Blarney Stones

Blarney stones are an old-school Irish-American bakery treat that deserves a comeback. Tender sponge cake gets cut into bars, coated on all sides with a simple powdered sugar icing, then rolled in finely chopped peanuts or pecans so every surface is crunchy and nutty.

The cake itself is a hot milk sponge. Melting butter into hot milk and beating it into whipped eggs and sugar creates a light, springy crumb that soaks up the icing without turning soggy. Beat the eggs until genuinely light and pale before adding the sugar. That aeration is the only leavening help the baking powder gets.

Sift the flour and baking powder together and beat them in quickly. Overworking at this stage develops gluten and turns your tender sponge into something tough and chewy. The batter should come together in seconds.

Pound the pan on the counter a few times after pouring in the batter. Those trapped air bubbles will turn into holes in the finished cake, and holes mean spots where the icing pools instead of coating evenly.

Pro Tips

• Let the cake cool completely before cutting and icing. Warm cake crumbles when you try to coat it.
• Make the icing thick enough to cling but thin enough to spread. Start with powdered sugar and add milk a tablespoon at a time.
• Use a fork to dip each bar into the icing, then roll immediately in the nuts while the icing is still wet.
• Cake flour gives a more tender result than all-purpose. Don’t substitute if you can avoid it.

Variations

• St. Patrick’s Day: Tint the icing with a few drops of green food coloring for the holiday table.
• Almond version: Roll in finely chopped almonds and add a quarter teaspoon of almond extract to the batter.