Guinness Ice Cream

Easter has been crazy busy in the shops, much more so than expected, and I had to make an emergency run of ice cream today. We ran out of several flavours, so I was up bright and early getting the mix ready and then freezing.

Besides the main flavours, I decided to do a Guinness ice cream, to have another Irish flavour in the cabinet. The recipe is below. Of course, being me, I couldn't resist throwing in some chocolate chips. You don't have to!

Murphys Guinness Ice Cream

1 Cup (237ml) Sugar

5 Egg Yolks

1 1/8 Cups (266ml) Cream

1 1/8 Cups(266ml) Milk

500 ml Guinness

A handful of dark chocolate chips.

Yield: 6 Servings

Instructions:

1. Measure out 100ml of Guinness and set aside.

2. Boil the remaining 400ml Guinness until it reduces to 100ml in volume. Cool.

3. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.

4. Bring the milk to a simmer.

5. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.

6. Pour the mixture back into pan and place over low heat. Stir until the custard thickens slightly (around 70C). Use a thermometer, as at 75C the eggs will scramble!

7. Allow the custard to cool.

8. Stir in both the reduced and non-reduced Guinness.

9. Whip the cream.

10. Gently fold in the custard.

11. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer.

Notes:

1. I haven't made this recipe for home use, so I would love any feedback if you try it!

2. The photo of 3 litres of Guinness is what I used. Don't pay any attention to the volume!

3. I combine reduced and non-reduced Guinness because using just reduced loses a bit of freshness in terms of flavour.

4. You don't have to use the chocolate chips of course, but I do think Guinness and chocolate go well together. You could also use this as a companion to a chocolate cake.

Technorati tags: chocolate chip, guinness, Easter, ice cream, recipe, Irish

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Ice Cream Ireland has moved house!

Please don't dally here but go to:

(The New) Ice Cream Ireland

for all of the lastest sweet musings.

I hope that you will find the new site easier to navigate. I'm having fun with it, anyway!

Please update your links if you have linked to me.

Thanks, thanks, thanks!

New Posts on Ice Cream Ireland:

Guinness Ice Cream
The End of Lent
Hot chocolate revisited
Chocolate desserts
Crepes and Ice Cream
How to make a milkshake
Buying and storing ice cream

Previous Posts:

Black and Tans
Chocolate Brownies
Milltown Market
Supermarkets and the Small Irish Food Producer
Crema and Coffee at Home
Kerry Cow and Agritourism
Honey Chai Ice Cream
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cafetière vs. Caffè Americano
Killarney, Nephews and Playgrounds
St. Patrick’s Day in Dingle
Belgian Chocolate
Return to Chocolate and Sugar
Sauce, Ice Cream and Decoration
Ode to Sugar and Caramel Sauce
Coffee Rant Number Two
Information Overload and the Kerry Cow
Chocolate and Lent
Hot Chocolate for a Cold Day
Snow in Dingle & 5 Ways to Improve Coffee
Honey Lavender Ice Cream
Craquantes and Other Bits and Pieces
Chocolate and Chocolate Sauce
Raspberries: Using fruit in ice cream
Beghrir - Moroccan Pancakes
Marrakesh
Grilled Fish and Fabbri
Amalou
Agadir

Black and Tans

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I just stumbled upon the following website that brought my attention to Ben & Jerry's new flavour in the States: Black and Tan.

Even though I might be considered a competitor in the Irish market, Ben & Jerry's is actually close to my heart because the two founders were two of many reasons I went into this business. They made ice cream more fun. They seemed to have fun at what they were doing. They had a social conscience.

I remember their ice cream as much better than it is now, before they became part of Unilever. I would eat a tub of Cherry Garcia at one sitting, marvelling at the huge chunks of chocolate and amount of cherries. I don't remember any water in the ingredients back then.

A Black and Tan flavour? This is weird on so many levels. First of all, for some of their Irish-American customers, surely "Black and Tan" wont immediately bring to mind the drink but rather unsavoury historical references. Are they not aware of this?

Secondly, their website states this flavour is for "beer enthusiasts" but there is no beer (or stout) listed in the ingredients, just "natural flavours."

It makes me kind of sad. Have they come so far from what they were?

Technorati tags: black and tan, Ben and Jerry, beer, ice cream, stout

Chocolate Brownies

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I am giving away the fact that I grew up in the US by my love of brownies. The brownies here in Ireland tend to be way too fluffy instead of being dense and decadent, and sadly people often use poor quality chocolate.

The fluffiness is no doubt due to the flour. It astonishes me that it is next to impossible to get flour without rising agents in Irish supermarkets. Even most "plain flour" is anything but when you peruse the ingredients. In my mind, plain flour would suggest one ingredient - flour, but that is not the case (look!). Of course commercially there is a great range of flour options but in supermarkets we have just found two flours that are simply flour - Family Favourite Plain flour from Lidl and Supervalu's Valusaver Plain Flour. So check your flour ingredients list (how strange it is to say that!) and make sure it says nothing more than flour if you want to avoid the brownies rising more than they will naturally with the eggs.

The same goes for the chocolate chip cookie recipe I gave here earlier.

Murphys Chocolate Brownies

Servings : 6 Preparation Time : 00:45:00 (including baking)

Categories : Pastries

Amount / Measure / Ingredient

250 grams Chocolate (55% cocoa content)

165 grams butter -- at room temperature

3/4 tablespoons vanilla

300 grams sugar

135 grams flour

3 each egg

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

2. Butter and flour an 10 inch square baking pan. Set it aside.

3. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Mix until smooth.

4. Beat the sugar and eggs together.

5. Add the vanilla.

6. Slowly pour in the chocolate and butter, mixing all the time.

7. Sift the flour, then add, mixing thoroughly.

8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake just until cooked, 25 - 30 minutes (a knife should come out clean).

9. Allow the brownies to cool slightly. Then cut them into squares and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

10. Serve with ice cream and chocolate sauce for a truly decadent dessert!

Technorati tags: brownie, pastry, chocolate, ice cream, recipe

Milltown Market and Petrol Heads

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For anyone travelling between Killarney and Dingle, I highly recommend a stop in Milltown to visit the market there. Set in one of the prettiest buildings of any Irish market, it is certainly worth a browse, especially on a Saturday, when there are rows of organic farmers, bakers, etc. selling their wares. With a good range of natural products, organic and biodynamic wines, food, and gardening and farming supplies, it makes a very pleasant break to the drive. At the very least you will come away with some snacks, and if you have a green thumb and room in your car, you might come away with all sorts of treats for your garden.

You will find it on the right as you come into Milltown, down from the school and opposite the petrol station.

The opening hours are Tues-Fri 2-5 and Saturday 10-2.

Meanwhile, unless you're car mad, avoid Dingle each year during the rally, which is this weekend. Dingle town is at a standstill today and the roar of cars echo around the peninsula.

At times like these I get that parallel universe feeling as the whole town is taken over by an entirely different crowd of people than the usual visitors. Besides the racers there are spectators, hawkers of all sorts of racing merchandise, chipper vans just for the event, etc.

The roads are closed to the West, and even Dingle town is virtually impassable as boy racers rev their engines and creep along the streets looking to impress. Confused tourists wander around shell-shocked, a free day on their hands after being told they can't visit sites or tour around the place.

At least this event is not marred by the violence that seems to accompany the Killarney rally, and I guess it is a wonderful thrill for people who life for their cars...

Technorati tags: Dingle, Killarney, rally, Milltown, market, tourism