Happy St. Patrick’s Day, friends! Hope everyone wore their green today; and if not, I hope you’re good at dodging pinches. 😉
In honor of this fun holiday, there’s no better time to share my very favorite dessert from a place that’s near and dear to my heart. I attended Camp Waldemar every summer, for a month, seven years in a row. Some people call it finishing school, but I call it paradise. For one month out of the year, I got to spend every day with great friends in arguably one of the most beautiful places on the Guadalupe River.
I could go on forever about how exquisite this camp is, but one of the best parts is the food. And the best part about the food is the dessert. And one of the best desserts at Camp Waldemar (and perhaps the entire universe) is the Blarney Stones dessert.
You simply can’t eat Blarney Stones without Blue Bell Coffee Ice Cream. Well actually, you can…but the coffee ice cream just makes it that much better.
The cake itself is a soft, sponge-like cake.
And the icing is a delectable combination of sweet, crunchy and slightly salty. It’s buttercream icing perfection. I could eat the whole bowl. My mouth may or may not be watering right now…
The chopped peanuts atop the cake and icing are fab-u-lous. Even if you’re not a peanut fan, trust me, this will make you love peanuts.
This famous Camp Waldemar recipe is featured in the Camp Waldemar Cookbook. After years of making this beloved recipe for my family, my mom made a couple of tweaks (nothing too complicated.) So if you read the recipe in the cookbook and notice these instructions are slightly different, that’s why. **The only two changes are the cooking time, and amount of butter.Â
Ingredients for Blarney Stones Cake:
– 4 eggs, separated
– 1 cup sugar
– 1 cup flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 cup boiling water
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions for Blarney Stones Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Separate the eggs, reserving one of the yolks for the icing. Beat remaining yolks until light and thick. Gradually add the sugar.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternate the dry mixture with the boiling water, blending well in between each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold the egg whites into the egg yolk/flour mixture. (Make sure it is mixed well before pouring into pan.)
Pour into your greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan, and then bake for 25 minutes.
Make the Blarney Stone Icing while Blarney Stone Cake is baking.
Ingredients for Blarney Stone Icing:
– 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
– 1 egg yolk
– 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts, crushed or chopped
Instructions for Blarney Stone Icing:
Cream together the butter and egg yolk. Gradually sift the powdered sugar over the butter mixture; mix and smooth. Stir in the vanilla, and then fold in the 1/2 cup of peanuts. **Note: You will need to beat this icing for a while. Don’t give up; it’s worth it!
Frost the cooled Blarney Stone Cake with the Blarney Stone Icing, and sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining peanuts. Cut into squares and serve with coffee ice cream.
Blarney Stones have been served every year at Camp Waldemar since the 1940s. It’s one of those classic recipes you can pass down for generations to come; a comfort food you can make any time of the year.
I hope you love them as much as I do. Enjoy! Xo
For more famous Camp Waldemar recipes, you can buy your very own Waldemar Cookbook here.
