Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

Today is Arthur's Day, a day when Guinness drinkers are expected to raise a glass to the memory of Arthur Guinness. Yes, Guinness is Irish, you see it in every pub, but if you don't like the taste of it why not to make a delicious Guinness stew, or maybe make ice cream, what you think?

I made this ice cream to celebrate my new ice cream maker.
The ice cream is creamy, sweet from chocolate and little bit bitter from Guinness. The taste is interesting, the texture is fabulous.
I love my ice cream maker. If you needed an excuse to get one, now you have it, even your husband/boyfriend/partner will support you (even if you have a ton of kitchen equipment) as anything with a beer must be good, and somebody needs to drink Guinness leftover. Yes, making ice cream takes some time, but where will you be able to buy Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream?

Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream 

Recipe comes from Brown Eyed Baker and it's David Lebovitz recipe

• 200g milk chocolate, finely chopped 
• 1 cup whole milk 
• ½ cup granulated sugar 
• Pinch of salt 
• 4 egg yolks 
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• ¾ cup Guinness Stout 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Put the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.
Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.
Pour the custard through the strainer over the milk chocolate, then stir until the chocolate is melted. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the cream, then the Guinness and vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (at least 8 hours or overnight), then churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Chocolate marble cake

I have too many ideas and too little time. Reading books, running, working hard, traveling, blogging, shopping, learning French, Italian, Spanish, English. I want it all.
When it comes to food is the same.
I was cooking a lot lately as I needed to try my new stand mixer. I was baking bread, rolls, making pierogi, kokosanki, tart tatin, milk chocolate and Guinness ice cream and making everyday lunch as well. Phew.

So today I have something easy for you. A marble cake. It's one of this cakes that don't require too many ingredients or too many preparations. It's easy to divide the cake into pieces and grab one to work.

Marble cake

Recipe from Raspberries and cream
Use fairly small cake pan. I used 18cm x 9cm Bavarois Mould

• 175 g flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 175 g butter, soften 
• 175 g caster sugar 
• 3 eggs, beaten 
• 2 Tbsp cacao 
• 2 Tbsp milk 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/3 tonka bean grated 
• icing sugar for sprinkling 

Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan).
Sieve the flour and baking powder into a big bowl.
Place the butter, sugar and eggs and whisk to combine (you can use a mixer).
Add gradually the flour and baking powder and whisk until smooth.
Divide the mixture between 2 bowls.
Stir the cocoa powder and milk into one of the mixtures and vanilla extract into the other one.
Pour the mixture into the prepared bundt pan by alternating spoonfuls of vanilla batter with the chocolate batter.
With the end of a wooden skewer draw swirls through the batter to marbleize it.
Bake for 40-50 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean, it took me over an hour to bake it).
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack and take off the pan.
Let it to cool completely.
Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Magazine and cookbook cooking: Lemon and lime tart

You all know life has it ups and downs. It seems it works for all of the aspects of life.
Because this is mostly food blog let's talk about food ups and downs. There are times I challenge myself with new recipes, with preparing meal plans a week ahead, when I try add more veggies into our menu. There are time when I cook whatever is simple enough, sometimes we eat frozen pizza, sometimes I don't care about veggies.
Most of the time I tend to buy food magazines. Most of the time I read them, or at least flick through them. But there are times when I just stare at the lovely photos and do nothing. The magazines pile up as well as my guilt. Magazines are so expensive, I feel that they should earn theirs place in my monthly budget. So before I allow myself to buy another magazine I need to use the ones I already bought.

This time I didn't have a choice. I bought Delicious Magazine only because of the tart photo on the cover. The tart looks beautiful. I haven't made a lemon tart for ages. So no excuses. 

Do your magazines earn their living?

The tart is really simple with the citrus filling that is really smooth and soft, more like a cream. 

Lemon and lime tart

Recipe comes from Delicious Magazine September 2012 with my small alternations. 

For the pastry

Use 25-cm tart tin, 3cm deep
There was enough of pastry to make two tarts. 

• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 25g icing sugar
• 150g chilled unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 medium egg yolks
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

For the filling:

• 2 large lemons
• 2 limes
• 6 medium eggs, beaten
• 250g caster sugar
• 150ml double cream
• icing sugar to dust (optional)

Sift the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt. Add the butter.
With your hands, rub together the flour mixture with the butter cubes until the mixture forms small breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you can use a food processor for 10-12 second.
Add the egg yolks and 1-2 Tbsp cold water and knead it quickly. Don't overwork the dough.
Wrap it into cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (you can even prepare it 2-3 days before, or you can freeze it and store it for few months).
Grease a tart case with butter. Dust it with flour. Set aside.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface until it covers the tart base and its sides.
Transfer it gently into the pan. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pan.
Prick the dough with a fork. Refrigerate for another 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

Line the crust with parchment and fill with baking beans, and bake blind in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the edges are biscuit coloured.
Remove the beans and bake it for another 3-4 minutes.
Brush the pastry with a little of the beaten egg white. Bake for another 2 minutes.
Remove the pastry from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 120°C/100°C fan.

For the filling.
Finely grate the zest from lemons and limes, then squeeze out enough juice from all the fruits to give 150-175ml.
Lightly beat the eggs and sugar together until just mixed but not frothy.
Mix in the citrus juice and cream, pour through a sieve into a measuring jug, then stir in the lemon zest.
Put the pastry case into the oven and pour the filling in. Carefully slide the tart into the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until just set. The mixture should be still wobbly.
Remove and cool, but not refrigerate (well I did refrigerate it, and nothing bad happened).