Chocolate and Beer

Chocolate and Beer. I love both.

Chocolate Beer? I love that too.

I'm not a big fan of dark beer. Guinness? Blech. Good for baking. When my demanding Doctor at work, Dr. Sweet Tooth, asked me when will I bake again, I told him I'll make something with Chocolate Stout. Homeboy was happy.

So little ol' alcoholic me skipped her way into Total Wine & More. If you don't know what Total Wine is, it's like BevMo, but better (in my opinion). Their selections of imported beer, amazeballs. I believe if you're a Winer, you would love it too.

It's like Toys R Us... for adults. I was originally there for a co-worker who wanted me to pick up some Limited Edition Beer and I knew that I was gonna pick up some Chocolate Stout. So I came up with those two up there... Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout and St. Peter's Cream Stout. Just reading the packaging I was drooling already. And of course I stacked up on some Lambics (I'm a huge Lambic Frambroise beer fan!)

After wasting 1 hour browsing, I bumped in to this bottle of awesomeness...

Oh my oh my oh my. I had my first taste of Absinthe at the Edison in Los Angeles. It was delicious. Even the servers were dressed as Green Fairies. This little bottle cost $9.99 (!!!), 55% Alcohol content, 110 Proof. I was like, "OH HAY". But, I did not buy. I will buy it one day. I want to learn how to drink it properly (you know, sugar cubez and all) [a lil 411: Absinthe was given to soldiers as a malaria treatment in the 1840s. As a nurse, I sorta approve. jk]

Anyways, after a long ass day at work, I still had the energy courage to bake. So I made Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. The difference was the beer of choice (I used St. Peter's Creamy Stout) and the baking time (18 - 19 minutes per muffin pan). 

Gosh, the smell was great. Beer and butter? Yum. The beer alone was delicious. Like I said, I'm not a big fan of dark beer, but this one was yummy. You taste the hint of chocolate and espresso. Hmmm... The bitterness was actually tolerable. 

Of course, I ended up baking buzzed.

Instead of using the ganache recipe, I used the Raspberry frosting that I learned from a recent baking class I took at Sur La Table. Being a rebel, I didn't follow as directed and the frosting came out soupy. Yet it tasted sooo good. Of course I didn't want it to go to waste.

Being a nurse, I inject people. Being a baker, I injected the frosting in to the cupcakes. Similar yet different. Fun, though.

See how soupy the frosting is? I ate it though. Screw my diet.

So next project would probably be Chocolate Stout Brownies. Dr. Sweet Tooth will probably be all giddy. 

xo,
Rima