Guinness Draught Chocolate Cupcakes / Cake

This recipe is a very easy to make and tastes great!

It is based upon the Dave Lieberman recipe on www.foodnetwork.com.

The major differences are: I use Guinness Draught and he uses Guinness Stout. His recipe is for cupcakes only. Judy and I changed the recipe for a cake and loved it. Just so you know ahead of time – the batter is very runny.

Ingredients

Cupcakes / Cake

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, plus more for dusting pan and finished cupcakes / cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
12 ounces Guinness Draught, room temperature (Bottle - 12 ounces, Can – 14.9 ounces)
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream

Icing

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup heavy cream (less if you want thicker icing - I highly recommend less)
1 (1 pound) box powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.
In another medium mixing bowl, combine the stout, melted butter, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, 1 at time. Mix in sour cream until thoroughly combined and smooth. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

For Cupcakes
Lightly grease 24 muffin tins. Divide the batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for about 12 minutes and then rotate the pans. Bake another 5 minutes until risen, nicely domed, and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out. - Donot over cook!

For Cake
Lightly grease cake pan and dust with unsweetened cocoa. We used a 9 in. springform pan and lined the bottom with wax paper and greased and dusted it. Check to see if your springform is tight as the batter is very runny and may leak if it is not. To be safe – we put a sheet of tin foil on the bottom of the oven. I do think that you can use any cake pan for this recipe – you just need to adjust the baking time. Bake for about 20 minutes and then check every 5 minutes and take out of the oven when the cake is set but still soft in the center. The total time will depend on your oven and size of pan. It will continue to bake after it is out of the oven – so do not over bake. Cool before taking out of springform pan.

To make the icing:
In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the heavy cream. On low speed, slowly mix in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Icing can be made several hours ahead and kept covered and chilled.
Top cupcake / cake with a heap of frosting and dust with cocoa.

Cheddar Cheese and Roasted Garlic Soup

Adapted from a recipe from FoodNetwork.com (Emeril Lagasse - 2003)

• Can be made in about 45 minutes
• Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 bulbs of garlic
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ cups chicken stock (Kitchen Basics brand)
• 3 cups whole milk
• 12 ounces sharp yellow cheddar cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Six slices of bacon

Directions

• Take a slice off the top of each head of garlic to expose some of the cloves inside.
• Place the heads on a piece of foil in an oven proof baking dish.
• Drizzle the bulbs of garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper and wrap in the foil.
• Roast the garlic at 400 degrees until cloves are lightly browned and tender, about 30 minutes.
• Chop the bacon into a ¼ inch dice and then fry it up in a large, heavy saucepan till it is nicely browned.
• Remove bacon from the pan and save. Leave drippings in the pan.
• Remove garlic from oven after the 30 minutes, unwrap and let the garlic bulbs cool.
• When bulbs are cool enough to handle, remove each of the cloves of garlic and place in a bowl. Using a fork, mash the garlic up into a paste.
• In the large, heavy saucepan you cooked the bacon in, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and roasted garlic paste and saute until onions are soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
• Slowly whisk in the stock and milk.
• Add white pepper and cayenne pepper and stir to blend in.
• Bring soup to a low boil and reduce heat so that the soup barely simmers.
• Cook, stirring frequently, until the soup is very thick and flavorful, about 20 minutes.
• Add the grated cheese in 1/2 cup increments, stirring after each addition until completely melted and smooth. Do not allow soup to boil.
• Season with salt, to taste. Serve in shallow bowls, topped with some crispy bacon bits.

Spicy Peanut Soup with Chicken

Adapted from a recipe from Epicurious.com (Bon Appetit magazine – December 2007)

• Makes 4 main-course servings
• An intriguing, rich, and spicy soup with West African roots.

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into ¾ - to- 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoon hot sauce (Franks Red Hot Sauce)
• 4 cups chicken stock (Kitchen Basics brand)
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use natural or old-fashioned)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 ½ cups chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 can, 14oz. diced tomatoes in juice, drained
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce

Preparation

• Combine chicken cubes and hot sauce in medium bowl and toss to coat well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again.
• Whisk chicken broth, peanut butter, and tomato paste in another medium bowl to blend.
• Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chipotle pepper with adobo sauce, and sauté until onions are tender, about 8 minutes.
• Add chicken and sauté until no longer pink on outside, about 3 minutes.
• Sprinkle with flour and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
• Add broth mixture and tomatoes to pot.
• Simmer until chicken is cooked through and flavors blend, about 5 minutes.
• Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Lemon Chicken Soup

Adapted from a recipe from Epicurious.com (Gourmet magazine – December 1997)

• Makes about 4 1/2 cups, serves 2
• Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients

• 3 lemons
• 1 chicken breast half with skin and bones
• 2 ¾ cups chicken stock (Kitchen Basics brand)
• 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves

Preparation

• With a vegetable peeler remove two 2-inch-long strips zest from lemons and squeeze juice into a bowl.
• In a small saucepan simmer chicken and zest in broth, covered, 20 minutes, or until chicken is just cooked through.
• Cook brown rice according to package directions, adjust amounts to yield 1 ½ cups after cooking.
• Transfer chicken to a bowl and pour broth through a sieve into a 4-cup measuring cup.
• Chill chicken until it is cool.
• In a 2-quart saucepan heat butter over moderately low heat until foam subsides and stir in flour. Cook roux, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add broth and cream in a stream, whisking, and simmer, whisking, 2 minutes, or until soup thickens slightly. Remove pan from heat.
• When chicken is cool enough to handle, discard skin and bones and using two forks shred the chicken.
• Add chicken and brown rice to soup and simmer, stirring occasionally for a minute or two.
• Stir in lemon juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.