We Americans tend to think of Irish food in St. Patrick’s party terms, all corned beef, cabbage and shamrock-shaped cookies. But Ireland boasts a proud — and significantly more varied — culinary tradition and its reigning gastronomic queen, Darina Allen, makes sure of that.
The bestselling food writer and celebrity chef founded The Ballymaloe Cookery School on the grounds of an organic farm in County Cork in 1983, and her cooking classes, cookbooks and TV food series have made her a household name in Ireland. Page through her cookbooks and you’ll find everything from classics — Ballymaloe Irish Stew, for example, and Shepherd’s Pie — to Smoked Duck and Quinoa Buddha Bowls.
Her new “One Pot Feeds All” (Octopus Books, $25), which landed on bookstore shelves last month, is all about easy, delicious fare, like this Chocolate Pudding with Toasted Hazelnuts and Frangelico Cream. Toss out any visions of custard. This is more like molten chocolate cake — with Frangelico-infused whipped cream.
Allen describes it as “wickedly rich with a melting texture. It should be moist and gooey in the center, so don’t overcook it or it will be disappointing and dull.”
Unlike molten chocolate cake, though, this one is equally good hot or cold. And it’s vastly superior to shamrock-shaped cookies, so bear that in mind when you’re planning that St. Patrick’s Day menu. Here’s how it’s made:
Chocolate Fudge Pudding with Toasted Hazelnuts & Frangelico Cream
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
2/3 cup unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
5½ ounces good-quality dark chocolate (Allen uses a 52 percent bar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
Scant ½ cup superfine sugar
4 organic, free-range eggs
3 tablespoons self-rising flour
Powdered sugar, for serving
A few toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped, garnish
1 cup softly whipped cream or crème fraîche mixed with 1 tablespoon Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
Directions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 1-quart pie dish with a little butter.
Chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt with 2/3 cup butter in a Pyrex bowl set over a pan of hot, but not simmering, water. As soon as the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Stir in the warm water and sugar and mix until smooth.
Separate the eggs and whisk the yolks into the chocolate mixture. Then fold in the sifted flour, making sure there are no lumps.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the chocolate mixture. Pour the chocolate mixture into the buttered dish. Put the dish in a bain-marie — a larger baking pan to hold water — and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 315 degrees and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until the pudding is firm on top but still soft and fudgy underneath and saucy at the base.
Set aside to cool slightly before dusting with powdered sugar. Serve warm or cold sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts and with Frangelico cream or crème fraîche alongside.
— Courtesy Darina Allen, “One Pot Feeds All” (Octopus Books, $25)