Archive for March, 2010
Chocolate Stout Cake with Baileys Whipped Cream
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th with the help of your iSi Creative Whip and make desserts and treats that are an ode to Irish beer and spirits. Mix a wee bit of Baileys Irish Cream into your basic whipped cream for a simple way to add a dash of cheer.
Baileys is a liqueur, 17% alcohol by volume, made from Irish whiskey, milk from Irish farms, cocoa nibs, vanilla, and sugar. Using the Creative Whip, top hot coffee with Baileys Whipped Cream for a festive version of an Irish coffee or cap a Guinness float (stout beer and vanilla ice cream) for a quick St. Patrick’s Day dessert that is far too much fun. But for a truly rich treat, try a chocolate stout cupcake frosted with this decadent whipped cream.
There are many delicious variations of chocolate stout cake but all involve adding a dark beer, such as Guinness, to the cake batter. The result is a dense rich cake just begging to be topped with a frothy light cream. With a touch of cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and Baileys, you have a frosting for a very grown up cupcake with a whole lot of Irish spirit.
Sláinte!
Recipe for Chocolate Stout Cake
iSi (say “easy”) Entertaining with Desserts on the Go!
iSi Portable Creative Whip Helps You Bring Your Kitchen with You
The Creative Whip has always been a perfect tool for entertaining at home. Whip up delicious dips to start off a party or have a festive carbonated cocktail ready to go as your guests arrive. And of course there is dessert! Nothing tops a homemade pie like fresh whipped cream or wows your guests like a classic Tiramisu. The ingredients are simple, the prep a snap, and clean-up is next to nothing. Let the Creative Whip do the work for you and just enjoy the party!
But the fun shouldn’t be limited to your own kitchen. While the pint-sized Creative Whip is easily portable (smaller than a wine bottle!), the half-pint size was made to go. With its compact dimensions, only 3-inches in diameter and 8-inches tall, it can easily be tucked into just about any purse or bag. So for that next dinner party or quick get-together, share your creativity and take the Creative Whip along with you.
Try the classic Chocolate Mousse Express and top with candied hazelnuts or fresh fruit, or mix up the Mango-Coconut Mousse and have shredded toasted coconut or crushed macadamia nuts on hand to finish the dessert. Each recipe is less than five ingredients so they come together in a nothing flat. Best of all, you can mix and pour into your Creative Whip ahead of time. Just keep it chilled until you’re ready to go and dessert will be ready to go when you are.
Note: Many of the recipes mentioned are scaled for the pint iSi Creative Whip. Halve the ingredients to use with the ½-pint iSi Creative Whip.
International Home + Housewares Show 2010
Which would you rather have? A cookie? Or a cookie with cream? I hope the latter: a slightly crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside chocolate chip cookie, embellished with a cool swirl of freshly whipped cream. It’s classic comfort food – cookies and milk – simply dressed up.
My name is Louisa Chu – I’m a chef and journalist – and I’ll be this year’s guest chef at the iSi booth at the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago. The show starts this Sunday but I’ve been working on recipes for months using the new Creative Whip.
At industry-only trade shows like the Housewares Show, buyers and journalists from around the world will walk miles upon miles through the cavernous McCormick Place convention center to see the newest products offered by thousands of exhibitors, some of which you’ll eventually buy for your own home.
Celebrity chefs – including Mario Batali, Ming Tsai, and Rick Bayless – will do cooking demonstrations and sign their books.
I’ve cooked at some of the best restaurants in the world, including El Bulli in Spain, where we used iSi whippers to make extremely inventive dishes, like airy “gnocchi” from potato foam – garnished with seaweed gelatin wrapped butter ravioli, finished with a roasted potato skin consomme. The dish was beautiful, surprising, and yes, delicious but not quite what friends and family want me to whip up at home.
During the show I’ll offer tastings using the Creative Whip of not only the cookies, but many of the recipes found right here on our blog, like the Cheese Wizard on mini grass-fed burgers with tiny challah buns. I’ll also introduce new recipes including Sparkling Arnold Palmers (sweet tea and lemonade) and Buffalo Style Fried Chicken. We’ll post the menu and recipes for everything we’ll serve at the show, because you can and will want to try these at home.
If you’re visiting the show, please stop by and say hi – and you can now follow us on Facebook!