Monday, March 19, 2012

Week Eleven - Chocolate Stout

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day! What did everyone do to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland? I had some coworkers over to play some cards (not really an Irish activity), eat some Cheddar and Guinness Fondue (not really an Irish food), and drink some Smithwick's (Win!). It was quite a tasty little get-together. And at the end of the day we all tasted, what I believe to be, a quite delicious Chocolate Stout ice cream! I'm excited about this one, though it's pretty much the exact recipe used for Chocolate and Wine...but it's damn good!

This is how gross I look while I'm making ice cream. Blame it on the beer.

When I was trying to decide which beer to use for the ice cream, Guinness was the obvious choice. A bit too obvious, if you ask me. Plus I have one too many bad memories of Guinness. Well, really just one bad memory...but one is enough. Here is my tale of woe:

When my younger sister was in her senior year of college, she studied abroad for a semester in Dublin. I was super jealous, since I missed the boat on the study-abroad experience (changing your major four times makes it difficult to do cool stuff in college - let that be a lesson to you young ones!) but luckily I had a sweetheart of a boyfriend (now-husband!) who could sense my longing for The Emerald Isle; as an early Christmas present that year, he bought me a ticket to Ireland for a 10-day visit. Naturally, I was super excited about the trip, as was my sister. She began planning things for us to see and do during her final days there (he coincided my trip with the end of hers so we could fly home together for the holidays...sweet AND smart!), including a trip to Belfast. To make a long and heartwrenching story short, I was deviously infected (I knew that hacking old man was not to be trusted!) on the flight over with the flu and was terribly sick for the first five or six days of the trip. I ruined most of her plans, including Belfast, but eventually decided I needed to suck it up and get out there. I mean, how many times in my life will I get a free trip to Ireland?

Our first attempt at tourism was a hop on/hop off bus tour of the city, visiting sites like Trinity College, St. Stephen's Green, Temple Bar, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. I was a bit woozy the day of the tour but packed a bottle of water and some crackers and merrily boarded the double-decker bus. Our final stop on the tour was - you guessed it - the Guinness Storehouse. It was super cool; we took a guided tour, learning all about Arthur Guinness and his tasty brew. The tour concluded at the top of the Storehouse in the Gravity Bar: a glass-enclosed bar providing panoramic views of Dublin. Along with the price of admission, guests receive a pint of Guinness to enjoy while taking in the grey (but lovely) scenery. My sad not-so-short story ends here when I took two sips of my sister's pint and vomited. Not in front of anyone. But come on!

All that was to say that I opted for Murphy's Stout instead of its pretty big sister (here's looking at you, Coll) Guinness. And as far as I could tell Saturday night, nobody got sick from my ice cream. Sláinte to that!


Chocolate Stout Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup Murphy's Stout (or Guinness, if you must)
1 1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate
1 1/4 ounce cream cheese, softened
1 tbs plus 1 tsp corn starch
2 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 tbs light corn syrup
1/8 tsp sea salt

1. In a saucepan, combine the cocoa powder, 1/3 cup sugar and the beer. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about three minutes.

2. Chop the chocolate and put in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the wine mixture over the chocolate and stir until smooth.

3. Add the cream cheese to the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.

4. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and a little milk. Set aside.

5. In a large saucepan, combine the remaining milk, the cream, and the corn syrup and cook over medium heat until mixture reaches a boil, allowing it to boil for a minute or so, stirring all the while. Remove from heat.

6. Add cornstarch mixture to the milk mixture, whisking constantly. Return to heat, stirring with a spoon or spatula, and cook until mixture thickens, about three or four minutes. Remove from heat.

7. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the milk mixture until completely smooth. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

8. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Upon completion, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.

9. Eat it!


2 comments:

  1. This sounds fantastic (par for the course!). I can also suggest Young's Double Chocolate Stout: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/664/73

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  2. Thanks, Anonymous friend! I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I have not tried a chocolate stout beer before. I recently tried the Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout...it was a bit too sweet for my taste. But interesting. On my next trip to the beer store I shall look for Young's! Thanks for the tip!

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