sweetness bring out the flavours.
Baileys and Grand Marnier are two other firm favourites for adding taste and a nuanced bite to baking ordesserts.
Alcohol evaporates at 78degrees so it is just the trace of the flavour that is left in your mouth. Your guests will not be getting drunk on rum or anyalcohol that is baked in the oven, a trifle on the other hand may very well get them a little tipsy.
APPLE CAKE WITH A RUM GLAZE
For the cake
180g of golden caster sugar
125g of butter, soft
1 tsp of baking powder
a pinch of salt
150g of plain flour
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground ginger
1 tsp of mixed cake spice
1 egg, lightly beaten
100g of almonds, roughly chopped and lightly toasted
5 small apples, peeled, cored and sliced into semi circles
Forthe rum glaze
180g of caster sugar
240mls of cream
2 tbs of dark rum
Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees. Line a 9 inch spring-form or loose base cake tin with parchment and set aside.
Beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Mix the baking powder and salt into the flour then sieve all of them together with the cinnamon, ginger and spices. This will make sure they are combined and that there are no lumps. Set aside.
Add the egg slowly to the butter and sugar. If it starts to curdle add a tablespoon of the flour mix.
Once the egg is combined add in the flour until a batter is formed. Stir in the almonds. Scoop the batter into the prepared tin. Lay the apple slices on top of the cake.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until it is golden on top and baked through. Allow to cool in the tin.
Melt the sugar for the glaze in a heavy based saucepan and set it aside while you heat the cream until it is shivering. Whisk the cream into the sugar until smooth and then stir in the rum. Pour this over the cake once you have removed it from the tin.
BAILEYS BUTTERCREAM BUNS
For the buns
200g of softened butter
190g of caster sugar
4 eggs
190g of self-raising flour
10g of coco powder
1 shot of espresso
a small handful of chocolate pieces, optional
For the Baileys buttercream
500g of icing sugar
200g of butter, soft
100mls of Baileys
Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees and place 12 cupcake cases into a bun tin and set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar until they are very light and fluffy.
Mix the eggs and coffee and add them slowly to the butter mixture. Make sure to regularly scrape the sides of your bowl to ensure that all of the ingredients are combined. If the mixture begins to separate or curdle add a little of the flour.
Add in the flour, coco powder and the chocolate pieces and mix slowly.
Spoon your mixture into the prepared cupcake cases.
Bake for 15 minutes until baked through and allow to cool in the tin for ten minutes before placing onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Whisk the icing sugar, soft butter and Baileys until light and fluffy. Once the buns have cooled completely pipe a swirl of the buttercream onto each one. If you do not have a piping bag you can spread the icing with a knife.
CHOCOLATE PRUNE CAKE WITH PEDRO XIMENEZ SHERRY
60 mls of Pedro Ximenez sherry
140g of Agen prunes, halved and stones removed
140g of dark chocolate, broken into even sized pieces
100g of butter
130g of golden caster sugar
2 eggs and 2 egg yolks
100g of ground almonds
2 tbs of coco powder
1 tbs of plain flour
Heat the Pedro Ximenez and the prunes in a heavy based saucepan, once bubbling remove from the heat an set aside for an hour.
Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees and line an 8-inch spring-form or loose base cake tin with parchment and set aside.
Place the chocolate and butter into a saucepan and gently heat until melted. Blitz the prunes and Pedro Ximenez into a paste and stir it through the chocolate mixture.
Whisk the sugar, the two eggs and the two egg yolks until doubled in volume.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks. Stir in the ground almonds, coco power and flour then fold in the egg whites.
Scoop the mixture into the tin and bake 25 minute until there is a thin, slightly shiny crust on the top of the cake, like the top of a brownie. Allow to cool in the tin.
