An Ode to the Irish (Tea)

Top o' the mornin' to ya! Erin go bragh! Cupan Tae! What? What was that last one? Why, it's Gaelic for 'cup of tea', naturally. In the not too distant future, we shall all be celebrating the day St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland (ok, and he apparently brought Christianity to the Irish. And he wasn't Irish himself...but, that's a totally different blog). On March 17th, some may find themselves bedazzled with sparkling shamrock headbands while sucking back green beer...but not this gal! My bevvie of choice? Irish Breakfast tea!

So, the Irish really dig their tea. And it had better be strong. For the Brits reading this blog, I hate to tell you this, but the Irish are actually, per capita, the biggest tea drinkers on the whole, entire planet! Tea was first brought to the Emerald Isle in 1835 and it became popular with the wealthy. In the mid 1800s it spread to rural folk and all of Ireland was hooked. Small grocers in the villages were opened and they began to exchange butter and eggs for tea and sugar! Fair trade, I'd say! So, like I was saying - the Irish really like their tea strong...and most like it with milk (and some with a LOT of milk). Irish Breakfast tea (which is a big seller in North America too) is most commonly a blend of Assam and Ceylon teas. It is rich without being too astringent. The Irish probably get a chuckle out of the name 'breakfast tea' because I'm fairly certain they drink it morning, noon AND night! Among all the breakfast teas I have come across, Irish Breakfast holds its own, and while I'm supposed to be a tea 'purist', I DO like it with milk. So there! Now, it wouldn't be right to blog about the lovely people of Ireland, their tea and NOT mention the sweets that are most certainly had at any proper teatime gathering. As a 'Happy St. Patrick's Day" wish from me to you, please enjoy the following recipes for Irish Tea Cake and Irish Tea (what the heck, there's Irish Coffee - why not Irish Tea - makes MORE sense now that we know what we know, right?!) CUPAN TAE! May the wind always be at your back, and may there always be (Irish) tea at your table.

IRISH TEA CAKE
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1.5 tsps pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch round pan.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. If the batter is too stiff, a tablespoon or two of milk may be added. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack, then turn out onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

IRISH TEA
Ingredients

1 tbsp. All Things Tea Fine Irish Breakfast Tea, 1 oz. whisky, 1 oz. milk or cream, 1 tsp. sugar

Method

Brew tea in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, then strain out tea. Add whiskey and other ingredients, then serve.