Darina Allen: How to make traditional Irish recipes with a modern twist, like mammy buns

Graham Herterich, aka the Cupcake Bloke, learned to bake at home with his granny, mammy, aunts and neighbours, which Michael Kelly teaches people to grow their own nutritious vegetables, fruit and fresh herbs.

'If you went to a friend’s house as a kid and there were buns, you could be assured they were made by their mammy.'

A new name has just burst into the Irish cookbook scene. He is a larger-than-life character known to many as the Cupcake Bloke from his bakery in Dublin’s Rialto. I heard him speak for the first time recently at Food On The Edge and was enchanted by his enthusiasm for baking.

He charmed the audience of top chefs and food writers from around the world with stories of learning how to bake at home from his Granny Flynn, mammy, aunts and neighbours, all of whom love to bake and share.

Graham Herterich was brought up over his family’s butcher shop in Athy, Co Kildare. He thought of following in the family tradition but then went on to study culinary arts at WIT in Waterford, spent several stints and‘stages in many top restaurant kitchens and two years with a Carmelite community.

Graham decided that religious life was not for him and after a period of travel and a spell in product development and food production, he decided with encouragement from friends and mentors to open his own business in 2018. The bakery in Rialto quickly became a much-loved part of the community. Graham specialises in classic Irish recipes, such as soda bread, tarts, porter cake, and barmbrack but gives them a modern twist. How about panch phoran soda bread, West Indies porter cake or barmbrack with many toppings and flavoured butters? In his new book, Bake every traditional Irish recipe is followed by a modern interpretation.

Michael Kelly of GIY on the other hand is very well-known and much admired for the groundbreaking work he and his ace team have done and continue to do.

Michael, the charismatic founder of GIY (Grow It Yourself), the social enterprise that encourages and teaches people to grow their own nutritious vegetables, fruit and fresh herbs.

Well-known to millions through his prime-time TV series and Amazon Prime, Michael and his team have taken the mystery out of starting a vegetable patch and shown us all the magic of sowing a seed and watching it grow into something delicious to eat.

For the wannabe gardeners in your life, seek out Michael’s latest book The GIY Diaries - A Year of Growing and Cooking. His passion for teaching leaps off every page as do Sarah Kilcoyne’s illustrations.

He shares his deep knowledge and experience in day-by-day lessons and encourages all of us to experience the joy of growing and the satisfaction of becoming at least somewhat self-sufficient.

There are lots of brilliant practical suggestions on how we can do our bit to combat climate change, biodiversity loss, food security concerns and the rapidly rising cost of living.

Every month there are recipes to make the most of your seasonal harvest, how to use every scrap, store and preserve a glut.

There are so many practical tips to empower you to join the grow-it- yourself food revolution.

• 'The GIY Diaries - A Year of Growing and Cooking' by Michael Kelly published by Gill Books
• 'Bake - Traditional Irish Baking with Modern Twists' by Graham Herterich published by Nine Bean Rows

Graham Herterich’s Mammy Buns

recipe by:Darina Allen

For as long as I can remember, I've always referred to buns as 'mammy buns'. That what our mammy made and if you went to a friend’s house as a kid and there were buns, you could be assured they were made by their mammy.

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 165g (5 1/2oz) butter, very soft

• 165g (5 1/2oz) caster sugar

• 165g (5 1/2oz) self-raising flour

• 3 medium eggs

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• To decorate (choose one): jam and desiccated coconut jam and buttercream frosting or whipped cream buttercream frosting and sprinkles

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C fan.

2. Line your cupcake or bun trays with paper cases (12 cupcake cases or 24 smaller bun cases).

3. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix everything together until you have a smooth, well-combined, fluffy batter. This will take a minute or two. Divide the batter between the paper cases.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes for the larger cupcakes or 14-16 minutes for the smaller buns, until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean.

5. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely, then decorate as desired in one of the following ways:

6. Spread a little jam across the top of each bun and roll in desiccated coconut.

7. Cut the top off each bun. Decorate with a little jam and frosting or freshly whipped cream.

8. Cut the top in half and place back on the bun to look like butterfly wings.

9. Pipe on some buttercream frosting and decorate with sprinkles.

Buttercream Frosting

This is a simple frosting that's perfect for decorating these buns. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, start on a slow speed (or you'll have a big mess!) and beat 150g (5oz) very soft butter with 300g (10oz) icing sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Continue to beat for about 5 minutes, adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk if you would like to make the frosting a little softer.

Graham Herterich’s Tahini and Black Sesame Cupcakes

recipe by:Darina Allen

A deliciously modern take on cupcakes

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 165g (5 1/2oz) self-raising flour

• 165g (5 1/2oz) caster sugar

• 115g (scant 4 1/4oz) butter, very soft

• 50g (2oz) tahini

• 3 medium eggs

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• 1 tbsp black sesame seeds, plus extra to decorate (see note)

• Frosting

• 100g (3 1/2oz) butter, softened

• 50g (2oz) tahini

• 300g (10oz) icing sugar

• 2 tbsp milk (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C fan. Line your cupcake tray with paper cases.

2. Put all the ingredients except the black sesame seeds in a large bowl. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix everything together until you have a smooth, well-combined, fluffy batter. This will take a minute or two.

3. Gently fold in the black sesame seeds.

4. Divide the batter between the paper cases.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

6. To make the frosting, using an electric mixer or the stand mixer again, mix the softened butter with the tahini and icing sugar, starting slowly or you'll have a big mess! Continue to whisk for about 5 minutes, adding a little milk if you would like to make the frosting a little softer.

7. Using either a piping bag, a palette knife or a spoon, divide the frosting between the cupcakes.

8. To decorate, sprinkle with more black sesame seeds.

9. Note: You can get black sesame seeds from Asian food shops.

Michael Kelly’s Sausage and Beer Stew

recipe by:Darina Allen

So many of my recipes at this time of the year focus on the available root crops that I have either in the ground or in storage, such as carrots, parsnips, celeriac and beets. You could use celery instead of celeriac, swede instead of squash, etc.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• olive oil

• 6-8 good-quality dinner sausages

• 2 onions, diced

• 1 leek, trimmed and finely chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, diced

• 2 large carrots, diced

• 1/2 celeriac, diced

• 1 x 330ml (11fl oz) bottle of beer

• 500ml (18fl oz) beef or chicken stock

• 400g (14oz) tin of tomatoes or 2 tablespoons tomato purée

• 2 tbsp chopped herbs (parsley, rosemary and thyme)

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tbsp mustard (I use Dijon)

• 1/4 squash or pumpkin, peeled and chopped into large chunks

• salt and pepper

• crusty bread or baked potatoes, to serve

Method

1. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Cut the sausages into chunks and fry them for a minute or so on each side, until browned.

2. In the same frying pan, fry the onions, leek, garlic, carrots and celeriac on a gentle heat for about 10 minutes, until soft. Transfer to a heavy saucepan or casserole.

3. Pour the bottle of beer into the frying pan to deglaze the pan, scraping any nice brown bits off the pan with a wooden spatula. Bring to the boil and let it simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce down a little. Add it to the veg with the stock, tomatoes, herbs, bay leaf and mustard.

4. Bring to the boil and then add the squash or pumpkin. Cook for 15 minutes with the lid on.

5. Add the sausages to the saucepan and cook for another 15 minutes.

6. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Check the consistency - leave to simmer for another 10 minutes if it needs to be thickened or add a little boiling water if it's too thick.

7. Serve with crusty bread or baked potatoes.

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Heartwarming Christmas Meals at Ballymaloe Cookery School, 13th - 15th December 2022… It’s never too early to plan…

Come and join us for two-and-a-half days of delicious Christmas cooking. Learn how to make a range of Christmas dishes that will become new family traditions. Discover recipes that you can cook ahead of time so that you too can enjoy time with the family, entertain friends and bring exciting new flavours to the festive table.

For more information, see www.cookingisfun.ie