Black Stout and Irish Cream Cake

From thekitchen of One Perfect Bite...I had no expectations for this cake when I first saw the recipe, but I was asked to make it for a church supper we attended last year and I was really surprised at how very good it turned out to be. It was definitely a keeper, but the kind you put on the back burner and don't often think about. I, truthfully, had forgotten it completely until the Silver Fox asked me to make it for him again this year. The ingredients used to prepare the cake will forever mark it as a St.Patrick's Day dessert, but not the kind that originated in an Irish farmhouse kitchen. While it may not be sophisticated or particularly attractive, this cake is a crowd-pleaser. There's enough Guinness and Irish Cream in it to assure that any snakes left in Ireland are too inebriated to move. The cake is a three step affair, but none of the steps are time consuming or difficult to accomplish. There are, however, a couple of potential problems. It is very important to thoroughly spray and line the pans you use. The cake wants to stick and it will if your pans are not properly prepared. I also think the recipe makes way more glaze/ganache than is needed to finish the cake. Last year, I had more than half of it leftover, so I scaled back this year to more modest proportions. While I've kept the original proportions in the recipe that follows, I wanted you to be aware that you might be dealing with too much of a good thing. This cake is moist and rich and while you can't taste the stout, it deepens the chocolate flavor in the same way as the addition of espresso might. There is a lot of sugar in this cake and that assures that no overtone of bitterness from the stout can sneak through to your palate. I found this recipe at allrecipes.com and they have even provided a video to show you how the cake is made. You can view it here. I really like this cake and I think those of you who try it will thoroughly enjoy it. Here's how it's made.

Black Stout and Irish Cream Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
Cake
1 cup Irish stout beer
1 cup butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
Filling
3 cups confectioners' sugar, or as needed
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
Glaze
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely
chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottom of each pan with parchment paper and spray again.
2) Pour stout into a saucepan, add butter, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove pan from heat, and whisk in cocoa powder until mixture is smooth. Allow mixture to cool. Using an electric hand mixer, beat eggs and sour cream together in a bowl until smooth. Stir in stout mixture to make a smooth, thick liquid.
3) In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour stout mixture into flour mixture, and gently combine with a spatula. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4) Bake until cakes are set and a toothpick inserted into center of a cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool in pans for 5 minutes before inverting the cakes onto wire racks to finish cooling.
5) To make filling: Mix confectioners' sugar, butter, and Irish cream liqueur until mixture forms a smooth and spreadable frosting (add more sugar or liqueur as needed to create the desired consistency). Spread half of frosting on top of each cake.
6) To make glaze: Place chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to almost boiling in a small saucepan, and pour over chocolate. Add butter and stir mixture until chocolate melts and mixture is very smooth. Allow to cool until mixture is pourable but not thin or overly runny, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stack a cake gently on top of the other, frosted sides up, and carefully drizzle chocolate mixture over the cake, allowing decorative drips to run down the sides. Yield: 16 servings.






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Stout and Cheddar Meatloaf

                                                            Hot
                                                                or
                                                           Cold



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Save for dyeing fondant green, I think I've covered all the recipes that are usually associated with St. Patrick's Day. Several years ago, in an attempt to keep the spirit of the day, I decided to feature recipes that were traditional Irish favorites but not necessarily associated with the holiday. I am going to expand on that idea this year and include recipes that are usually made with ingredients we associated with Ireland or Irish cooking. I hope you're receptive to the idea because I'm going to be featuring "Irish" recipes for the next week. I want to start with this incredible meatloaf. I plan to serve it to guests on St.Patrick's Day, along with Julia's mashed potatoes and some Irish vegetable dishes that I'll be sharing with you next week. Julia's potatoes can be found, here. The meatloaf is a homely affair but it has wonderful flavor, thanks in part to the lingering effects of the Guinness stout whose bitterness evaporates as it simmers with the vegetables that flavor the loaf. I loved it and I am not a meatloaf person. There is no snobbery involved. Having raised a family, I've made many a gazillion meatloaves and turned away from them out of sheer boredon and the desire to try new things. Every so often, however, recipes such as this one beckon and tempt me back to the chopping block. I mention that, because this recipe uses lots of ingredients and requires more than the usual amount of slicing and dicing. It is also a tad more expensive to make than most. It is worth it. This is not a ladylike entree. Hot or cold it has robust flavor that men will enjoy.  The Silver Fox reported his socks were going up and down the first time he tried this. Mine came near that when I had it thinly sliced after a night in the refrigerator. Cold, it is like a heady peasant pate. I have a couple of suggestions to share with those of you who plan to make the meatloaf. If you are unable to find ground veal,ground chicken or turkey breast can be used in its place. You should also know that the loaf will look better if you drape it with thin, rather than thick, sliced bacon.  Under the best of circumstances, it will take a lot of lipstick to make this a pretty pig. I really hope you'll give this recipe from Fine Cooking magazine a try. It will be an unexpected treat. St. Patrick would approve. Here's how the meatloaf is made.

Stout and Cheddar Meatloaf...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Fine Cooking magazine

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon canola or olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup small-diced carrots
1/2 cup small-diced celery
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
3/4 cup stout beer, such as Guinness
4 oz. medium-coarse white bread, such as Italian or French, crusts removed and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 2-1/2 cups)
1 cup whole milk
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground veal
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar
1/4 cup dried mushrooms, rehydrated in hot water, drained and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
10 oz. (thin) sliced bacon (about 9 strips)

Directions:
1) Position a rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line bottom of 13 x 9-inch pan with parchment paper. Place dried mushroom in a small bowl and cover with boiling water to rehydrate. SEt aside.
2) Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic, cook stirring frequently, until softened and just beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
3) Add stout, and simmer briskly, until almost dry, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool until warm.
4) Pour milk into a shallow bowl that is large enough to hold bread cubes in a single layer. Soak crustless bread in milk, flipping once, until soggy but not falling apart, about 5 to 10 minutes. Time will depend on the thickness, crumb and freshness of bread selected for use. Lightly squeeze a handful of bread at a time to remove some of milk (it should be wet but not drenched). Finely chop and add to bowl with the vegetable mixture.
5) Add beef, veal or veal substitute and eggs to the onion mixture. Scatter Cheddar, drained rehydrated mushrooms, and parsley over meat, and then sprinkle with Worcestershire, 2-1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Use hands to gently mix all ingredients until just combined; try not to compact while mixing.
6) Heat remaining teaspoon of oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Form 1 tablespoon of meatloaf mixture into a small patty. When oil is hot, cook patty on both sides until cooked through, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, and other seasonings as needed. Repeat until you're satisfied with flavor of meatloaf mix.
7) Transfer meatloaf mixture to prepared pan and form into a 10 x 4-inch rectangular block (it becomes loaf-shaped as it cooks). Finish meatloaf by draping it with slightly overlapping strips of bacon, tucking the ends under the loaf.
8) Bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F in center of the meatloaf, 40 to 55 minutes.
9) Broil meatloaf about 6 inches from the broiler element until the bacon is brown and crisped, about 3 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board or serving platter with a large spatula and cut into 3/4- to 1-inch-thick slices. Yield: 8 servings.








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Danny, Boy Oh Boy, Rye Bread with Guinness Stout and Fennel Seeds

Wowzer! Put the watercress away and grab a hunk of really, really sharp Cheddar cheese. This bread is not for sissies. It's a guy's bread - bold, assertive and great for male gatherings when you have a horde to feed. This is a high-moisture bread, so it's really easy to make once you overcome resistance to the wet, sticky dough. If you're tired of the St. Patrick's day soda bread ritual you might want to give this bread a try. I found instructions for the bread on the Group Recipes site where it is called Black Velvet Guinness Rye Bread with Fennel Seeds.

Rye Bread with Guinness Stout and Fennel Seeds

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
24-ounces stout beer (i.e. Guinness), room temperature
3 ounces warm water
2 cups rye flour
5-1/2 cups unbleached flour + 1/2 cup flour for kneading
4 teaspoons table salt
1 tablespoon fennel seeds

Directions:
1) Combine beer and water in a large bowl. Add yeast and stir until completely dissolved.
2) Add rye flour and 3 cups of white flour; whisk until thick batter forms. Cover and let rest until mixture begins to bubble, about 2 to 4 hours.
3) Stir in reserved 2-1/2 cups flour, salt and fennel seeds. Turn batter onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead roughly. Dough will remain sticky and loose despite your best efforts. I've found it best to repeatedly fold and throw it onto the work surface. I use about 1/2 cup additional flour for kneading. At this point you want to incorporate as much air as possible in the dough. The mass will begin to resemble a dough as you knead, but it will be very, very loose.
4) Return dough to bowl, cover and rest for another 45 minutes or so.
5) Turn dough onto work surface and divide into 3 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
6) Lay dishtowels onto your work surface and lightly flour them. Re-shape dough balls into loaves and place on dishtowels to rise. I used Italian bread pans to hold my loaves because the dough was so loose I feared I'd have pita bread if it was not constrained. Let rise until double in size, about 1 to 2 hours.
7) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
8) Diagonally slash loaves with a razor blade.
9) Mist sides of oven with water from a spray bottle.
10) Slide loaves or pans into oven. Reduce heat to 425 degrees F after 5 minutes of cooking. Bake for another 25 minutes or until bottom of loaves sound hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 3 loaves.

Cook's Note: This dough is very loose. I used Italian bread pans to contain the dough mass. Towel lined bread baskets can also be used.

I'm sending this recipe to Susan at Wild Yeast for her weekly Yeast Spotting event.