Dublin Rock Dessert Recipes

DUBLIN ROCK

Steps:

• Make an earthenware mixing bowl very hot, and into it put the butter or cream. Beat into this the almonds and sugar, and when well mixed add the brandy and a few drops of orange flower water. (This can usually be bought at a chemist.) The beating should continue until the bowl is quite cold, then the stiffly beaten egg whites are added and well amalgamated (nowadays this could all be done in an electric blender). The mixture is then left overnight in a cold place until it is quite stiff. It is then broken into rough pieces (it will be soft but firm) and piled on to a glass dish in the shape of a pyramid. It is decorated with strips of green angelica, shredded blanched almonds and, in the old days, little fronds of maidenhair fern to resemble plants, such as shamrock, growing out of a rock. In England it was known as Irish Rock, and when pineapples were a novelty in the nineteenth century, the mixture was often shaped to resemble one, spiked with almonds and garnished round the base with crystallized fruits.

DUBLIN DROP CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Grease a 10-inch fluted tube pan (such as a Bundt®) and coat inside of pan with unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, 1 egg, and Irish cream liqueur in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
• Beat chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding mix, 3 eggs, and vegetable oil in a separate bowl until batter is thick and smooth. Slowly beat Irish stout beer into the batter.
• Spoon 1/3 of the cake batter into the prepared pan; layer the Irish cream filling on top. Spoon remaining cake batter over the filling.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Loosen the edges of the cake from the pan with a thin spatula; let cake rest in pan 15 minutes. Invert pan over a wire rack to release cake and allow to cool completely on the rack.
• While cake is cooling, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stir in white sugar and Irish whiskey. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar, reduce heat to low, and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer cake to a serving platter. Generously brush whiskey glaze over cooled cake several times and allow glaze to soak into cake.