Chocolate Guinness - Goodness Gracious!

I don't hold much with St. Patrick's Day. There are a lot of other Patron Saints out there (David, Andrew, George, speak up. I can't hear you); Saint Patrick must have a good P.R. man. I recently learned in my History class that a nation's identity can be partly defined by a country's struggle and by their heroes. So I really can't hold it against the Irish; they deserve a party. I don't partake in the green beer but I do like Guinness. After recently searching the web for Guinness recipes - you know there's "a steak in every can" - I stumbled upon a Guinness pudding. I altered it a bit, because I couldn't understand the chef's instructions. (ie. how can I tell if the beer and cream is bubbling around the edges, you just told me to whip it?)

Now what follows is extremely rich. The result is a chocolate pudding with a definite "stout" edge to it. I divided the recipe in half for my family of three. It was very popular among my guys, but none of us could finish it. So next year I think I'll serve it in shooter-sized glasses. Here goes.

8 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1 can Guinness

3 cups whipping cream

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan whisk together egg yolks and sugar. I used the whisk attachment on my hand-held mixer.

Open the can of Guinness stout and pour it into a large glass measuring cup while trying to reduce the foam.

In another heavy-bottomed saucepan pour exactly half the Guinness and 2 cups cream and whisk. Heat over a medium heat, until just below boiling. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Now slowly pour this Guinnessy-chocolate into the eggs whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Cook over medium (don't let it boil) and whisk with the electric mixer for a very time-consuming 10-15 minutes until the mixture has a pudding-like consistency, as thick as a bechamel. This was one of the messiest procedures ever. Chocolate was everywhere!

Pour into glasses. Don't use pint glasses or you'll go into a coma. Small glasses with "waists" would look best, but I don't know what to call them. Leave an inch on top of each.

Cover with wrap and refrigerate until set. I'd say 3-4 hours.

The last step. Pour the remaining Guinness into a a pan (you should still have 1 cup, hopefully) and bring to a boil, Reduce heat and let simmer until the beer is reduced to 1 tablespoon. Beat the remaining 1 cup of cream and add the syrupy Guinness reduction and fold together. Now top up the glasses with the cream and hopefully the whole thing looks like a glass of Guinness.

I did say we couldn't finish it but that doesn't mean we threw it away. I intend on finishing my pudding when the sun's over the yardarm. Whatever that means! Enjoy!