There are many things which we associate with the country of Ireland. One of them is St. Patrick’s Day, which for many people is celebrated as keenly (and in some cases, more keenly) than their own national saint’s day. In some cases, it’s not even a day anymore – there are businesses in Canada who observe entire St. Patrick’s weeks, and spend a whole seven days painting everything green and waking up each morning with a stout-induced hangover!
If St. Patrick’s Day isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the Emerald Isle, then chances are you’re picturing characters from Irish myth and legend. That means banshees, leprechauns, rainbows, and pots of gold. While leprechauns were originally gruesome and terrifying characters, they’ve become a little tamer over the years. You’ll often see them anywhere there’s a casino; the mobile slots game ‘Rainbow Riches’ is one of the most popular of its kind in new slot sites. In fact, the Irish theme is one of the most popular of all the mobile slots genres, tempting millions of players into taking a spin of the reels. It’s not just mobile slots in online casinos or sister sites either; anyone who’s seen the ‘Leprechaun’ series of horror films can testify that the characters are still capable of giving you a scare.
One thing that often gets overlooked when we think about Ireland, though, is the cuisine. People are often hard-pressed to think of any Irish dish other than Irish stew. While it’s a fine stew (especially when done right, which is harder than it looks), it’s not the kind of dish people are likely to get overly excited about. That might lead you to believe that Irish food is boring. To that, we have one response:- Guinness chocolate puddings.
It goes without saying that all kinds of chocolate pudding is delicious, but adding Guinness into the mix takes it to the next level. The Irish stout – which is so widely drunk around the world that it’s now more popular in Nigeria than it is in its home country – might not necessarily seem like the most obvious cooking ingredient, but when it’s used properly it can bring a richness and a warmth that few other alcoholic ingredients are capable of – and so it’s only right that we share the secret with you here!
What You’ll Need
The good news here is that making this delicious dessert isn’t going to take you all day. Preparing everything shouldn’t take you more than half an hour at most, and it cooks in 20 minutes. You’ll need to leave it to chill for an hour before cooking, but this is a recipe that will be ready to eat within two hours of starting to make it. The mix we’re about to describe is sufficient to feed four people. You’ll need:-
150 grams of butter (unsalted);
200 grams of dark chocolate (the darker, the better, but go for at least 70% cocoa), chopped;
3 eggs (large);
90 grams of golden caster sugar;
90mls of Guinness (you could alternatively use another Irish stout, but why would you?); and
Double cream or clotted cream (an optional serving choice).
You’ll also need four 5cm ramekins, and an electric whisk.
How To Make It
This is a simple, three-step process, and you don’t need to be a wizard in the kitchen to get it done. As long as you know how to operate an oven, you should face no problems here!
First, butter the ramekins and put them aside for now. Take the remaining butter and chocolate, and pour them all into a heat-proof bowl. Add a pinch of salt along with it. Take a small pan, fill it with water, and bring the water to the point of simmering (not boiling). Set your bowl of ingredients over the plan, and stir it until everything has completely melted. Once that’s done, take it off the heat, and leave it to cool.
While that’s cooling, it’s time to move on to the eggs and sugar. Place them into a suitably-sized mixing bowl, and use your electric whisk to beat them until they’ve turned pale. If you don’t have an electric whisk, you can do this manually, but it might take you a while! Stop whisking when the mixture has approximately doubled in volume. You should notice a trail beginning to form when the beaters are lifted out of the mixture, which is a sign that you’ve reached the right point. When you’re satisfied with the mixture, gently and carefully fold in the butter and chocolate in with it. Follow that up by pouring in the Guinness, and fold that in, too. When everything’s all together in the mixing bowl, divide it equally between your buttered ramekins, and place them in your refrigerator to settle and chill for one hour.
The last stage is the cooking! Heat your oven up to gas mark 6, or 200C. If you have a fan-assisted oven, go for 180C instead. Have a baking tray on the top shelf of your oven to heat up as the oven warms. Once you’ve reached the desired temperature, place the ramekins directly onto the baking tray, and bake them for twenty minutes. Once they’re done, we recommend allowing them to stand for a minute or two before serving them. This is where the cream comes in; if you like cream, add a healthy spoonful of it on top of the pudding before serving. If you don’t, then serve them naked – they still taste great without it!
Normally when we offer recipes to you, we suggest that they’d go well with a certain color or flavor of wine. That would be inappropriate here though; the only drink you should be pairing with this pudding is a hearty pint of Guinness! This is a dessert that’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, or just because it’s a boring Tuesday and you fancy giving yourself or your family a treat. You’ll never think of Irish cooking the same way again!
We hope you love this dessert as much as we do; and if you do, why not share it with a friend? Thanks for stopping by to check out our recipe. We’ll be sure to bring you more great cooking ideas soon!
