Black Bun

December 31: Hogmanay

Highlander grew up eating fruit cake, mince meat tarts and shortbread during the holiday season. Following Scottish tradition, he also snacks on slices of black bun during Hogmanay (Scottish word for “last day of the year”). The dessert gets its name from the dark and dense rich filling of raisins and currants. Moreover, ground black pepper is one of the dark spices included in the ingredients.

A popular tradition on Hogmanay, which is celebrated all night on new year’s eve until the wee hours of new year’s day, is “first-footing.” If a tall, dark-haired male is the first visitor to enter one’s home after midnight, he is considered the bringer of good luck in the coming year. The first-footer also brings presents, such as a coin, bread, salt, coal, whisky and, of course, black bun. These lucky gifts represent fortune, bounty, warmth and good cheer.

Celebrate the new year with a sweet Scottish black bun. Happy Hogmanay to all of our HI Cookery blog readers!

Recipe

(Adapted from “Scottish Heritage Food and Cooking” by Carol Wilson and Christopher Trotter)

For the “bun” pastry

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, slightly softened and cut into cubes
• cold water

Directions

Generously grease an 8-inch loaf pan. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Add the cubes of butter. Mix with fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Moisten with enough water until a dough is formed. Roll into a ball.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough thinly, making sure it is large enough to line the pan with a little overhang. Trim excess dough and roll out another piece large enough to cover the top of the pan. Set aside and make the filling.

For the “black” filling

• 4 cups raisins
• 3 cups currants
• 1 ½ cups plain flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup almonds, chopped, sliced or slivered
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten (1 for the filling, 1 for the glaze)
• 1-2 tablespoons brandy
• 5 tablespoons milk

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the raisins with the currants. Mix in the flour and brown sugar.

Stir in the almonds. In a small bowl, combine the cream of tartar, allspice, ginger, cinnamon and black pepper. Mix the spices into the filling. Moisten with one beaten egg, brandy and milk.

Spoon the filling into the pastry, pressing down to pack it all in. Moisten the edges with a little water and cover with the remaining pastry. Trim with a knife as necessary. Press the edges to seal well.

Prick the top with the tines of a fork. Brush with egg glaze. Bake in a preheated oven at 225 degrees F for 3 hours. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Remove from the pan and wrap in foil. Store in an airtight container until Hogmanay.

When ready to serve, place onto a cutting board and slice to reveal the black filling.

Notes

• Black Bun is traditionally made several weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container to allow the flavors to develop and mature. Then it is served on New Year’s Eve and Day.
• See our shortbread recipes (traditional, chocolate and lemon) on January 6 (National Shortbread Day).

Irish Soda Bread

December 30: National Bicarbonate of Soda Day

Irish soda bread is mostly associated with St. Patrick’s Day instead of the second to the last day of the year. Traditionally, it is made with but a few simple ingredients: buttermilk, flour, salt and soda (which helps the dough rise). But raisins, caraway seeds and yeast have been added to the recipe—and the celebratory soda bread has evolved into the stereotypical Irish loaf.

We bucked tradition even more by using our bread machine’s “dough-only cycle” as we are not much into the kneading process. But we do finish baking the soda bread in the oven and even slash a cross design on top as a nod to our spirituality and to St. Patrick’s saltire.

We offer both the classic and contemporary recipe versions of Irish soda bread as a double feature for National Bicarbonate of Soda Day. Bain taitneamh as do bhéil!

Recipe

(Adapted from More Electric Bread)

For the bread machine version

• ¾ cup water, lukewarm
• 2 cups flour (white bread flour recommended)
• ½ tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon butter (we used Kerrygold brand Irish unsalted butter), softened
• 1 ½ tablespoons milk powder (dried buttermilk recommended)
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ tablespoon caraway seeds
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 1 ½ teaspoons yeast, active dry

Directions

In the container of the bread machine, place the water, flour, sugar, salt, butter, milk powder, baking soda, caraway seeds, golden raisins and yeast. Set the machine to “dough only” cycle. Press start and let the cycle complete in a few hours.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently make a ball. Place the ball in a lightly greased bowl that is large enough for the dough to rise. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap.

Put the dough in a warm, draft-free place, such as an oven. Let it rise until doubled in size. Remove from the bowl and transfer the dough to a lightly greased baking sheeet lined with foil.  Slash a cross design on top of the dough with a sharp knife. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Slice when completely cool.

Bonus Recipe

For the traditional version

(Adapted from Soda Bread)

• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ¾ cups buttermilk

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Gradually pour in the buttermilk and mix gently until a rough dough forms. Shape into a ball. Place on a foil-lined lightly greased baking pan. Cut a 1-inch deep “X” (St. Patrick’s cross) on top of the dough.

Cover with a larger and lightly greased baking pan (we covered ours with an 8×3-inch round cake pan). Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove the top baking pan and finish browning the bread in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. The bread should make a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Slice and serve with Irish butter.

Notes

• Golden raisins yield a light loaf while regular raisins make it a darker and heavier bread.
• If not baking the first version of this bread in the oven, continue with the normal bread machine cycle but set it on a lighter crust option.
• Instead of placing the traditional Irish soda bread dough on a baking sheet, put it in a round cake pan. Then cover it with the baking sheet. This is reverse of what we did above. Either way, make sure that round pan is deep enough (at least 3 inches) for the bread to rise and expand.

Double Chocolate Rum Cake

December 29: National Chocolate Day

Two consecutive days in December are dedicated to chocolate! So baking a double chocolate rum cake to celebrate National Chocolate Day is twice as nice. The cake contains chocolate powder and chocolate chips; its sweetness is balanced by the booze (rum). It is frosted with a basic chocolate buttercream and decorated with drizzles. There is both chocolate in the batter itself and, with the use of chocolate buttercream and chocolate ganache, the ingredients make for a doubly delightful rum cake! We added chocolate dipped strawberries with a white chocolate decoration as well for more more more chocolate! Chocoholics like us like our chocolate cakes this way to celebrate National Chocolate Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn)

For the double chocolate rum cake

• 1 package (18.25 ounces) devil’s food or chocolate cake mix (we used Duncan Hines brand)
• 1 package (3.9 ounces) chocolate instant pudding mix
• ½ cup rum (we used Bacardi brand gold rum)
• ¾ cup water
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Line two 8-inch round pans with wax paper and mist the bottom and sides with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake and pudding mixes. Pour in the rum, water and oil.

Add the eggs. Mix well until the batter is smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes, testing for doneness with a toothpick. Remove from the oven and cool the cakes in the pan over a wire rack for about half an hour. Transfer one layer to a cake board or platter. Set aside the other cake layer.

For the chocolate buttercream frosting

• 1 stick (½ cup/8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa ppowder
• 3+ cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the cocoa powder. Gradually add the powdered sugar with the milk, vanilla and salt. Beat until fluffy, thinning with a little milk as necessary until the frosting is of spreadable consistency.

Spread the frosting on top of the first layer of the cake. Place the second layer of the cake on top. Add more frosting and smooth it out on the top and sides until covered.

For the chocolate ganache drizzle

• 4 ounces/squares semi-sweet chocolate (we used Baker’s brand)
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

In a microwave-safe bowl, place the chocolate with the whipping cream. Heat on high for about a minute. Remove from the microwave and stir. Heat again in 15-30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted. Mix well. Cool for five minutes.

Fill a pastry/plastic bag with the ganache. Use a small round tip (tip 4 or 5) or cut a small hole in the plastic bag and squeeze the ganache from the edge of the cake. Allow the ganache to drizzle down on the sides. Let cool completely.

For the chocolate-covered strawberries

• 3-4 whole strawberries, washed and dried, room temperature
• leftover chocolate ganache or melted semi-sweet chocolate
• ¼ cup white candy melts/wafer or melted white chocolate

Directions

Dip the bottom and side of a strawberry in semi-sweet chocolate. Place on wax paper to set. Continue dipping other strawberries. When set, fill a pastry/plastic bag with melted white chocolate. Use a small round tip (tip 2 or 3) or cut a small hole in the plastic bag and drizzle the white chocolate back and forth over the chocolate-covered strawberries. Let cool to set. Garnish the top of the cake. Chill until ready to serve. Slice into wedges and indulge.

Notes

• Search our blog for more chocolate recipes.