✔ Updated · 32 traditional Irish desserts, regrouped + alcohol-free picks
Traditional Irish desserts are built on what Irish kitchens have always had plenty of: butter, cream, oats, apples, dried fruit and strong tea, with a splash of stout or whiskey for special occasions.
The most traditional Irish desserts are Irish apple cake, barmbrack (a tea-soaked fruit loaf), porter cake, bread and butter pudding, Irish apple tart, rhubarb crumble, carrageen moss pudding, yellowman toffee and Irish shortbread. Guinness chocolate cake, Baileys cheesecake and Irish coffee are newer favorites, popular around St. Patrick's Day.
- Classic bakes: Irish apple cake, barmbrack, porter cake, scones and sweet soda bread.
- Puddings: bread and butter pudding, apple tart, rhubarb crumble and Christmas pudding.
- No alcohol: most of the list, except porter cake, Guinness cake and the Baileys and whiskey treats.
This list rounds up 32 of the best, from Irish apple cake and barmbrack to bread and butter pudding, yellowman and shortbread, grouped by type so it's easy to find a cake for Sunday tea, a pudding for a cold night or an alcohol-free treat for the kids. Barmbrack is traditionally served at Halloween alongside colcannon, Ireland’s classic potato and cabbage mash.
Irish Cakes and Breads
Cakes and sweet breads are the backbone of Irish baking. Irish apple cake is the one I bake most. Many were made to keep for days, served with butter and a cup of tea rather than plated as a fancy dessert.
1. Irish Apple Cake
A buttery sponge packed with sliced cooking apples and a crumbly streusel top, often called Kerry apple cake. Serve warm with custard or cream.
2. Barmbrack
A yeasted or quick fruit loaf made with dried fruit soaked overnight in cold tea. Traditionally eaten at Halloween with a ring baked inside.
3. Irish Porter Cake
A dense, moist fruit cake made with porter or stout, raisins, currants and warm spice. It keeps well for a week or more when wrapped.
4. Guinness Chocolate Cake
A dark, moist chocolate cake made with stout and topped with a white cream cheese frosting so it looks like a pint. A modern favorite.
5. Irish Christmas Cake
A rich fruit cake made weeks ahead and fed with whiskey, then covered in marzipan and white royal icing for Christmas.
6. Sweet Soda Bread (Spotted Dog)
Soda bread made with buttermilk, a little sugar and raisins, risen with baking soda instead of yeast. Chocolate chips make an easy kid-friendly version.
7. Irish Scones
Light, plain or fruit scones made with butter and buttermilk, served split with butter, jam and whipped cream alongside a pot of tea.
8. Chocolate Biscuit Cake
A no-bake fridge cake of crushed tea biscuits bound with melted chocolate, butter and golden syrup, then sliced. A party and birthday staple.
9. Gur Cake
A Dublin bakery slice of spiced fruit filling made from leftover cake or bread, baked between two layers of pastry and cut into squares.
10. Potato Apple Cake
A Northern Irish harvest treat: mashed potato and flour dough wrapped around sliced apples, cooked on a griddle and finished with butter and sugar.
Irish Puddings and Tarts
In Ireland, "pudding" often just means dessert. These are the warm, comforting ones, usually served with custard, cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Bread and butter pudding is my way to use up stale bread.
11. Bread and Butter Pudding
Buttered slices of bread layered with raisins, soaked in vanilla custard and baked until puffed and golden. Day-old bread works best.
12. Irish Apple Tart
A double-crust apple pie baked on a plate with sliced cooking apples, a little sugar and sometimes cloves. Served with custard or cream.
13. Rhubarb or Apple Crumble
Tart rhubarb or apples under a buttery oat and flour crumble topping, baked until bubbling. A springtime and Sunday lunch classic.
Get the recipe →14. Queen of Puddings
A baked breadcrumb custard spread with raspberry jam and topped with golden meringue. An old-fashioned favorite in Irish and British homes.
15. Eve's Pudding
Stewed apples baked under a light vanilla sponge topping, then served hot with custard. Simple, cheap and very family friendly.
16. Carrageen Moss Pudding
A delicate set milk pudding thickened with carrageen, a seaweed gathered on the west coast of Ireland, often flavored with vanilla or lemon.
17. Sticky Toffee Pudding
A soft date sponge drenched in hot toffee sauce. It started in England but is now on dessert menus across Ireland.
18. Christmas Pudding
A steamed, spiced pudding of dried fruit, suet and breadcrumbs, also called plum pudding even though it contains no plums. Served with brandy butter.
19. Sherry Trifle
Layers of sponge, jelly, fruit, custard and whipped cream with a splash of sherry. A fixture of the Irish Christmas table.
20. Irish Rice Pudding
Short-grain rice baked slowly in whole milk with sugar, butter and grated nutmeg until thick and creamy under a golden skin. Serve warm with jam.
21. Goody
An old country pudding of bread soaked and simmered in hot milk with sugar and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, traditionally made around the bonfires of St. John's Eve in June.
22. Mince Pies
Small shortcrust pies filled with spiced mincemeat of dried fruit, apple and suet, dusted with sugar and eaten warm through the Christmas season. Some mincemeat contains brandy, so check the label.
Desserts with Baileys, Whiskey and Coffee
Irish cream, Irish whiskey and stout give these modern favorites their flavor. They contain alcohol, so keep them for the grown-ups. For more ideas, see our Baileys cocktails and how long Irish cream keeps once opened.
23. Baileys Cheesecake
A no-bake cheesecake with a crushed biscuit base and a creamy Irish cream filling, often topped with grated chocolate or cocoa.
24. Baileys Chocolate Mousse
A light, airy chocolate mousse flavored with Irish cream liqueur. Quick to make ahead and served chilled in small glasses.
Get the recipe →25. Irish Whiskey Truffles
Rich dark chocolate ganache flavored with Irish whiskey, rolled into balls and coated in cocoa. A good homemade gift.
26. Irish Coffee
Hot coffee sweetened with brown sugar and spiked with Irish whiskey, topped with a layer of lightly whipped cream. An after-dinner classic.
Irish Sweets, Biscuits and Traybakes
27. Yellowman
A crunchy, honeycomb-style toffee made with golden syrup and baking soda, famously sold at the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle.
28. Irish Shortbread
Just butter, sugar and flour baked into crisp, pale fingers or rounds. Good Irish butter makes all the difference here.
29. Fifteens
A Northern Irish no-bake traybake of crushed digestives, chopped marshmallows and glace cherries bound with condensed milk and rolled in coconut.
30. Irish Oat Flapjacks
Chewy oat bars baked with butter, brown sugar and golden syrup. Easy for kids to help make and great for lunchboxes.
31. Brown Bread Ice Cream
Vanilla ice cream studded with toasted, caramelized wholemeal breadcrumbs that taste like praline. A long-time favorite of Irish country-house kitchens.
32. Pancake Tuesday Pancakes
Thin, crêpe-style pancakes cooked in butter and served rolled with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of sugar, the Irish way to mark Shrove Tuesday.
Traditional Irish Desserts Without Alcohol
Most Irish desserts are naturally alcohol-free. These are the best picks for kids, family gatherings or anyone avoiding alcohol, and my go-to list for school bake sales:
- Bakes: Irish apple cake, sweet soda bread, scones, chocolate biscuit cake, gur cake and potato apple cake.
- Puddings: bread and butter pudding, Irish apple tart, rhubarb crumble, queen of puddings, Eve's pudding, carrageen moss pudding, sticky toffee pudding, rice pudding and goody.
- Sweets: yellowman, shortbread, fifteens, oat flapjacks, Pancake Tuesday pancakes and brown bread ice cream.
- Easy swaps: make barmbrack with tea only (no whiskey), use stout-free gingerbread instead of porter cake, and leave the sherry out of trifle and use orange juice to soak the sponge.
Easy Irish Desserts for Kids
The easiest Irish desserts to make with children need no oven or only simple mixing: chocolate biscuit cake and fifteens are both no-bake, oat flapjacks need just one pan and one tray, and sweet soda bread is mixed by hand in minutes with no yeast or rising time. Little helpers can crush the biscuits, stir the oats and drop chocolate chips into the soda bread dough.
Irish Desserts at a Glance
| Dessert | Type | Contains alcohol? | Traditional occasion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish apple cake | Cake | No | Sunday tea, autumn |
| Barmbrack | Fruit bread | No (tea-soaked) | Halloween |
| Porter cake | Fruit cake | Yes, stout | Christmas, celebrations |
| Bread and butter pudding | Baked pudding | No | Year-round |
| Christmas pudding | Steamed pudding | Often | Christmas Day |
| Sherry trifle | Layered dessert | Usually | Christmas |
| Yellowman | Toffee | No | Ould Lammas Fair, August |
| Irish coffee | Drink | Yes, whiskey | After dinner |
What About Shamrock Shakes and Irish Potato Candy?
Many St. Patrick's Day treats are American rather than Irish. Green mint shakes, shamrock sugar cookies and "Irish potato" candy (a Philadelphia sweet of cream cheese and coconut rolled in cinnamon) are fun for a party, but you won't find them on a traditional Irish table. If you want one anyway, try our copycat shamrock shake. For more desserts from around the world, browse our French desserts, Spanish desserts and easy desserts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular dessert in Ireland?
Irish apple cake and apple tart are probably the most loved everyday desserts, served warm with custard or cream. Bread and butter pudding, scones with jam and cream, and sticky toffee pudding are also very common, while barmbrack and Christmas pudding are tied to Halloween and Christmas.
What is a traditional Irish dessert without alcohol?
Irish apple cake, bread and butter pudding, Irish apple tart, rhubarb crumble, scones, shortbread, yellowman and barmbrack made with tea are all traditional and alcohol-free. Only a few classics, such as porter cake, Guinness cake, Irish coffee and Baileys desserts, rely on alcohol.
What is barmbrack?
Barmbrack is an Irish fruit loaf made with raisins and sultanas soaked in cold tea, then baked and sliced with butter. At Halloween a ring is baked inside, and tradition says whoever finds it in their slice will be married within the year.
What are easy Irish desserts to make?
Chocolate biscuit cake and fifteens are no-bake and need only mixing and chilling. Oat flapjacks, sweet soda bread and Irish shortbread each use a handful of pantry ingredients and take under an hour, which makes them good choices for beginners and for baking with kids.
What do the Irish eat for dessert at Christmas?
A traditional Irish Christmas dessert table includes Christmas pudding with brandy butter or custard, a rich Irish Christmas cake covered in marzipan and royal icing, sherry trifle and mince pies. Many families also bake a porter cake in the weeks before Christmas.
