Patty’s Ponderings-Tall, Dark and Stout

I fell in love this past weekend! He was tall, dark and stout! Oh, you may think he doesn’t sound attractive but you would be wrong! This sweet, but short-lived relationship started out as a quest on my part to find a delicious dessert for our traditional St. Patty’s Day dinner.

My BFF Georgie always makes a delicious boiled supper for my name day (that’s correct, I was named after St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland). She whips up corned beef, cabbage, carrots, mashers, Irish soda bread and a yummy stout cake, which strongly resembles gingerbread cake made with Guinness or stout. The kids have never liked it and I thought this year I would pitch in and make part of the dinner; the dessert part. But what could I make?

And then he caught my eye. Leering at me from one of my recipe websites was an undeniably gorgeous Tall, Dark and Stout Chocolate Cake! Three tall layers of fudgy, caramelly, artery clogging deliciousness! The cake itself had almost an entire bottle of Guinness stout in it! But then, the frosting- - -oh my gosh, the frosting- - was a mind boggling mixture consisting of twelve ounces of dark chocolate, a cup and a half of heavy cream and a full stick of butter! You then embellish this killer confection with a caramel syrup.

Just like an unforgettable relationship I had in college, this creation was fun, complex, sweet, and sinfully satisfying.  I know this is the stuff heart attacks are made of, but what a way to go!