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Hurling is older than recorded Irish history. It is thought to predate Christianity, having come to Eire with the Celts. It has been a distinct Irish pastime for at least 2000 years. Every boy in Ireland learns hurling and boxing. My son Eli, who was nine when we moved to Ireland, was no exception. He wanted to see a championship hurling match so we drove to County Kilkenny. When we stopped for dinner, we had the most incredible chocolate cake. Still, whenever he visits, I make this cake for him.
Hurling (in Irish, iománaíocht or iomáint) is an outdoor team sport of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the GAA, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar.
The game, played primarily in Ireland and by the Irish diaspora around the world, has prehistoric origins and is thought to be the world's fastest field team sport in terms of game play. Hurling has been described as "field hockey in the air," "brutal field hockey," "lacrosse but with solid sticks." There is a similar game for women called camogie. County Kilkenny is in the Province of Leinster. Kilkenny, Cork, and Tipperary, are regarded as "the Big Three" in the world of hurling.
The object of the game is for players to use a wooden axe-shaped stick called a hurley to hit a small ball called a sliotar between the opponents' goalposts either over the crossbar for one point, or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper for one goal, which is equivalent to three points. The sliotar can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than three steps, struck in the air, or struck on the ground with the hurley. It can be kicked or slapped with an open hand (the hand pass) for short-range passing. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than three steps has to bounce or balance the sliotar on the end of the stick (this is often called "going solo"), and the ball can only be handled twice while in his possession. Side to side shouldering is allowed although body-checking or shoulder-charging is illegal. No protective padding is worn by players so like rugby it is considered a "man's man" game.
I'll share a funny anecdote regarding my memory of hurling. My son loved this game so much, he wanted to bring home his hurley and sliotar. Before we left Ireland to return home to the States, we decided to visit England, Israel, and Egypt. So we packed everything we had had in Ireland that we wanted to bring home with us and left for London. We took the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead and then the overnight train to Euston Station in London. When we arrived at the station, it was morning commute. There was not a cart to be had, and we needed at least three! I spied two hooked together and was trying to separate them when a very dignified, petite elderly woman asked if she could help us. She knew the secret of the "disconnection" and with ease had two separate carts. Off she went with one of them with only her small purse in it. I stood there in shock and thought, "Welcome to London."
We planned on storing all our hundreds [only a slight exaggeration] of suitcases and shopping bags for the Middle East holiday. I thought they would have large, locked storage bins at the train station. Not so. It was a room with open bins at an outrageous per item, per diem rate. No longterm rates. We started giving the clerk our luggage, and then I realized that I should combine bags to save an incredible amount of money. The storage was going to almost equal the flight and hotels for our two-week vacation. I remember vividly grabbing that hurley and sticking it into an open shopping bag. If looks could kill, my remains would be in some London cemetary. I just burst out laughing and proceeded to combine more bags. When we returned two weeks later, the same clerk was there, and he definitely remembered my children and me. He gave us one bag with a huge smile on his face. It was the shopping bag with the hurley in it, and three of the six Irish crystal glasses I had purchased at a crystal boutique in Powerscourt Town House off Grafton Street in Dublin were smashed into hundreds of pieces. I'll never forget that smile. And Eli was never able to again play hurling since there is no pocket of Irish immigrants near where we live! All for naught though he still has his hurley and sliotar all these years later.
Eli holding his hurley in the London Tube when our Irish friends helped us collect the year's worth of luggage on our way to Heathrow to fly home from our Irish adventure.
This is the closest recipe I have found to replicate that slice of heaven tasted on our trip to the hurling match in County Kilkenney. It a friend's recipe she made for her son's birthday and calls it "Lindsay's Birthday Cake." I hope you enjoy this bit of Irish heaven as we do. I have started to add white chocolate curls as the final topping.
Irish "Simply The Perfect Chocolate Cake" [Serves 10 to 12]
Ingredients for Cake:
1 cup of unsifted, unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups of boiling water
2 and 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking soda
½ tsp. of salt
½ tsp. of baking powder
1 cup of softened butter
2 ½ cups of granulated sugar
4 eggs
1½ tsp. of vanilla
Ingredients for Frosting:
1 12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of light cream
2 cups of butter
5 cups of unsifted confectioners sugar
Ingredients for Filling:
2 cups of heavy cream
½ cup of confectioners sugar
2 tsp. of vanilla
Large chunk of white chocolate for curling
Preparation for Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three circular 9 x 1½-inch layer cake pans. Whisk the cocoa and water. Let cool. Sift together the flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl and on high, beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light. On low, beat in a quarter of the flour mixture, some of the cocoa mixture and alternate until mixed thoroughly, but do not overbeat. Divide into pans. Smooth the tops. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
Preparation for Frosting:
In a saucepan, combine the chocolate, cream, and butter. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar. Set the saucepan over a bowl of ice, and beat on high until it holds its shape.
Preparation for Filling:
Whip cream and sugar and vanilla until peaks form. Refrigerate. Assemble one hour before serving.
Assembly:
Evenly cut each of the three cakes in half to form six layers. Remove any crumbs. Start to build the cake by topping each of five layers with the filling mixture. Top with last layer and then frost. I think you will agree this is a wonderful chocolate cake. Top completely with curled vanilla chocolate.
Hurling is older than recorded Irish history. It is thought to predate Christianity, having come to Eire with the Celts. It has been a distinct Irish pastime for at least 2000 years. Every boy in Ireland learns hurling and boxing. My son Eli, who was nine when we moved to Ireland, was no exception. He wanted to see a championship hurling match so we drove to County Kilkenny. When we stopped for dinner, we had the most incredible chocolate cake. Still, whenever he visits, I make this cake for him.
Hurling (in Irish, iománaíocht or iomáint) is an outdoor team sport of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the GAA, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar.
The game, played primarily in Ireland and by the Irish diaspora around the world, has prehistoric origins and is thought to be the world's fastest field team sport in terms of game play. Hurling has been described as "field hockey in the air," "brutal field hockey," "lacrosse but with solid sticks." There is a similar game for women called camogie. County Kilkenny is in the Province of Leinster. Kilkenny, Cork, and Tipperary, are regarded as "the Big Three" in the world of hurling.
The object of the game is for players to use a wooden axe-shaped stick called a hurley to hit a small ball called a sliotar between the opponents' goalposts either over the crossbar for one point, or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper for one goal, which is equivalent to three points. The sliotar can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than three steps, struck in the air, or struck on the ground with the hurley. It can be kicked or slapped with an open hand (the hand pass) for short-range passing. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than three steps has to bounce or balance the sliotar on the end of the stick (this is often called "going solo"), and the ball can only be handled twice while in his possession. Side to side shouldering is allowed although body-checking or shoulder-charging is illegal. No protective padding is worn by players so like rugby it is considered a "man's man" game.
I'll share a funny anecdote regarding my memory of hurling. My son loved this game so much, he wanted to bring home his hurley and sliotar. Before we left Ireland to return home to the States, we decided to visit England, Israel, and Egypt. So we packed everything we had had in Ireland that we wanted to bring home with us and left for London. We took the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead and then the overnight train to Euston Station in London. When we arrived at the station, it was morning commute. There was not a cart to be had, and we needed at least three! I spied two hooked together and was trying to separate them when a very dignified, petite elderly woman asked if she could help us. She knew the secret of the "disconnection" and with ease had two separate carts. Off she went with one of them with only her small purse in it. I stood there in shock and thought, "Welcome to London."
We planned on storing all our hundreds [only a slight exaggeration] of suitcases and shopping bags for the Middle East holiday. I thought they would have large, locked storage bins at the train station. Not so. It was a room with open bins at an outrageous per item, per diem rate. No longterm rates. We started giving the clerk our luggage, and then I realized that I should combine bags to save an incredible amount of money. The storage was going to almost equal the flight and hotels for our two-week vacation. I remember vividly grabbing that hurley and sticking it into an open shopping bag. If looks could kill, my remains would be in some London cemetary. I just burst out laughing and proceeded to combine more bags. When we returned two weeks later, the same clerk was there, and he definitely remembered my children and me. He gave us one bag with a huge smile on his face. It was the shopping bag with the hurley in it, and three of the six Irish crystal glasses I had purchased at a crystal boutique in Powerscourt Town House off Grafton Street in Dublin were smashed into hundreds of pieces. I'll never forget that smile. And Eli was never able to again play hurling since there is no pocket of Irish immigrants near where we live! All for naught though he still has his hurley and sliotar all these years later.
Eli holding his hurley in the London Tube when our Irish friends helped us collect the year's worth of luggage on our way to Heathrow to fly home from our Irish adventure.
This is the closest recipe I have found to replicate that slice of heaven tasted on our trip to the hurling match in County Kilkenney. It a friend's recipe she made for her son's birthday and calls it "Lindsay's Birthday Cake." I hope you enjoy this bit of Irish heaven as we do. I have started to add white chocolate curls as the final topping.
Irish "Simply The Perfect Chocolate Cake" [Serves 10 to 12]
Ingredients for Cake:
1 cup of unsifted, unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups of boiling water
2 and 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking soda
½ tsp. of salt
½ tsp. of baking powder
1 cup of softened butter
2 ½ cups of granulated sugar
4 eggs
1½ tsp. of vanilla
Ingredients for Frosting:
1 12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of light cream
2 cups of butter
5 cups of unsifted confectioners sugar
Ingredients for Filling:
2 cups of heavy cream
½ cup of confectioners sugar
2 tsp. of vanilla
Large chunk of white chocolate for curling
Preparation for Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three circular 9 x 1½-inch layer cake pans. Whisk the cocoa and water. Let cool. Sift together the flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl and on high, beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light. On low, beat in a quarter of the flour mixture, some of the cocoa mixture and alternate until mixed thoroughly, but do not overbeat. Divide into pans. Smooth the tops. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
Preparation for Frosting:
In a saucepan, combine the chocolate, cream, and butter. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar. Set the saucepan over a bowl of ice, and beat on high until it holds its shape.
Preparation for Filling:
Whip cream and sugar and vanilla until peaks form. Refrigerate. Assemble one hour before serving.
Assembly:
Evenly cut each of the three cakes in half to form six layers. Remove any crumbs. Start to build the cake by topping each of five layers with the filling mixture. Top with last layer and then frost. I think you will agree this is a wonderful chocolate cake. Top completely with curled vanilla chocolate.
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