Chocolate Stout Ice Cream
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style…with a bowl of this Chocolate Stout Ice Cream!
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Can we talk about taste buds for a minute or two? They say that our taste buds change every seven years. I’m not sure how scientifically accurate that is, but I completely agree that our palate changes as we get older. Our taste buds can recognize five different tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory (aka umami). I know that my tastes have changed as I’ve grown older.
I used to hate “stinky” cheeses. Blue cheese was this odd creation that I steered clear of at all costs. After all, who in their right mind wants to eat moldy cheese? But then it happened. I tasted a bit of my wife’s blue cheese dressing, and I didn’t hate it. I didn’t like it, but I didn’t hate it. Fast forward a couple of years, and now I love blue cheese. Same thing with olives. I couldn’t stand them when I was a kid, and now I love a good green olive. Go figure.
I’ve also noticed that my tastes in beer have changed over the years, too. When I first started drinking beer, I could barely handle the ubiquitous light American beer. I thought it tasted awful. Guess what? I still think it tastes awful…but for an entirely different reason. Now I really love a good strong-flavored beer. Given a choice, I’ll always opt for an American-style IPA loaded with citrus flavor and cascade hops. But I’m happy with any strongly flavored beer.
Take Guinness for example. I thought Guinness was so heavy and thick. I’d laugh and say that I preferred to drink my beer rather than eat it with a spoon. Now I’ll gladly reach for a nice, dark Guinness. With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I wanted to play around with using Guiness in a recipe. This classic Irish stout pairs quite well with chocolate, and I was tempted to bake up a cake of some sort. But then it hit me. Ice cream. I needed to make Guinness ice cream!
Chocolate Stout Ice Cream
Chocolate Stout Ice CreamSo why exactly do you want to make ice cream while there is still snow on the ground? Well, for St. Patrick’s Day, of course. It’s one of those days when you get a free pass (like spraying your hair green). If you want to be the star of your St. Paddy’s Day shindig, then pull out a batch of this homemade Chocolate Stout Ice Cream.
My wife and I have already devoured this batch of ice cream, and we have plans to make more soon. I’ve made a lot of different ice creams in the past, and my wife and I both agreed that this Chocolate Stout Ice Cream is one of our favorites. You can’t necessarily pick out the Guinness flavor, but it definitely adds a depth of flavor. I can assure you that this ice cream will be a party favorite…even among those that think they don’t like Guinness!
So grab a pint of Guinness and a bowl of this Chocolate Stout Ice Cream…that way you can drink your beer and eat it with a spoon. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Did you make a batch of this Chocolate Stout Ice Cream at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Chocolate Stout Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 12 oz. stout or other dark beer
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate melted and cooled
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the beer in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until it reduces to about 1/3 cup. (~15 minutes) Set reduced beer aside.
- Place the milk in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low until it just begins to simmer.
- While the milk is heating, whisk together the salt, sugar and egg yolks in a medium bowl. Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolks; whisking vigorously the entire time.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens noticeably and coats a wooden spoon. (~6-7 minutes) (Note: Do not let the mixture boil.)
- Remove mixture from heat and add the heavy cream, melted bittersweet chocolate, vanilla extract and reduced beer; stir until well combined. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly onto the surface of the mixture, and refrigerate overnight.
- Pour the ice cream mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.
- (Optional) If you desire a firmer ice cream, transfer the finished ice cream into the freezer for a couple of hours.
Looking for more tasty ice cream recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
I will definitely be trying this! I love a good stout and a good IPA. I would love it if you link this up to Tipsy Tuesdays at Grey is the New Black!
Hey Pam! I love a good IPA and a good stout, too…and this ice cream was legit good. Like one of my favorites! I haven’t heard about Tipsy Tuesdays, but I’ll need to check that out. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I so know what you mean about them changing tastebuds – I used to detest blue cheese too – now, I don’t mind it – but I haven’t gotten around to the whole loving it part – yet! And, fortunately for me, my daughter hasn’t been craving chocolate like she used to – which means if I make a lactose free version of this ice cream – I can devour it all by myself! Win win!
Haha…here’s my plan for your, Shashi. Tell lil Shahsi that there’s a basketball game on in hte other room. Then make a big batch of this ice cream while she’s not looking. Win-win for everyone! The Guinness was a super fun twist on this ice cream. The finished version doesn’t taste like beer…but it has an awesome depth of flavor that you just can’t quite put your finger on. We loved it!!
I totally need this ice cream in my life right now. It looks SO creamy and delicious, and the flavors, just sound terrific!! And it’s the weekend now, so this ice cream fits perfectly 😉 haha, pinned!! 🙂
Yes! Weekends were made for ice cream. 🙂 I know ice cream isn’t the first thing we think about here thanks to all of the snow outside…but this ice cream is legit good. Like we ate it all and wanted to make another batch immediately. The Guinness provides an awesome depth of flavor, but it doesn’t overpower the chocolate at all. Happy weekend, Christina!
Being so close to Ireland, Guiness is a big thing here and Guiness cakes are very popular. I love the thought of putting it in ice cream though. Going to surprise my husband with this on St Paddy’s day!
Aw man, I am SO jealous that you guys live near Ireland. (On a side note, I’m also jealous that you live near Scotland…we vacationed there a couple of years ago, and we loved it!!) But this ice cream…it’s delicious! The Guinness flavor is there, but because it gets reduced first…it just adds an awesome depth of flavor under the chocolate. It’s absolutely a keeper! I hope you (and your husband) enjoy it as much as we did. 🙂
I don’t know about taste buds changing every seven years or so; I think it all comes down to acquired taste.
If you haven’t been exposed to a particular food and/or beverage (that’s not sugary) it’s very unlikely you’re going to enjoy it.
I’m thinking for instance about raw oysters, licorice, black coffee, and – of course – beer.
And among beers, stout beer – the darkest and thickest of the beers with strong barley and hops flavors – is arguably one of the most “difficult” ones to get accustomed to and actually enjoy.
That being said, I for one love Guinness so I’m pretty sure I would love that ice-cream.
#WolfpackArguments #WolfpackLager
An acquired taste often refers to an appreciation for a food or beverage that is unlikely to be enjoyed by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it
I totally agree with you here, Mike. Maybe it’s not taste buds changing but rather just an acquired taste. It took us some tasting, but now we love hoppy, American IPAs. Same goes for scotch. We taught ourselves to love scotch, and now I love trying different types. But yes, this ice cream is legit, dude. Love it! Also, I love your deep philosophical arguments. You’d make a good lawyer. #WolfpackThinks
Guinness. Maybe it’s the low alcohol content but it’s a great ingredient in all kinds of food. I’ve never tried it in ice cream, though I did have it served to me as Guinness float once and was impressed. GREG
Interesting! A Guinness flat sounds quite delicious, Greg. I really liked this ice cream. The Guinness added an awesome undertone of flavor without tasting too “beery”. Hope you have an awesome weekend, my west coast friend!
I can’t believe the foods I used to hate that I love today and some have lost their power over me. Taste buds are so very interesting.
Wow, this one is a first for me and it sounds damn good. I’m surprised you made ice cream with your snowtopia over there! Great photos as well Dave, have a great weekend!
Yeah, it’s really odd when you think back over your lifetime of eating habits. Some of the stuff I loved as a kid, I just won’t eat anymore. And some of the stuff I couldn’t stand as a kid are now among my favorites! I was a little surprised that I was pulling out the ice cream maker, too, Kevin. But it was for a good cause, right? This ice cream was totally awesome…like one of my favorites ever. Even our friend who doesn’t like strong-flavored beers loved this one. The Guinness provides an undertone of awesomeness to the chocolate flavor. Happy weekend!
Oh geebuz Guiness brings back bad bad memories. There is this drink the UK called a ‘snakebite’ and it is 1/2 pint cider/1/2 pint beer topped with black current syrup. The day I tried it, used Guiness as the beer and just… no.However, remind me to try this in 7 years time 😉
Haha! So I know all about the Snakebite. I actually kinda like it. But I’ve never heard about that black current syrup floated on top. That sounds odd. The 1/2 cider, 1/2 Guinness thing though is pretty tasty. If you don’t agree, then we’ll talk again in 7 years! 🙂
David, yes haha, isn’t it interesting how our tastes change? I used to not be able to tolerate or like really spicy foods and now I love them . . and speaking of stinky cheeses, have you tried limburger? now I love cheese, all kinds but this one set me back a bit. It’s crazy stinky. 😛 love this ice cream!!!! I’m not a huge beer drinker or beer lover but my husband is a huge one. . and this ice cream looks so good!!! we would both devour this ice cream!!!
I have not had a chance to try limburger yet. I’m well aware of how that one wins the award for stinky cheeses, though. I’ll have to see if I can track some down somewhere! So even if you aren’t a big beer drinker, I think I can safely say that you will love this ice cream. It doesn’t taste like beer. The chocolate flavor is the most pronounced, but there is an extra flavor hiding in there that you can’t quite put your finger on (unless you know the Guinness secret)! It’s delicious!
I can see myself with this bowl of chocolate guinness icecream and not sharing.I don’t drink beer, but in an icecream, count me in. My partner drinks guinness and going to raid his stash and make me some of this. Looks so so good.
Chichi!! You should totally raid his stash of Guinness. You don’t need a whole can, so he can still finish off the rest. And the ice cream doesn’t taste overly “beer-y,” but rather chocolate-y with an extra depth of flavor that you just can’t quite figure out. And it’s incredible. I hope you are doing well!!
Lol you have come full circle back to eating your beer with a spoon! I LOVE Guiness. It seriously makes me so happy. The foamy part on top, the thick creamy smooth beer. Love. And I’m pretty sure it would be even better as an ice cream. Well done you!
And I don’t believe that hogwash about tastebuds changing every 7 years. I think people just call that maturing! 😉
Maturing? What is that? I call hogwash on that! I’m pretty sure I haven’t matured in 20 years. Uhh…wait…hmmm. Anywho, I’m a big fan of Guinness now. And this ice cream? Well, let’s just say we had to ration it out to keep ourselves from eating all of it! If you ever came up to go curling, then I’d make you a batch. But clearly our friendship isn’t like that. #SadButTrue
Mmm looks delicious!
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Thank you so much!! 🙂