Friday 5th August is International Beer Day. Celebrate the nation’s favourite tipple with one of these great beer-based recipes.
STOUT
Stout and chocolate is always a winning combination. Nigella Lawson’s recipe for Chocolate Guinness Cake brings out the best of the dark stuff, resulting in a cake which is ‘magnificent in its damp blackness.’ The stout doesn’t overwhelm the rich cocoa flavour of the cake, but instead complements it to bring out the best of its rich, deep flavour. The cream cheese icing also makes each slice resemble a delicious glass of Guinness.
If that sounds a little too rich for your palette, try Smitten Kitchen’s Gingerbread Layer Cake. It’s full of sugar, spice and all things nice (as well as a pint of Oatmeal Stout). This is quite an involved recipe, so you’ll need two cake tins and a lot of patience. However, the end result both looks incredible and tastes even better. Sprinkle with sugared cranberries and you’ve got a showstopper perfect for birthdays, family reunions or just to eat by yourself in front of the TV because you feel like it.
LAGER
Stuffing a can of beer into a whole chicken may sound like a bizarre idea, but if anyone can do it, Jamie Oliver can. His recipe for Spicy and Sweet Beer Can Chicken is based on an American barbecue recipe featuring a finger licking good rub. To cook the chicken, you open a can of lager, take a generous sip and then rest the bird on top of it. Then, you pop it on an oven tray and cook it in the oven for an hour and a half. The steam from the lager creates incredibly juicy results. This is certainly one to try if you’re feeling adventurous.
IPA
Mussels love booze, so just thinking about Food Stories’s Mussels with Bacon and Beer, gets our mouths watering. It’s a delicious twist on Moules Mariniere with a hoppy IPA being used in place of white wine. She recommends having plenty of bread on hand to mop up all of the delicious juices from this dish. We don’t need to be told twice.What’s better than a freshly baked Cheese Scone? A freshly baked Cheese Scone accompanied by a cheesy beer dip. According to Cluck Muck Cook, this IPA infused cheese sauce goes with everything from nachos to pretzels. We’ll definitely know what we’ll be baking the next time a savoury scone craving hits (although we can’t promise that we’ll share.)