If you are lucky, you will someday visit a place that touches your heart in such a way that it can only be described as “home”. This is exactly how I felt when I recently visited Ireland.
In July 2017, my cousin, who I didn’t know existed, made contact with my mom on Ancestry.com. A few emails, a phone call, and one positive DNA test later, it was confirmed, my family had cousins in Ireland. Before we knew it, ten of my family members were on our way to the second Molloy family gathering near the city of Kilkenny.
Ireland
Ireland is astonishingly beautiful with its’ rolling green fields and quaint little villages. Although it was everywhere, it wasn’t the beauty of the landscape that gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling, instead , it was the warm friendly welcome my family received from our newly discovered cousins . The Molloy family who lavished us with comfortable accommodations, great food, who also continuously entertained us with the musical talents of Billy, Josie, and the rock band Sweet Freedom. They couldn’t have treated us any kinder!
A personal highlight for me was a visit to my great grandfather’s family homestead in Cooloutha. There is a special feeling that wells up inside you when you realize that you are standing on the same ground your ancestors stood on many years before. I really can’t put it into words. What I do know is that I am wholeheartedly thankful for the experiences, and memories, but mostly for the newly found family members from around the globe.
A very special thanks to our hosts Josie and Fritz, Kathleen, Mary, Nora, Billy, Michael, Rita and all of their family members who helped to organize this wonderful week-long event, and for giving us all a true feeling of belonging.
Love to all of you,
Susan
Bernie’s Irish Biscuit Cake
Ingredients:
- 2 packages of Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips
- 2 sticks butter (8 oz)
- 2 cans sweetened condensed milk (14 oz each)
- 2 packages tea biscuits ( I used Social Tea biscuits)
Ganache Topping:
- ½ cup whipping cream
- 4 oz Bittersweet baking chocolate ( I used Ghirardelli for this recipe)
Optional Topping Ideas:
- bit of brickle
- almonds
- chocolate sprinkles
- white chocolate
- walnuts
Easy Directions:
- place butter and chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl
- Slowly melt on medium power in 45-second increments so not to scorch the chocolate.
- whisk together butter and chocolate until smooth
- add condensed milk one can at a time and whisk until completely incorporated into the chocolate mixture
- break up tea biscuits into small pies and add them to the chocolate mixture
- mix with a rubber spatula until all biscuits are completely covered in by the chocolate
- pour mixture into a pan lined with foil, or use a spring-form pan (cheesecake pan)
- spread batter until it is smooth across the top.
- refrigerate 1 hour
Making the Ganache Topping:
- in a small saucepan, heat whipping cream on medium heat just until it starts to boil
- remove the cream from heat and add the chocolate
- whisk until all chocolate is melted and blended in
- set aside to cool
- after 1 hour remove the cake from the refrigerator and spread ganache topping on the cake and smooth.
- Decorate your cake with your favorite toppings.
* for this cake, Bits of Brickle were used for topping
A slice of heaven! 
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A little slice of heaven!
[…] Bernie’s Traditional Irish Biscuit Cake […]
This recipe looks delicious! I found it while doing research for what desserts to pair with afternoon tea. I’m writing a dark fantasy novel set in Ireland, and I’m going to credit you and link to your article in the book’s glossary.
I can’t wait to try to make this, I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Annie
Great! I hope you try it out. Looking forward to reading your novel!