Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
HALLOWEEN IS approaching, and with that comes lots of delicious treats, including the traditional fruit cake, or barmbrack as it’s more widely known in Ireland. The word originates from the Irish words barin and breac, which translate directly “speckled loaf”.
This traditional autumnal cake was eaten on Halloween, and it had some surprises baked within it which were said to tell a person’s fortune. If you came across a pea in your slice of brack, this was thought to be a sign that you would not marry that year. A stick would signify an unhappy marriage, a coin would bring good fortune, and a ring would signify marriage.
Nowadays, fruit cakes and barmbracks are available to buy from almost any grocery shop, but why not get the kids involved in making your own this year (and don’t forget to include the ring!) Read our top picks below.
1. Barmbrack, from I Love Cooking: This classic Irish barmbrack recipe is made in the traditional way by soaking dried fruit overnight in tea. Turn it into a showstopper by topping with fresh cherries and a dusting of icing sugar.
2. Cinnamon and Orange Fruit Cake, from Cake and Cookie Blog: A fragrant, moist and zesty orange based fruit cake. The hint of cinnamon goes a long way and adds a lovely autumnal kick!
3. Pineapple Fruit Cake, from Retro Mummy: Sweeten up the typical fruit cake with the addition of tinned pineapple, genius! Even the kids will love this tasty tea time treat that offers a lighter take on a traditional fruit cake.
4. Chocolate Cherry Fruitcake, from David Lebowitz: A chocolate flavoured fruit cake? We love the sound of this irresistible flavour combination that even the pickiest eaters won’t be able to say no to!
5. Vegan Fruit Cake, from Fiona Cairns: This dairy and egg free recipe is perfect for vegans, those with allergies to dairy products or indeed anyone wanting a speedy, delicious fruit cake.
6. Jamaican Fruit Cake, from Kitchen Nostalgia: This rich and comforting fruit cake is packed with flavours like cinnamon, vanilla and mixed spice. Delicious!
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Save 25min but less frequent and cancelled stoppes ah yea brilliant
An effort to link train arrival times to bus departure times would be a good start if these guys have any interest in more people travelling on trains.
It would be a great idea if both bus eireann and Irish rail both linked their bus and train timetables especially in the country they’d both get more customers and it would be needed in Kerry for example.
Disaster the 5:40am train that arrived into Dublin at 8:45 – now 6:30 arriving at 9:30 its a joke no explanation
Where’s that train leaving from?? – changing the train to arrive in dublin after 9am makes no sense at all!
Michael its the Tralee train I agree its ridiculous
They never kept up with the needs of modern Ireland. And the fares are too expensive.
They couldn’t be more wrong the 15:15 from Ennis to limerick is still at the platform
Limerick to Galway.
Between a rock and a hard place.
Poverty and crime to rain and grime.
25 minutes .. Great! Except for the fact that they cancelled my train and will now not get home 2 hours later than I normally do
Still takes nearly 3 hours to get to Galway. 24th slowest out of 28 countries in europe.
missed the 12.20 cork Dublin this morning as i forgot the times were changing. i wasn’t the only one stuck there for 50 mins til the next one left. Train took 10 mins longer than last weekend too…. improved efficiency my a$$!!
Part of the problem is also the high fares and old rail / station infrastructure and lack of electrification. By relying on diesel, train fares are prone to rising commodity prices. Also, the shortage of rail-cars apparently to cut costs means overcrowding on many trains – something few would be prepared to endure. Further, the lack of enough overpasses.
One less train on the Dublin-Waterford line means one less chance of running into Willie Middleton and his cronies. A good thing.
More of a chance of bumping into him with less trips as he will have less choice increasing yours of meeting him
Who’s he?
Ok how much are the tickets going up by now to justify the time saved,extra 5 euro?
Who’s Willie Middleton…Kate’s uncle?
Meanwhile over at Amiens Street (sorry, Connolly) one train less to Sligo and no change in journey times.
No doubt the oleaginous Barry Kenny (any relation?) will be giving us some flannel about this being an improvement.
They are also missing a separate timetable for kildare to Dublin.
credit where merited and a cursory look sees my journey Dublin to Ballinasloe is now just 1 hour 30 minutes at a cost of 14.99 which to me is excellent.
and Dublin-Cork now regularly two hours 30. That’s considerable improvement.
this new service is a complete joke train running late nearly every day can they get anything right
Dublin Sligo route change is pathetic. The original 5pm and 7pm made no sense for people finishing work at 5pm and now merging both into a 6pm will make the difficulty of finding a seat even worse! Maybe if they cut the journey time on this route instead and actually invested in a second line the usage might go up. Two and a half hours to travel 200km on a train is beyond belief in today’s day and age …
have your say