Guinness, Guinness, and more Guinness!

St. Patrick's Day has finally arrived! And that of course means that there will be plenty of celebrating tonight.  However, before I go out and pay tribute to my Irish heritage, I wanted to share with you a few different Guinness recipes.  Now, Guinness is absolutely delicious by itself, but if you are looking to jazz up your day a bit, then the following recipes are for you!

This first recipe is the Black Velvet.  The Black Velvet is said to have originated in a London pub in 1861 when mourning the death of Prince Albert.  The prince had died at a very young age (42 years) and his death is said to have led the Queen Victoria into a depression that lasted for the rest of her life.  Now, before I completely hamper everyone's mood with depressing stories of death, I will get back to the delicious recipe at hand.  The Black Velvet is very smooth and even if you are not a fan of Guinness, I suggest giving this a try anyway...

(Photo credit to Stock Food since my camera was not working when I made the drinks... but you'll at least get the idea)

Black Velvet


Ingredients:
-Champagne
-Guinness Stout
-Champagne flute

Directions:
In a champagne flute, pour in Guinness until it comes halfway up the glass.  Then carefully pour the champagne on top of the Guinness to fill the rest of the flute.

Next up, the Guinness Float! As the name suggests, this is similar to a root beer float, but better!

(Again, my camera was not working at the time so this is from the Food Channel) 

Guinness Float

Ingredients:

-3 scoops vanilla ice cream, plus one or two scoops if desired

-Guinness stout

Directions:

Place 3 scoops of ice cream into a Guinness glass and slowly pour the Guinness on top.  You may need to stop halfway through to let the foam go down a bit before topping off the glass.  Insert a straw and enjoy! You could also blend the ingredients and make a tasty shake out of this! 

And last but certainly not least, Guinness Chocolate Cake!  Yes, that's right, Guinness cake... It is absolutely mouth-watering! The Guinness creates such a wonderful flavor with the chocolate and it is great with either a Bailey's frosting, cream cheese frosting, or whipped cream topping! All of the recipes for the toppings are below. 

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

-1 to 1 1/2 cups Guinness

-1 stick plus 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted

-2 cups sugar

-3/4 cup cocoa powder

-3/4 cup sour cream

-2 eggs

-2 cups flour

-1 tablespoon vanilla

-2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

-Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 round baking dish.  Set aside. 

In a saucepan, melt the butter in the Guinness over low-medium heat.  Once the butter has melted, whisk in the sugar and cocoa powder.  

Meanwhile, beat the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla together.  Pour the Guinness mixture into the bowl and mix together.  Add the baking soda, flour, and pinch of salt. The batter should be on the looser side. 

Once everything is combined, pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and place in the oven.  Cook for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Let cool and prepare the frosting that you want to use.  For this particular cake, I decided to go with a whipped cream topping since I was in the mood for something a little lighter and fluffier, but the Bailey's and Cream Cheese Frostings are excellent with Guinness cake as well!

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting:

-1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

-3 cups confectioners sugar

-6 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream

-Drizzle of vanilla extract

-Milk as needed

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and add a few tablespoons of milk to start.  If you prefer a more loose, creamier, frosting, then add a little more milk.  I always start off with less though and test it out.  Always better to add a little at first to see where you get, rather than adding too much to begin with resulting in a soupy mess. 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

-1 8oz package of Cream Cheese, softened

-1 stick of butter, softened

-1 pound confectioners sugar

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together.  Whisk in the confectioners sugar until fully combined. 

Whipped Cream Topping:

-1 pint heavy cream

-1 cup confectionary sugar

Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and blend, on high speed, until the cream begins to thicken and holds stiff peaks.  Fold in the confectioner's sugar and either use right away or chill in the fridge for later use. 

Now, just for fun, I wanted to share with you a few pictures from my Ireland trip, specifically the day spent in the Guinness factory.  After all, this post is about Guinness... 

Enjoying our free pint of Guinness!

At the Sky Bar on top of the Guinness factory

Pretending to pass out in front of the Guinness sign... 

My FAVORITE band to hear play in Dublin - Lad Lane! They are so talented and absolutely amazing! You can hear a clip of them HERE and HERE. 

For more St. Patty's Day recipes, check out my Irish Soda Bread, Irish Pirate, Fish and Chips, Irish Coffee, and Irish Breakfast. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

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