Blarney Stones
A few years ago I had my DNA tested through Ancestry.com which confirmed just what I expected: I’m a Euro-mongrel. The initial results showed the highest percentage of my ancestry—37%—came from “Europe West.” This made sense, since many of my ancestors came from Germany. My brother had similar results, commenting that “we’re more Western European than Western Europeans.” 😄
But what I really wanted to know was how Irish I am. Initial results indicated 21% of my ancestry came from Ireland/Scotland/Wales, which I took as confirmation of my grandmother’s Irish heritage.
However, Ancestry.com continues to refine their results. They sent me an updated Ethnicity Estimate which now says I’m actually 43%…
Scottish.
Wait, what?
Did the Adairs come from Scotland, not Ireland? Well, according to the “genetic geography” map, the “Scotland” result also encompasses Northern Ireland, so…I’m still claiming my little bit o’ Irish. 😄
With that knowledge of my ancestors, there’s no better recipe to feature for St. Patrick’s Day than Blarney Stones—which are probably just as Irish as I am. 😉 But hey, the peanut-frosted cubes of cake may have originated from Irish settlers in Iowa. That’s Irish enough for me!
I first made Blarney Stones as a teenager. I still remember their delicious peanut-y taste. I also remember what a messy pain they were to make. 😄
Frosting all sides of cake cubes before rolling them in crushed peanuts took forever and got my hands all sticky. The last time I made them—some 35 years ago—I just frosted the top of the cake and sprinkled on the crushed peanuts. So much simpler!
I couldn’t find the original recipe, so I did a search and found a few different versions. Some recipes used pound cake, some sponge cake, and some just regular cake. Even the frostings varied between buttercream and glaze.
I decided to make these using a pound cake recipe and buttercream. These are just as good as I remembered!
Blarney Stones
Ingredients
Pound Cake
- 1 cup butter or margarine, warmed to room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs, warmed to room temperature
- 1½ tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2 cups flour
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup butter (no substitutes), warmed to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbl milk if needed
Topping
- 2 cups shelled salted dry roasted peanuts
Directions
Pound Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F / 163°C. Grease and flour a 9"x5"x3" loaf pan.
- Cream butter on medium speed until smooth, about a minute. Slowly add sugar. Beat on high until fluffy; about 6 minutes, scraping down batter frequently.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating on high for 1 minute after each. Scrap batter down between each egg addition.
- Continue beating wile adding the vanilla, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
- Turn mixer to slow speed and gradually add flour. Blend well.
- Spread batter into pan.
- Bake at 325°F / 163°C for 55 – 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to finish cooling.
Buttercream Frosting
- Butter must be room temperature to better absorb the powdered sugar.
- Cream butter on high until smooth.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and add vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat on high for 2 minutes. If frosting is too stiff, beat in 1 tbl milk.
Topping
- Use a blender, food processor, or food chopper to finely crush the peanuts.
Assemble
- Cut the pound cake into 1 or 1½ inch cubes.
- Frost all sides of each cake cube before rolling in crushed peanuts.
- Keep covered before serving. Makes about 36 (1½) inch "stones."
