Category: Alcohol

Black Irish Cake…St Paddy’s Day Pub Crawl Event

This cake is a tasty, yummy, mess of a cake .

Emiline over at Sugar Plum has come up with a great event in honor of St. Patrick’s Day! She has challenged us to come up with either sweet or savory dishes incorporating booze.Immediately I conceptualized a Black Irish Cake. A Black Irish Cake is a chocolate cake with mashed potatoes( hey it works!) soaked in 3 boozes( Baileys Irish Creme,Chocolate Liqueur, and Whiskey) in a riff of a Tres Leches Cake. Are you feeling me?

I remember reading about cakes made with mashed potatoes so it would be perfect for a Irish themed cake. I basically followed this recipe. However she used no dairy, and I added left over evaporated milk to the mashed potatoes( no more than 1/4 of a cup) and it turned out fine .You can use your own chocolate cake recipe and experiment.

I really wanted to use my authentic Feckin Irish Whiskey that was signed by the maker, but we agreed not to open the bottle.So I purchased some Jack Daniels instead along with some Baileys Irish Creme.

Black Irish Cake

1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of evaporated milk
1 cup of Baileys Irish Cream
1/2 cup of whiskey
1/4- 1/2 cup of Chocolate Liqueur

Whipped Cream Topping (make your own with heavy cream , confectioners sugar,vanilla, etc. or cheat and buy a Non Dairy Whipped Topping. I used a Wilton Whipped Topping Mix).

Make your cake in a dish that you will serve the cake in. I used a 81/2 by 81/2 Plexiglas dish. I had leftover batter so I made 12 cupcakes as well to serve in individual ramekins. Take cake out of oven.Pierce all over. While still warm drizzle cake with Whiskey and Chocolate Liqueur.In a blender mix heavy cream,evaporated milk, and Baileys. Pour this cream mixture over warm cake. It may take several attempts for the liquids to sink into the cake.I still had leftover cream, but I soaked three times. Let cake cool, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours until chilled.If you have leftover cream and you feel the cake can take on more liquid, add it. Top off with Whipped Topping and serve.

Be sure to let it set well. I cut mine after a few hours, but it could have chilled some more to hold some shape.For a more perfect presentation serve it up in the individual ramekins. Regardless the flavors merge well and it gives you a sweet light light headed feeling. Certain Someone declared it was rich!

* Warning: Don’t eat this and operate heavy machinery or drive.

Cream Limoncello

A few weeks back my blogging pal over at Proud Italian Cook suggested in the comment box for me to use my Meyer Lemon Syrup in making Limoncello. I decided in talking to my good friend Gabi that this would be perfect for her in our belated Christmas gift exchange. She loves it and mentioned a cream limoncello she had in Capri once. So with some Internet research I found the recipe.Can I just say this is some yummy brew. Limomoncello is relatively simple and the Cream version just takes some added steps. The debates out on the length of time required for it brew. All in all I steeped my lemon zest over 1 and half weeks. Added the cream sugar mixture and let it sit for another 1 and half weeks. Tonight I finally decided to bottle it up. Be careful with the straining as the use of milk or cream causes some curdling action. I used Everclear which has a very high proof, but the taste and smell are nonexistent which makes this perfect to showcase the lemons and not mention give you a good buzz!


When Life Hands You Lemons…You Make A Martini

Today mine, along with all the other Account Executives,clerical staff, etc., positions were eliminated. My company is under a reorganization under a new regime and we have been told we are free to reapply to a few new positions being created, and essentially let the chips fall where there may. I have anticipated this for a while, and the whole retail sector is rocky. Oddly I feel OK. I will reapply there, and else where.When one door closes another opens, and this is my wake up call to do what I love perhaps. I have been dabbling in PT food and wine jobs over the years to help make ends meet, and you know what ‘I LOVE IT!”. I’m grateful for my past opportunities, being hired directly by a legendary minority history maker,who has since departed this earth , but have always felt it was time to move on. I was stagnating in a place with no room for growth.I have amazing support from Certain Someone and my friends and family, who have all assured me I will be OK. So tonight I raise a rosy glass( Skane Aquavit and X Rated Fusion Liqueur) to my rosy future. I know I’m not alone in that these are hard times all over. The other day I visited the neighborhood supermarket that was in the process of closing. It was weird seeing the stores shelves half empty for quick clearance. I thought about the people who worked there, those who relied on this neighborhood store because no where else was close by, etc. Its all a domino effect. So I will chill this evening and wake up hungry and ambitious ready to start a new day, and a new life.

The Brews Now Ready

In late October I posted about some spirits I was making for event. It takes three months to ‘take’. Well today I strained them and bottled them(I still had technically had about 10 more days ).I made two brews. One Prickly Pear and one Plum.I opened the Prickly Pear first, I had cut the skins to release the rich fuchsia color. The liquid was bright and syrupy. And the taste fantastic! I loved it. Sweet and fruity. I can envision many a martini made with this as a base.I then opened the plum, which was lighter in color and not as syrupy. For some reason there was a fizziness which surprised me. The flavor was lighter and less intense, but still good. I can’t decide which was my favorite( OK maybe the Prickly Pear). I even mixed the remnants of both in a larger bottle to even flavors out. I love making my own liquors. Next is a Cream Limoncello for my good friend. I came about this from a suggestion from a fellow blogger about my Meyer lemon syrup. In talking to my friend she mentioned she loved Cream Limoncello. So stay tuned.

New Year Traditions…Akkra,Greens,and Champagne


Happy New Year!

The other day I asked my friend Gabs what are the traditional good luck foods that they eat in Australia. She said they are not into to that as we Americans are. I got to thinking what can I do besides the normal southern style Black Eye Peas ,that we of Southern descent eat on New Years Day. I started thinking of my parents and in particular a dish my Nigerian father made at times. Akkra would be my new twist and variation of the routine Black Eye Peas . I never really got into all the Nigerian food growing up. It wasn’t that it was not good , I just got tired of my father eating the same things all the time( ‘soup’ , fufu,and rice in all there different ways). I remember he brought these black eye pea fritters called Akkra to a school “Show and Tell”, once on Nigeria. He added shrimp to them and they were a hit.I decided to add some other spices and green peppers to it. Dried shrimp,if you have it adds a great touch. My mother long since divorced from him made these from time to time as well.They are popular in Brazil and the parts of the Caribbean as well in slight variations. For New Years she was the traditional Southerner and made her Black Eye Peas and Collard Greens with lots of smoked meats. Don’t forget the Champagne for good luck! Certain Someone and I picked up these deliciously gaudy glasses in Germany. See the dollar signs? They really should be Euro signs in todays economy.They are RITZENHOFF.And what appropriate glasses to ask for prosperity in the New Year!

So here’s to a wonderful ,healthful,and prosperous New Year!