Irish Caramel and Ice Cream Shortbread Dessert

Cooking Irish can also be found at The PETITCHEF and Pinterest.

 

This is Special Agent Dale Cooper's (Kyle MacLachlan in Twin Peaks pie. Do you remember the episode in the coffee shop in which he said how important it is to just take a moment during each day to relax, have a piece of pie and coffee to make that moment in time special? It may just end up being the best part of the day. Surreal like all of Twin Peaks, but something that has stuck with me for all these years. This dessert shared with friends ended up being the best part of that day in 1985!

This is my neighbor Gerry Argue in his back "garden" as the Irish call their yards. I'm so glad he and his wife Margarette invited me to go on their spur of the moment shopping spree to Mullingar. We lived in the last two Georgian townhouses in the village limits of Trim so we had a huge field of cows in our back "gardens" and a huge field of sheep in our front "gardens." I LOVED it. I would moo to the cows out my kitchen window when doing the dishes and baa to the sheep sitting in the "parlor."

I had this ice cream treat at a typical, small Irish restaurant in Mullingar in County Westmeath.  I was shopping for the day with my Irish neighbors from Pinebrook in Trim, and we took a break to enjoy a "sweet" moment.  I still remember how all the flavors melded together to create this perfect taste sensation.  And each ingredient was perfectly chosen to complement the other.  What made it memorable also was each ingredient was the best I had ever tasted: the best caramel sauce, the best butter pecan ice cream, the best whipped cream, and the best shortbread.  I did get the recipe for the shortbread, but alas not the ice cream or caramel sauce. Now I have to improvise or buy already made.  If you don't have time to make the caramel sauce, I really like the one you can purchase online from Sweet and Saucy, Inc. located in Centennial, Colorado.  They sell wholesale and retail. Currently, a 12-oz. jar is selling for $9.99.  I also like Ben & Jerry's butter pecan ice cream for this recipe.  I always make the whipped cream from scratch, but I cannot duplicate the Mullingar whipped cream since I cannot get the rich creamy flavor only found in Irish dairy products.  There is no alternative for that.  I hope this recipe will create a luscious and memorable moment for you and your friends as well.  It always takes me back to 1985 Mullingar, a wonderful little Irish town.

[Author's note from 7 July 2009:  My sister Paige has been doing extensive and intense genealogical research for many, many years and recently discovered that our great great grandfather Richard E. O'Brien was born in Mullingar.  No wonder I fell in love with it. His grave is in the local cemetery here, and I place a small geranium on his grave each spring to thank him for moving to this beautiful part of New York to farm the land.]  

Irish Caramel and Ice Cream Shortbread Dessert
Ingredients:

Shortbread [Recipe below]

Pecan Ice Cream

Caramel Sauce [Recipe below]

Whipped Cream

Smoked Almonds

Mullingar Shortbread

Ingredients:

½ cup of unsifted flour

1 cup of warm butter [do not substitute margarine]

½ cup of super-fine sugar

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients and knead the mixture until free from cracks. Roll out to ¼-inch thickness under waxed paper on a cookie sheet.  Prick lightly with a fork.  Bake in a 325° oven for 40 minutes until brown.

Easy Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

¹⁄₃ cup of water

1½ cups of heavy cream

1½ cups of sugar

½ teaspoon of good pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

Mix the water and the sugar in a saucepan.  Cover the saucepan cooking over low heat.  When the sugar dissolves, increase the heat.  Boil uncovered until the sugar turns a medium brown, usually about 5 minutes.  Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon.  It can burn very easily toward the end of the cooking process so watch it very carefully.  Slowly and gradually add the cream and the vanilla extract.  Simmer until the caramel dissolves, and the sauce is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes.  Serve warm.  [If you have fresh vanilla bean, you can substitute ½ a bean for the extract.]

Assembly:

Place the warm shortbread on the center of the plate.  Add two scoops of ice cream.  Cover with a liberal amount of caramel sauce and whipped cream.  Top with smoked almonds and be ready for your mouth to pucker in pure joy.   Now that I know some of my Irish roots were in Mullingar, I want to visit again and see if that café is still there.