Latest news with #MichelleDarmody
Irish Examiner
12-07-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: How to bake the classic cherry tart — and the mistakes to avoid
There are a few weeks in the year when the price of cherries drops much lower than in other months. I tend to buy quite a lot of them at this time, simply for eating as they are, but also for use in baking. No matter how you choose to eat your cherries, it is worth seeking them out at the moment. They may even help you get a good night's sleep as they contain melatonin. We have native wild cherries that grow in Ireland, but unfortunately these do not reach a sweetness level to be eaten, but they can be used for making jams and sauces. The sour fruits are smaller and harder than the commercially grown cherries, and are dark red, almost black in colour. Commercially grown cherries that we buy in shops are grown for the bigger sweeter berries they provide. A fresh cherry should have a shiny, taut skin and no soft patches. The colour can vary with different varieties, but most sold in Ireland are a deep wine colour, and the good ones are filled with dark pink juice that drips down your chin when bitten into. My favourite place to buy Irish grown cherries is The Apple Farm in Tipperary. It is a lovely stop on the Cork to Dublin journey. Cherry Tart recipe by:Michelle Darmody A fresh cherry should have a shiny, taut skin and no soft patches. The colour can vary with different varieties, but most sold in Ireland are a deep wine colour. Servings 10 Preparation Time 35 mins Cooking Time 42 mins Total Time 1 hours 17 mins Course Baking Ingredients for the pastry: 225g plain flour, sieved 140g cold butter, cubed 60g golden caster sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten and an extra egg yolk for the pastry glaze for the filling: 800g cherries, stoned and halved 150g cherry jam 1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp corn flour 40g golden caster sugar Method Add the small cubes of butter to the flour and rub them in until it looks like rough breadcrumbs. Stir the sugar into the egg to dissolve it slightly and add this to the flour mixture until it comes together as a dough. Wrap the pastry dough in baking parchment and place into the fridge to firm up for about two hours. Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Lightly grease and flour a 9-inch pie dish. I use one with fluted sides, the same one I use when making a quiche. Set the tin aside in a cool or cold place while you roll your pastry. Roll the pastry into a disc a few centimetres larger than your tart tin and gently nudge it into the prepared dish. Trim the edges. Keep any excess pastry to make the lattice on top. Prick the pastry base all over with a fork. Put a disc of parchment on top of the pastry and fill it with baking beans. Bake the tart case blind for 10 minutes until the edges are just starting to colour very slightly. Remove from the oven and remove the beans. Brush the pastry with some of the egg yolk and place it back into the oven for 2 more minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Toss the stoned cherries with the jam, vanilla, corn flour and sugar until everything is combined. Set aside. Reroll the bits of pastry and make strips for a lattice. Fill the case with the filling. Weave the pastry strips under and over in the opposite directions, creating a lattice pattern. Crimp all around the edge for a neat finish. Bake for in the centre of your oven for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden. Allow to cool for about an hour before eating. Bakers' Tips You can use the paper from the block of butter to rub the butter into the tart tin or tear a square of baking parchment and rub a teaspoon of butter onto all the crevices. After this add a teaspoon of flour into the greased tin and swirl it around so that all of the butter is covered in flour. You can line the base of your tin with parchment as well if you would prefer, to ensure it comes out easily. Make sure to rest your pastry in the fridge to ensure the crispiest result and do not stretch the pastry too much when placing it into the tin or it will shrink back when baking. If you need a bigger circle, roll the pastry a bit thinner. To preserve cherries and keep them fresh for as long as possible keep them as dry until ready to use. If the pastry edges of the tart are beginning to brown and the lattice is still pale you can cover the outside with some tin foil and place the tart back into the oven. If you cut the tart too soon, the cherry juice will flood out and make the pastry mushy. The corn flour allows the filling to set as it cools which prevents this. The tart will last about three days in the fridge. It does not freeze very well as it becomes mushy when defrosted. Three delicious variations Spiced cherry tart Warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg pair well with cherries. You can add a half a teaspoon of each to the cherries when you are adding the jam, sugar, corn flour and vanilla. Chocolate cherry tart Adding cocoa powder to the pastry will not only change the flavour it will also make it a lovely dark colour that looks good with the cherry filling. To make chocolate pastry, replace 25g of the flour with 25g of cocoa powder. Make sure to sieve the two together to ensure they are well combined. Cherry frangipane You can quite dramatically change the tart by adding a layer of frangipane on top of the blind baked case and dotting the cherries on top. Beat 110g of soft butter, 100g of golden caster sugar, 110g of ground almonds, 35g of plain flour, a ½ a teaspoon of baking powder with a ½ a teaspoon of almond extract and two eggs. Beat until combined. Pour this into your pastry case and place the cherries on top. Bake for about 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Turn down the oven slightly towards the end if the pastry is beginning to brown too much.
Irish Examiner
28-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: How to make the classic ice-cream sandwich — and the mistakes to avoid
Who doesn't love an ice cream sandwich? When I visited Australia a few years ago, there was a bakery near where I was staying which served about 15 different varieties, all delicious. They made the sandwiches with their own churned ice cream and homemade biscuits. It was a real treat to visit in the heat of the day. The same place also specialised in ice-cream cakes, which were a wonder. Layers of different-colour ice creams moulded, and piled high. I know I would have been very excited if one arrived at the birthday table when I was a child. The recipe here is a little simpler, but hopefully equally as tasty and refreshing. The biscuits do not get overly crisp so are nice to bite into alongside the soft centre. I find if the biscuit or cookie is too crisp, it makes the ice cream squelch out as you are eating it. A soft and chewy American style chocolate chip cookie works very well for example, while a snappy ginger nut biscuit not so well. There are many Irish-made ice creams you can choose from to fill your sandwich, plenty of delicious locally made versions that celebrate our rich and wonderful dairy history. Ice Cream Sandwich recipe by:Michelle Darmody There are many Irish-made ice creams you can choose from to fill your sandwich, plenty of delicious locally made versions that celebrate our rich and wonderful dairy history. Servings 12 Preparation Time 20 mins Cooking Time 12 mins Total Time 32 mins Course Dessert Ingredients 120g butter, soft 115g golden caster sugar 1 tsp baking powder 50g cocoa powder 240g flour 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 tbsp Golden Syrup 540g vanilla ice cream, soft Method Beat the butter and sugar until pale in colour. Sieve the baking powder, cocoa powder and flour together. Add the egg and |Golden Syrup to the butter mixture and combine. Stir in the flour mixture until it is also combined. Bring the dough together with your hands until smooth. Wrap in parchment and place into the fridge to firm up for an hour. Line two large flat baking trays with parchment. Preheat your oven to 180 °C/gas mark 4. Roll the dough to about 2 mm in thickness and cut it into rectangles about 8cm x 4.5cm in size. You should get about 24 biscuits. Place the biscuits onto the prepared trays. Bake in the center of your oven for 12 minutes. Baker's Tips: You can use a hot spoon to measure out the Golden Syrup; it is so viscous it can be difficult to weigh or measure otherwise. You can put the dough into the freezer or fridge if it gets too soft during rolling. Rolling it while soft will be very messy. Adding a little sprinkling of flour onto your rolling pin with help with the rolling. Leave some space between each biscuit on tray as they will expand as they heat up during baking. It may not need saying, but the biscuits will have to cool completely before making the sandwiches. Leave the biscuits to cool on the baking tray a little longer than you would other biscuits because they are soft when they are still warm. Once cooled place them onto a wire rack to cool completely. You can shape the ice cream around the edge of your biscuit for the neatest result, going around the biscuit with a warm knife can help with this. You can place the ice cream sandwiches on a baking tray and pop them back in the freezer to harden up before serving. This is advisable if it has taken a while to make them and the ice cream has got very soft. If the sandwiches are for an outdoor party or to be served later, you can wrap each one in a square of baking parchment for ease of transporting. This can also be helpful because once wrapped in parchment the sandwiches can be placed into the freezer for storage. They will last a few weeks in the freezer. If you are popping them into a zip-loc bag, squeeze out as much of the air as possible to prevent freezer burn or a build-up of excess ice. The biscuits will keep for a week in an airtight container before you make the sandwiches. Three delicious variations Mint chocolate chip Mint chocolate chip ice cream is a delicious addition instead of the vanilla ice cream. To be extra-decadent you can pour some melted (but slightly cooled) chocolate over the top of the sandwiches. Keep the prepared sandwiches on a tray in the freezer as the chocolate is cooling down, it will still need to be somewhat hot to be pouring texture. Remove the mint choc chip sandwiches from the freezer and drizzle the chocolate on top. Place the tray back into the freezer quite quickly and allow the chocolate to firm up before serving. Raspberry sorbet Raspberry and chocolate work very well together and you can make these sandwiches with a rich raspberry sorbet. I particularly like the version made by Murphy's Ice Cream; it works great for this recipe. You can sprinkle a few chopped raspberries on top of the sorbet before adding the top biscuit if you like. Neapolitan ice cream sandwich Neapolitan is a classic paring of colours and flavours. While ice cream sandwiches are said to have first been invented on the streets on New York for hurried workers on-the-go, to me they are synonymous with Italy, and this is a combination invented by Italian immigrants to the United States. You will need three different ice creams chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Freeze these in rectangle shapes so you can cut the ice cream blocks to fit the biscuits. Add three layers into each sandwich. Read More
Irish Examiner
21-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: Get that ricotta with this classic cheesecake — and the mistakes to avoid
Ricotta is a beautifully creamy and slightly sweet Italian cheese which is often made with sheep's milk. It always reminds me of idyllic trips to Sicily where we have eaten it at almost every meal, in both sweet and savoury dishes. The soft cheese is so intertwined with Sicilian life it gets delivered by its very own van, instead of the milk man calling, it is the ricotta man or woman that knocks on the door at sunrise. To choose the best ricotta, you need to take its texture into account, it should be creamy, but also a little grainy, and have a really fresh, light flavour, with residual sweetness. Chilled ricotta is denser and more creamy, while room-temperature ricotta is lighter and fluffier. For baking, I generally use ricotta that has come to room temperature. You can make ricotta at home if you are so inclined, using fresh milk and some straining techniques. Toonsbridge Dairy, based in Macroom, make a wonderful ricotta from local buffalo milk. This cake is a great base for adding flavours, even the addition of some lemon zest lifts it, adding a zesty new dimension. Ricotta Cheesecake recipe by:Michelle Darmody This cake is a great base for adding flavours, even the addition of some lemon zest lifts it, adding a zesty new dimension. Servings 10 Preparation Time 20 mins Cooking Time 60 mins Total Time 1 hours 20 mins Course Main Ingredients 370g ricotta, room temperature 3 eggs zest 1 orange 2 tsp vanilla extract (or the seeds from inside of 2 vanilla pods) 220g golden caster sugar 220g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder 115g butter, very soft 40g light muscovado sugar Method Line a 9-inch round spring-form tin with parchment. Preheat your oven to 190 °C/gas mark 5. Whisk the ricotta, eggs, zest and vanilla with the golden caster sugar until smooth. Sieve the flour and baking powder together. Gently stir the ricotta mixture and flour mixture together. Fold in the butter. Scoop the mixture into your prepared tin and smooth the top. Sprinkle the muscovado sugar on top. Bake in the center of your oven for about an hour or until a skewer comes out clean and the top is dark golden in colour. Allow to cool in the tin until cool enough to handle then gently place onto a wire rack. Baker's Tips: Using vanilla pods rather than a liquid essence or extract will boost the flavour considerably. For the best texture use very soft, but not melted, butter. Having all the ingredients, including the eggs and ricotta at room temperature ensures they combine well, and the batter is the best consistency. The ricotta cheese makes the cake rich without making it too dense. You can add a little butter to the tin before lining it with parchment to help the parchment stick. This ensures that the parchment does not wiggle around when you scoop the batter into the tin. As with most baking recipes, it is best not to over mix the flour. To avoid over mixing, stir until it is incorporated but no more. You can use a gluten-free flour in this recipe, but the cake will be denser in texture. When removing the cake from the tin, open the spring form clasp and if needed gently run a butter knife around the edges. Peel off the parchment and place the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. If your cake has sunken in the centre, it is probably because the batter was too wet, and the cake did not keep its structure during baking. If there is liquid in the ricotta before weighing, separate this and use the solid part of the cheese for the cake. Sugar adds sweetness to bakes but it is also a preservative. This cake will last about three days at a cool temperature. Three delicious variations: Raspberry Use 400g of raspberries in addition to the ingredients listed. Fold 300g of the raspberries in when you are adding the soft butter and sprinkle the rest on top with the muscovado sugar. Pink grapefruit and strawberry I like using pink grapefruit zest for something a little more unusual. Replace the orange zest with the zest of two pink grapefruits and use just one teaspoon of vanilla extract rather than two. Then fold in 350g of chopped strawberries with the butter. Chocolate chip and cherry Simply add a handful of dark chocolate chips and a handful of pitted cherries into the mixture when you are folding in the soft butter. Read More Michelle Darmody: How to bake classic chocolate peanut butter squares
Irish Examiner
14-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: How to bake classic chocolate peanut butter squares
Tomorrow is Father's Day, and this is a recipe that all the family can participate in making. The margin of error is quite low, so little hands can help without too many undue consequences. Breaking up the chocolate into small pieces is a favourite activity in our house, but I always need a bit extra, as some of it inevitably gets munched. Peanuts and chocolate are a delicious blend of flavours and textures. I always gravitate towards them as a combination. The creaminess of the peanut butter adds a beautifully soft texture to the squares. I use a crunchy peanut butter which also adds a little bite, but smooth works just as well. You can make your own peanut butter and blend it to whatever texture you desire. Add enough peanuts to fill your food processor to a third and pulse the power on and off for a few minutes until the nuts begin to breakdown. I use lightly salted peanuts. You will need to stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula a few times. It may seem like you need to add oil but if you hold your patience, the nuts will eventually begin to form a smooth paste. Blend until you have the texture you wish. This homemade nut butter will store for about four weeks in an airtight jar. If you use unsalted peanuts, you will probably have to add a few pinches of salt to bring out the flavour. Chocolate Peanut-Butter Squares recipe by:Michelle Darmody "The creaminess of the peanut butter adds a beautifully soft texture to the squares. I use a crunchy peanut butter which also adds a little bite, but smooth works just as well." Servings 9 Preparation Time 20 mins Cooking Time 20 mins Total Time 40 mins Course Dessert Ingredients for the base 3 eggs, separated 200g dark chocolate, broken into small, even-sized pieces 220g peanut butter 250g muscovado sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 100g self-raising flour, sieved for the topping 100mls cream 150g dark chocolate, broken into small even sized pieces ½ tbsp butter 2 tbsp chopped peanuts, roasted Method 1. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking tin with parchment. 2. Preheat your oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. 3. Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks and set aside. 4. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof dish over some hot water on a hob, or in your microwave. 5. Beat the sugar and peanut butter and add in the melted chocolate. 6. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. 7. Stir in the flour until combined. 8. Fold the egg whites into the mixture. 9. Scoop the batter into your prepared tin and smooth out the top. 10. Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are firming up. 11. Once cool enough to handle remove the bake onto a wire rack to cool completely. 12. Heat the cream and when shivering then remove it from the heat and stir in the chocolate pieces and butter until melted. 13. Allow the topping to come to just above room temperature then pour it over the bake. 14. Cut into nine squares. 15. Sprinkle the chopped roasted peanuts on top. Baker's tips: If you only have smooth peanut butter but would like a crunch you can stir a tablespoon of chopped peanuts into the batter as well. If you are melting the chocolate on the hob using the double boiler method, (sit a heatproof dish full of chocolate pieces over some hot water on a hob, making sure it doesn't touch the water) it is important to prevent any steam getting into the chocolate. Steam will cause it to seize up because the cocoa particles will clump together leaving you with a grainy mixture which tastes a far cry from smooth and shiny chocolate. You can try and reverse this process by whisking in some melted butter, a teaspoon at a time. Whisking vigorously between each teaspoon of butter added. When folding egg whites into the batter, it is best to stir a little in first to loosen the mixture then fold the remaining egg whites in. If the squares turn out very flat, it may be due to over-mixing. The air in the egg whites helps the squares to rise, so it is important to stop the air bubbles deflating and fold the egg white into the batter gently rather than stir. To do this, you cut down through the mixture with the side of your wooden spoon or spatula then lift a large spoonful of the mixture and fold it over. You can rotate the bowl as you do this to ensure all the mixture gets incorporated with the egg white. Shivering cream means that it is just below the boiling point. There will be very small bubbles beginning to form at the edges of the saucepan and the top of the liquid will literally look like it is shivering. These slices will last four days in an airtight container, or they freeze well, without the topping. The topping can then be added after the slices are defrosted. Three delicious variations: Hazelnut and almond By substituting the peanut butter for almond butter and then adding chopped hazelnuts on top, it changes the taste quite dramatically. Pistachio You can use pistachio butter in place of the peanut butter and then use nice green and pink chopped pistachios to decorate. This combination has become very popular lately. Chocolate peanut butter buns For this version you can simply scoop the batter into paper bun cases instead of baking it as a traybake. You may have to reduce your baking time by about five minutes, depending on your oven. Wait and allow the topping to firm up completely before piping it onto the buns. Read More Michelle Darmody: How to make a peach traybake that feeds a dozen
Irish Examiner
07-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Michelle Darmody: How to make a peach traybake that feeds a dozen
This soft and fruity crumble-topped sponge is baked in a large flat tray so it can be cut up and divided easily. It works well with any stone fruit, which are all coming into their own this time of year, but peaches give a particularly deep and dense colour. The juiciness of peaches varies greatly. In Ireland, unfortunately, many peaches are packed off to our shops while ripening en route, missing out on that transformative sun-kissed effect that creates the distinctive flavour of those found in hotter climates. Unlike many other fruits that lose some of their vitality when cooked, peaches, even hard underripe ones, can intensify and become richer and smoother when used in baking. Raspberries and peaches are paired together in various desserts, as they both ripen as the summer begins to warm up, but they also provide great balance to each other. Raspberries add a tartness which enlivens the peaches' sweetness. Melba is a famous pairing of vanilla ice cream and soft peaches topped with raspberry coulis. It was invented in the Savoy Hotel in London by the famous French chef Auguste Escoffier. This traybake mirrors Melba's simple and elegant flavours. Peach Traybake recipe by:Michelle Darmody This soft and fruity crumble-topped sponge can be cut up and divided easily Servings 12 Preparation Time 20 mins Cooking Time 40 mins Total Time 60 mins Course Baking Ingredients For the topping 50g cold butter, cubed 100g demerara sugar 85g self-raising flour Zest of 2 oranges 20g porridge oats For the base 100g soft butter 150g golden caster sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 tsp vanilla extract 280g self-raising flour, sieved 120ml milk 350g ripe raspberries, roughly mashed 350g peaches, stoned and sliced Method Line an 8 x 12 inch baking tray with parchment. Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. To make the topping, rub the butter into the sugar, flour and zest until it resembles rough breadcrumbs. Stir in the porridge oats and set aside in a cool place. To make the traybake, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg and vanilla until combined. Stir in the flour. Add the milk to the batter to make it a smooth consistency. Stir in the mashed raspberries. Spread the batter into the prepared tin. Dot the peach slices on top, pressing them down a little. Sprinkle the topping over the peaches. Place into the centre of the preheated oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean from the cake. Once cool enough to handle, remove the traybake onto a wire rack to cool then slice. Baker's tips To line your tin, cut a rectangle of parchment larger than the tin, then make four diagonal cuts the depth of your tin, one at each corner. Place the parchment over the tin and shape it into the base and sides with your hands, ensuring it is free of wrinkles. If you find it easier you can rub a small bit of butter onto the tin, so the parchment sticks to it. This also helps to keep the parchment in place when you are scooping the batter into the tin. When making the crumble topping, it is important to ensure that the butter is cold and becomes properly incorporated into the dry ingredients, otherwise you will not get that lovely crisp texture which contrasts with the soft sponge below. When you have set the topping aside and are making the sponge layer below you can store it in the fridge or a cool part of your kitchen. If your sponge is flat or too dense it is because there is a lack of air. Sieving the flour not only aerates it; it also removes lumps so it can incorporate with the rest of the ingredients more easily. When creaming the butter and sugar for the sponge layer, you will need room temperature rather than cold butter. Use a low to medium speed on your mixer until combined, then turn it up to a high speed. You want a soft, creamy texture with lots of air incorporated into it. The mixture will change colour to a pale creamy white when enough air has been added. You can scrape down the sides of the bowl as you are creaming the ingredients to ensure everything is well incorporated. If your batter begins to split or curdle as you add the eggs, add in a spoon of the flour and continue. The slices will last three days in the fridge, but the topping may lose some of its crispness. This can be frozen after it has been cut into slices. Three delicious variations: Apricot and almond This recipe works well with a strong almond flavour added to it. I like to add at least one teaspoon of almond essence in place of the orange zest and then slivered almonds in place of the oats. Instead of peaches, I use apricots, the combination of almond, raspberry and apricot works very nicely. Mixed berry Using berries to top the cake as well as the mashed raspberry in the sponge gives a tart and colourful result. I add a mixture of 350g chopped strawberries, raspberries and blackberries in place of the peaches. Apple and pecan Stew 350g of cooking apples (350g weight after the apple has been peeled and cored). Once soft, let the apple cool. Make the recipe using the stewed apple in place of the mashed raspberries. Read More Michelle Darmody: How to bake the ultimate summer pudding
