Beth O'Brien

Jun 9, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Beth O'Brien

I consider lemon drizzle cake one of the stalwarts of the cake canon: it sits proudly alongside carrot cake, coffee cake, and perhaps Victoria sponge as time-honoured classics – not out of place at afternoon tea, a bake sale or on a bakery counter. It can be tricky to make, though, and I have had more than my share of cakes that have sunk in the middle or baked unevenly throughout.

Jun 8, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Beth O'Brien

Ingredients Zest and juice of 1 lemon 90g caster sugar 90g soft butter 3 large free-range eggs 95g self-raising flour 90g ground almonds 40g cornmeal (or polenta) ½tsp salt For the lemon syrup: Zest of 1 lemon Juice of ½ lemon (about 45ml, add some water if necessary) 50g caster sugar For the glaze: 100g icing sugar Juice of ½ lemon (about 22ml, add some water if necessary) Pinch of salt You will need a 1lb loaf tin (if you have a 2lb loaf tin, double the ingredients above, and increase the...

Apr 28, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Beth O'Brien

Shortbread is a classic Scottish biscuit, thought to date back to the 12th century, but made popular by Mary, Queen of Scots, in the 16th century. Shortbread is short due to the high proportion of butter or fat in the dough, making the biscuits tender and crumbly rather than crisp and chewy. Here, I have tested six shortbread recipes (by David Tanis, Alison Roman, Benjamina Ebuehi, Melissa Clark and Claire Saffitz) – and I have also included Thalia Ho’s sablé biscuit as a point of reference.

Apr 27, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Beth O'Brien

Ingredients175g butter, room temperatureZest of 2 lemons75g icing sugar50g caster sugar1 egg yolk225g plain flour25g cornflour1 tsp fine salt1 egg white30g poppy seedsFlaky sea salt, to finishPlace the butter, lemon zest and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy – about 3-4 minutes. You can also do this by hand or with a hand-held whisk, but it may take longer. Add the egg yolk, and beat to combine.

Mar 10, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Beth O'Brien

Madeleines are quintessentially French, popularised by Proust’s evocative discourse in In Search of Lost Time (1927): “Petites madeleines, which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell ... I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me.