Chocolate Guinness Cake With Irish Cream Sabayon

You didn't think I'd let St. Patrick's Day go by without making some sort of dessert, did you? I didn't think so.

I was all set to make some Irish coffee cupcakes when I got an email newsletter from how2heroes featuring a video and recipe for chocolate Guinness cake with Irish cream sabayon (from Pastry Chef Clare Garland of Ashmont Grill). I made a chocolate stout cake last year, so that wasn't the part that intrigued me. It was the Irish cream sabayon. (And, you know, the fact that the dessert looks like adorable pints of Guinness.)

Sabayon is typically a mixture of egg yolks and sugar cooked over simmering water and lightened with whipped cream. This version also adds in Irish cream for flavor and a little bit of melted chocolate for color reminiscent of the foam topping a pint of Guinness.

I'd never made a sabayon before, so I watched the video to make sure I understood the process. It's not difficult at all, but I recommend watching the video before making this dessert just because it will help you be better prepared for each step.

Sometimes I think baking can seem a little intimidating because you're scrambling to add things at the right time or do certain steps in the midst of other steps. As you'll notice in the video, Clare has all of her ingredients ready ahead of time. I rewrote the steps to this recipe so that if you attempt it, you'll have all your ingredients ready ahead of time too.

Chocolate Guinness Cake With Irish Cream Sabayon (adapted from how2heroes and Clare Garland)

Chocolate Guinness Cake

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, but in small pieces
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup Guinness
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray bottom of a 9-by-3-inch spring form pan with baking spray, line with a parchment circle, and spray the whole inside of the pan.

Mix cocoa and sugar together in a medium bowl.

Sift flour and baking soda together in another bowl.

Melt butter and Guinness in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Whisk in sugar and cocoa, and remove from heat.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla (you can do this while the Guinness and butter are heating up), and whisk this mixture into the cocoa and butter mixture.

Whisk in the dry ingredients.

Then pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

The cake fell a little, but luckily, it just gets cut up and pushed into glasses.

Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before removing from pan.

Sabayon

Ingredients

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate chips
2 ounces milk chocolate chips
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup Irish cream liqueur (such as Bailey's)

Preparation

In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whip attachment, lightly whip heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Store in fridge until the rest of the sabayon is prepared.

Set up an ice bath. (Fill a large bowl about halfway with ice and water.)

Melt both chocolates together in a small bowl. (Microwave about 15-20 seconds, stir, microwave another 15-20 seconds, and stir until smooth.) Set aside.

Set a pot filled with 1 inch of water on the stove, and bring to a simmer.

In a stainless steel bowl that can sit in the pot without touching the water, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Add the Irish cream liqueur and water.

Place the bowl over the simmering water, and whisk until thick and frothy.

See how it thickened up? It clings to the sides of the bowl now.

Remove from heat, and whisk in melted chocolate.

Place the bowl over the ice bath, and whisk occasionally until mixture has cooled, 2 to 3 minutes.

Gently fold in the whipped cream.

Assembly

Select the glasses you want to serve the dessert in. Find a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter that is about the same size as the opening of the glass. Cut out pieces of cake using the cutter.

Press a piece of cake into the bottom of each glass (clean the glass off), and spoon the sabayon on top.

The finished dessert will look like a pint of Guinness!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Irish Beef Hand Pies

Instead of making corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day this year, I decided to do something a little different: Irish beef hand pies. These diminutive pies are chock-full of meat and veggies, wrapped inside a flaky pie crust.

Some of the comments on the recipe I used suggested that the filling wasn't flavorful enough, so I did my best to "beef" it up! The filling called for ground sirloin, cabbage, potatoes, and a few seasonings. Because Jeff doesn't like cabbage, I just sauteed some for myself to eat on the side. And I put carrots and onions in the filling instead. I also added a couple extra splashes of Worcestershire sauce at the end, just to make sure there was plenty of flavor.

And while the recipe suggests using store-bought pie crusts, I made my favorite pie dough recipe instead. It's incredibly easy (and inexpensive) to make your own. In order to accommodate all of the filling, I actually should have doubled the pie dough. But I enjoyed eating the leftover filling stirred up with some leftover cabbage. The pies can be made just by cutting squares of dough, filling them, and folding them in half, but I couldn't pass up the chance to use my Williams-Sonoma Pocket Pie Mold.

I loved the way these came out and am so happy we have leftovers in the freezer. I do wish I had followed my instincts and brushed them with an egg wash before baking though, as the crust looks kind of pale. And I would love some suggestions for a good serving sauce or gravy. I would have dipped them in Ketchup, but we were all out.

Irish Beef Hand Pies (adapted from Everyday Food, March 2009)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
10 baby carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 pound red potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1/4 cup diced onion
Salt and pepper
1 pound ground beef sirloin
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (plus more for splashing, if desired)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup water
2 pie crusts or flaky pie dough
Egg wash (optional)

Preparation

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots, potatoes, and onions, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until they start to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add the ground sirloin, and cook until no longer pink, 6 to 7 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and water.

Cover, and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes to keep potatoes from sticking.

Lightly mash mixture with a fork.

Season to taste with salt and pepper (and add a couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce if desired), and let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with foil. (You can bake both sheets of pies or transfer one sheet to the freezer.)

Lightly flour your countertop, and roll the dough out thinly. Use the pocket pie mold to cut tops and bottoms for the pies. You should be able to make 6 or 7 pies with one batch of dough (re-roll the scraps).

Place a pie bottom in the mold and fill it with filling.

Wet the edges with water, place another cutout on top, close the mold, and seal the pie. Transfer to foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you have used all the dough.

(If making squares, roll each pie crust to a 14-inch square, and cut each into 4 even squares. Place filling on one half, wet the edges with water, and fold the dough over. Seal and crimp with a fork.)

Cut three slits in the top of each pie for ventilation. (At this point, place any pies you're not baking in the freezer. Let them firm up for 1 hour, and then wrap them individually in foil, and place them in a freezer bag. You can bake these from frozen the same way, just bake them for 28 to 30 minutes instead.)

Brush with an egg wash if desired.

Bake pies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.

What would you serve these with?

Guinness And Onion Soup With Irish Cheddar Croutons

I like St. Patrick's Day, and I have enough Irish in me that I consider it cause for celebration. In the past, I'd get decked out in green and head out to the bars with my friends. Now I celebrate in more low-key ways, like with food. This weekend, I made a few Irish -- or Irish-inspired -- recipes, so we could have a little Irish feast. And this week, I plan to share all of those recipes with you, so you can incorporate them into your own Irish feast, if you wish.

I came across this recipe for Guinness and onion soup and thought it would be a nice addition to our feast. While the soup was good and very easy to make, it wasn't my favorite onion soup. It has subtle undertones of Guinness, but it doesn't have that complex flavor you traditionally find with French onion soup. Definitely make this for an interesting St. Patrick's Day dish, but don't make it when you crave authentic French onion soup.

I made this with sweet onions, which are those huge white onions (think grapefruit-sized). My math skills have never been great, and estimating how many onions I'd need for 8 cups of thinly sliced onions was no easy feat. I bought 8 onions, and we only needed 3 of them!

Jeff sliced the onions, filling up the measuring cup as he went. He's the official mandoline user in this house. I can't use the thing without slicing a finger, and he has no problem gliding the onions over the blade with ease.

Once the soup was ready, I topped it with toasted slices of country bread and Irish cheddar and popped it under the broiler. I think the best part of onion soup is always that broiled cheese and toast on top.

Guinness And Onion Soup With Irish Cheddar Croutons (adapted from Michael Chiarello and Food Network)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups thinly sliced onions
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 1/2 cups Guinness
6 cups beef stock
Toasted bread slices and thinly sliced Irish cheddar for serving

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add onions, season with salt, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the thyme, vinegar, and Guinness.

Reduce beer by half, and add the beef stock. Bring to a simmer, and then cook for 10 more minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Transfer soup to individual ovenproof soup bowls.

Top with toasted bread slices and sliced Cheddar. Broil until cheese melts and bubbles. Serve hot.

Are you making anything special for St. Patrick's Day? Got any suggestions for what to do with all those extra onions?