Irish Barmbrack Recipe for Halloween 2024

Baking an Irish Barmbrack has become a tradition since I moved to Ireland. The Barmbrack is a traditional Irish fruitcake baked for Halloween.

In Gaelic, it’s known as báirín breac or ‘speckled loaf.’ Traditionally, a ring, a penny, a pea, or a small piece of clothing was baked into the Cake, and each item had a special significance for the person who discovered it in their slice of Cake. Nowadays, it’s usually just a ring that is added to the batter.

The recipe for a perfect Barmbrack is like the traditional Italian recipes: every Irish family has its own, and it’s pretty hard to find the perfect one.

I’ve been using the following recipes for years now, and it partially comes from a friend of mine from the Kerry region and partly from my experience while baking: the result is a soft and rich dough you can have for breakfast or as a snack buttered and, eventually, toasted as well.

Irish Barmbrack Recipe: Tips and Advice

• It’s been said that the Barmbrack has to be made two days in advance and wrapped in oiled paper before being cut, but if it is prepared the same day and you let it cool, it is excellent;
• Being similar to an Italian panettone means that this Cake tends to dry out quickly, so it’s better to always wrap it in oiled paper or store it in a sealed container;
• If you want to add an item inside the Barmbrack, make sure not to choose a small one or a gigantic one and add it to the dough once it’s been already made and before transferring it into the pan);
• You can freeze your Barmbrack as a whole or in batches to eat it all year round. It’s perfect at Christmas time because it’s very similar to the Irish Christmas Cake;
• You can soak the raisins in Irish whiskey; the Cake becomes stingy, but it’s tastier and more generous (not suitable for the kids!).

What you need to make the Halloween Irish Cake:

• A stand mixer: we’ve compiled a list of the best stand mixers for home use but if you want to have a quick solution, we highly recommend a classic KitchenAid KSM75SL Classic Plus or the Aucma Stand Mixer if you’re looking for something cheaper;
• A baking loaf pan: the shape is part of this traditional Irish Cake, so make sure you have a baking loaf pan for your dough.