Irish Cream Swirled Guinness Brownies

Undaunted with my less than stunning first attempt at a Guinness-inspired dessert of the year, my next attempt at a stout-soused sweet took me down a more familiar path.

What started as a quest for a simple Irish cream swirled brownie ended with a bit of a bang.

Not literally.

I think every recipe I found was replicated from our dear Peabody's. It looks like a great recipe and I encourage you to try it if you wish.

Then I got to thinking about the Car Bomb cupcakes which proliferated the web these past few years and decided to play around with that idea: what could be a cupcake could be a brownie.

For those unfamiliar, it's a boilermaker of sorts. Instead of a glass of beer fortified with a shot of rye (or whisky, tequila or vodka), it's Guinness with shots of Baileys Irish Cream and Irish Whisky.

The dozen or so Guinness brownie recipes I perused seemed to be the exact same one. Then I looked for actual recipes and they all seemed to be Guinness brownies with Irish Cream icing.

Deja-vu all over again.

So I played with a number of the brownie recipes I had on hand, including those above, ATK's chewy brownies and this one from epicurious.com and devised my own version, using Peabody's Irish cream infused cream cheese swirl.

I played. I baked. I tweeted.

Normally when I tweet my scullery goings on I get a couple of replies along the lines of "Yum!" or "Will there be a post?"

This time the reaction ranged from a chastising because of my apparent political incorrectness, to explanation requests (most people know of the incediary device, not as many know of the drink)--to recipe requests made slightly unintelligible by slurping dribble....followed by impatient proddings for the recipe.

To those insulted by the title: I apologise--the name's inspiration never really dawned on me.

To those who thought I sent away to the Acme Corporation: No--I am not an animated coyote with hate-on for equally animated road runners.

To those who want the recipe: Here it is.

The result is a chewy-fudgey chocolatey, Guinness-kissed brownie. The stout's flavour isn't pronounced, but it adds a bit of depth. I'll be honest and say the fresher (and I would argue temperature has something to do with it) the brownie, the more prounounced the Irish cream flavour (so yes, this is permission for you to eat the entire tray an hour or two after it's come out of the oven).


Irish Cream Swirled Guinness Brownies
Yield: 1 22cm x 22cm (8"x8") pan
Primarily adapted from recipes by about.com, America's Test Kitchen and epicurious.com

Ingredients
For the Irish Cream swirl
85g (3oz) cream cheese, softened
25g (2Tbsp) butter, softened
50g (0.25c) sugar
1 egg
1Tbsp all purpose flour
2Tbsp Irish cream such as Bailey's or Carolans
0.5tsp vanilla extract

For the Guinness Brownies
120ml (0.5c) Guinness or other brand of stout
30g (2 rounded Tbsp) cocoa
90g (3oz) bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped into small pieces)
25g (2Tbsp) butter, melted
50ml (3Tbsp + 1tsp) flavourless oil
1 egg
1 egg yolk
100g (0.5c) sugar
100g (0.5c) brown sugar
100g (0.66c + 1Tbsp) all purpose flour
0.25tsp salt
1Tbsp Irish Whisky (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 180C/350C. Create a foil sling for your 22cm x 22cm (8"x8") brownie pan, otherwise line it with parchment. Set aside.

For the Irish Cream swirl:
Beat together the butter and cream cheese. Add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, Bailey's and vanilla and then mix in the flour. Set aside.

For the Guinness brownies:
Bring the stout to a simmer. Take it off the heat and whisk in the cocoa, then mix in the chocolate chips until melted. Stir in melted butter and oil.

Mix in the egg and yolk, then the two sugars and salt. Sift in the flour and give it a good turn until you have a smooth batter.

Dollop in the chocolate and Irish cream batters and swirl them together.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted mid-way between the edge and the centre point comes out with moist clingy crumbs.

Remove from the oven to cool thoroughly. Brush or spritz the top with Irish whisky, if you wish, before cutting.

Serve on its own, or warmed with vanilla or Irish cream ice cream.

Note:

- You can, if you wish, mix the chocolate (30g bittersweet and 60g semisweet) for a slightly sweeter brownie

cheers!
jasmine




I'm a quill for hire!

Guinness-braised apples with Dubliner crumble and Guinness caramel sauce

I suppose if I were to subtitle this post it would be: an oopsie made better.

A few weeks ago I began thinking about my March posts. I rarely put that much forethought into this blog (hate to break it to you), but to me March means St. Patrick's Day, which means finding a new Guinness recipe to try. Stephanie at Little Mushroom Catering mentioned a Guinness-braised apple appetiser she makes and shared her recipe. It was quick and more importantly...easy.

A number of things were flung my way between receiving Stephanie's note and yesterday--work, fun, a nasty tummy bug--so I didn't have a chance to play with what she gave me until yesterday.

I'd already decided to turn her nibblie idea into a dessert and settled for a good, old fashioned crumble with oats and cheese. Sounds great, right?

Well...I'll blame fatigue...or hunger...or the cats.

When I mixed the Guinness braising liquid, I mixed twice as much as I actually needed. Was I sensible and only use half, with hopes of using the other half for something else?

Nope.

I poured it all in.

I suppose I hoped that evaporation would take care of things and reduce it all down to a thick, lovely sauce.

I suppose evaporation woudl have taken care of things and reduce it all down to a thick, lovely sauce if I didn't strew the top with crumble...and then again with cheese.

Dubliner cheese melts in the heat, obliterating any little vents the liquid could use to make a sweet, steamy escape.

Hrrm...I tried the crumble--the apples were tender, sweet with a smoky rich flavour and the cheesy topping contrasted nicely against them. The only issue was the lake of slightly thickened, apple-y and Guinness-y sauce that treated the crumble like a baking-dish wide barge.

I had no problem serving the liquide as a sauce, but there seemed to be too much for pouring purposes. Another taste and that ever so-happy-making little lightbulb went off.

I ladeled out most of the liquid into a saucepan and boiled it down by half and stirred in a couple of spoons of butter. Voila: Guinness caramel. Seriously good stuff. Seriously good when poured over the apples and the crumble.

I debated remaking this dessert in the intended fashion, and only post the "correct" recipe...but then you wouldn't have enough for the caramel. I decided to post the original recipe and the fix to the oopsie, if anyone was interested. I'll probably revisit this at some point, but I'm quite pleased with this version.



Guinness Braised Apples with Dubliner crumble and Guinness Caramel

Ingredients
440ml (1 can) Guinness
180g (0.75c+2Tbsp) Brown Sugar
1Tbsp Soft butter
salt
9 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

For the Dubliner crumble topping
65g (0.33c) sugar
45g (0.33c) all purpose flour
3Tbsp rolled oats
3Tbsp butter
salt
100g (0.5c) grated Dubliner cheese

For the Caramel
Cooked Guinness braising liquid
2Tbsp butter

Method
Preheat oven to 180C/350F; butter a baking dish.

Whisk together Guinness, sugar and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Tumble apple slices into the baking dish and pour the guinness mixture over top. Dot the top of the apples with little knobs of butter.

For the crumble:
Rub together the sugar, flour, oats, butter and a pinch of salt. Scatter over the apples and top with cheese.

Bake for 60 minutes or until the cheese melts and the top is golden.

Remove from the oven.

For the Caramel
Spoon off as much of the braising liquid as possible into a saucepan. Over medium high heat reduce the liquid by half, stirring occastionally. Stir butter into the thickenend liquide. Let cool slightly before serving.

To serve:
Spoon apples and some of the crumble into a bowl and pour some caramel over top. Serve with ice cream or pouring cream, if you wish.

Note:
To make life easier, but less caramelly, simply make half the quantity of braising liquid. It will slightly thicken while cooking, but you probably won't have enough to make the caramel.

If you cannot find Dubliner cheese, you can use cheddar (old, preferably), instead.

cheers!

jasmine

I'm a quill for hire!

The carbonnade that wasn't: Chicken and Ale Stew

It all started with beer. And beef.

No, this isn't a wayward tale that begins in a pub and finishes with me communing with a herd of Waygu, pouring Methuselahs of Sapporo into their four-chambered gullets...

Although that could be fun...if a brewer or a beef farmer wanted to sponsor me on such a journey, I'm open to discussion...

But I digress.

It's winter, in Canada. Snow blankets the ground and at times a fierce wind chills me to my very core. In my world, it's not salad eating season. I don't want lemonade or iced tea. I don't want sushi. I don't want mellons dripping with honeyed juices.

I want hearty, long-cooked food with earthy and rich flavours. I want beef. I want oniony and mushroomy gravies. I want beef-stuffed oven-baked pastas. I want giant burgers with poutine. I want hot chocolate...and this is the only time of year I really crave...beer. Not just any beer. Stout--deep, rich and heady with chocolaty notes. Oh, it's lovely stuff.

But I'm not much of a drinker--the occasional half pint (yes, I'm the one who orders half a pint while out), but then the rest of my cravings go into food: cakes, stews, breads.

Knowing how well beer and beef play together--beer-braised beef, steak and Guinness stew, beer-based sauces on barbecued steak--I fixated on Carbonnade à la flamande: a lovely, rich oniony Belgian beef and beer stew. I looked at a few recipes and cobbled together a plan.

I executed that plan.

I wasn't enamoured with the result.

Don't get me wrong--it was good: the beef was tender, the herbs and spices were and the aleish broth was oniony and and sort of rich. It definitely wasn't deep and lush as I'd hoped. But it was good.

When I revisited my plans and did more research into carbonnades, I found my error.

In all my frenetic note-taking, I didn't pay attention to what sort of Beglian beer to use. I should have used a dark brew. I bought a six-pack of whitbier. In other words I bought something better suited for lighter and crisper summertime sipping than a sturdier and darker pint.

Oh well. I looked at my remaining bottles of Hoegaarden. Truthfully, I read my remaining bottles of Hoegaarden. Two words caught my attention: orange and coriander.

Truthfully (again) I didn't pick up those notes when I tasted the ale. Mind you, I also don't pick up the plummy, oaky, peachy or other notes wines are purported to have.

But I digress (again).

I can work with coriander and orange and beer. I can work with those ingredients with chicken and mushrooms. I also happened to have a couple of links of Alsatian sausage in my freezer, from one of of the butchers I usually frequent, and though their peppery-clove spicing would also compliment the other flavours.

Every velvety and meaty mouthful combines sweet and spicy, with just a little bit of latent sourness from the ale and the mustard. The aromas hint at citrus and clove, in all its chickenny and sausagey goodness.

It may not be a carbonnade, but it was warming and made my tummy incredibly happy.

Chicken and Ale Stew with mushrooms and sausage
Yield: approx 2L

Ingredients
For the marinade:
2 cloves garlic, minced
0.25tsp salt
0.5tsp black pepper
1tsp ground coriander, toasted (see notes)
0.25tsp ground cloves
1 sprig, thyme
juice of one orange
500ml (2cups) Belgian pale ale--approx 1.5 bottles (I used Hougaarden)

For the stew:
500g (1lb) bonless, skinless chicken (dark and light meat), cut into bite-sized chunks.
200g (7oz) mildly spiced sausage (I used Alsatian-style sausages), sliced into coins (optional)
butter or oil for frying
1tsp ground coriander, toasted (see notes)
0.25tsp ground cloves
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
4 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
salt
pepper
500ml (2c) chicken or vegetable stock
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1Tbsp brown sugar
2-3Tbsp whole grain mustard
4Tbsp soft butter
3Tbsp all-purpose flour
grated zest of one orange
a handful of chopped parsley (optional)
500g (1lb) mushrooms, sliced

Method:
Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour over chicken pieces. Let sit while you brown the sausage coins in batches in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Remove the browned meat to a plate. Brown the marinated chicken in the sausage fat (adding additional oil or butter, if needed). Remove the browned chicken pieces to a plate.

Over a medium flame, add the coriander and cloves to the hot fat and fry for about a minute, until the air is perfumed. Add the celery, carrots and onions to the pot and cook until the onions are transluscent. Add the garlic, some salt and pepper and stir for about 30-45 seconds, until the garlic scents the air.

Add the marinating liquid and bring to a boil. Add the sausage, chicken and chicken stock. Stir in the brown sugar and bring it back to a boil. Add thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Lower heat and let simmer for about an hour (or longer, if you wish).

While the stew simmers, sauté mushrooms and set aside.

When the stew is done simmering, make a beurre manié with the flour and butter by kneading them together into a paste. Add a ladle or two of the stew's liquid and stir into the butter-flour paste. Stir this into the stew. Turn up the heat and bring the stew back up to a boil and let boil for a few minutes. Fold the mushrooms, orange zest and chopped parsley (if using) into the stew.

Serve over boiled, buttered potatoes, egg noodles or rice.

Notes:

• To toast spices, simply put them in a dry frying pan and place over a medium heat. Stir occasionally until the oils release their scent.
• If you don't have mild sausage, you can totally omit it or use a smaller quantity of chopped, bacon--say four rashers--or ham (100-150g).
  
  
  cheers!
  jasmine
  I'm a quill for hire!