My Irish roots are back a couple generations, and my "Irish Soda Bread" recipe dates to the mid 1970s, from a magazine touted as "Lily's Irish Soda Bread" from someone else's Irish gran's kitchen. Weirdly, it has no baking soda - it uses baking powder. It's made with raisins (1/2 cup golden, 1/2 cup black), an egg, a fair bit of sugar and LOTS of caraway - 1/4 cup. To solve the "what do you do with the rest of the buttermilk" problem, I started using buttermilk powder exclusively, and always have the powder in my fridge.

It certainly would be fair to call this a tea cake, but I tend to make it for breakfast when I have overnight guests - regulars rather expect it. I also have the problem of being willing to finish off the whole loaf, and shouldn't.

One of the nice parts about this recipe is the crust, and I realized if I made it as muffins, I'd have LOTS of crispy crust, and a much easier way to give away part of the baking. Last week I made it for my best friend. I ate two, gave away two, and he had the rest - the last 4 hit the road home with him last night.

For those who have a problem with whole caraway seeds, it's possible to buy it ground. The local middle eastern bakery here in Cleveland sells it whole or ground & much cheaper than in a grocery or spice store.

I'd post the recipe if I were home to double check that I have it from memory.

Joanne in Cleveland (who now knows that 2 soda bread muffins = over 500 calories)