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Dessert

English Pub Toffee (beer, bacon, pretzels) + The Ultimate Beer Lovers Giveaway ($400 value)

I have something for you, it has beer in to.

I made some toffee, full of beer flavor, bacon and salty pretzels for good measure. I also have something else, something that you can fill with beer. Or give to your favorite beer loving human for the holidays. It’s a SYNEK tabletop beer dispenser that you fill with beer from your local taproom. It’s small enough to fit in your kitchen (you can stop those plans to turn a Craigslist fridge into a tap adorned keg fridge), and it’s also gorgeous enough that you’ll want it on your counter.

Sure, you can give it to your favorite craft beer loving friend for the holidays, or you can keep it for yourself. After all, you do want fresh beer for said beer lover when they come to visit. Maybe you just make them some toffee and invite them over for a beer, that’s also a really nice gift.

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We have a winner! Congrats, Meg. Hope you enjoy! 

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English Pub Toffee (beer, bacon, pretzels) )

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

For the beer candied bacon:

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
  • 2 tablespoons beer*
  • 6 strips thick cut bacon

For the toffee:

  • 1 ½ cups butter cut into cubes
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons beer*
  • 2 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 2 cups pretzels slightly crushed

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375F.
  • In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons beer. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet, spray with cooking spray. Place the bacon on the rack, brush liberally with sugar mixture, flip over and brush the other side. Bake until dark brown, about 18 minutes. Allow to cool (it will harden as it cools), chop into pieces once cooled.
  • While the bacon cooks, make the toffee. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Add the butter sugar, salt and beer to a pot over high heat. Stir continuously until the butter has melted. Clip a cooking thermometer on the edge, cook until the sugar reaches 300F, stirring occasionally. Pour onto prepared pan. Allow to cool about 2 minutes, sprinkle with chocolate chips. Once the warm toffee has melted the chocolate chips, spread the chocolate evenly with an offset spatula. Sprinkle with bacon and pretzels.
  • Cool to room temperature, then add to the fridge and chill for 2 hours. Break into pieces before serving.

Notes

*Nearly any beer will work, I've used an amber, a red and a barrel aged stout with great results.

No Bake Pretzel and Bourbon Beer Balls

No Bake Pretzel and Bourbon Beer Balls

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These are the beers that make me feel like a stalker.

This time of year barrel aged beer has my attention, coming onto store shelves just as the fresh hop beers are becoming scarce and I need a distraction from that disappointment. I show up at bottle shops and beg for this years editions from the breweries that rattle the barrel aged cage every year. There are a few that we all seem to look forward to and seek out. The beers that fill our instagram feeds and even get us to (at least contemplate) standing in line for hours just for a taste.

Barrel aged beer is just like what it sounds, it’s beer (mostly the darker styles, but not always) that have been aged in barrels. Most commonly you’ll see bourbon or rum barrels but wine has started to make a stronger showing in the past few years.

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I always ask about a few in particular, mostly knowing I can’t always get them in Washington, but hoping Beer Store Beer Guy might have an in somewhere that could open up the possibility that I can get my greasy hands on one.

Here is my yearly wish list, let me know if you have one you look forward to with the same near-stalker-like anticipation.

Firestone Walker // Velvet Merkin and Parabola

Surly Brewing // Barrel Aged Darkness

Founders // KBS

Deschutes // The Abyss 

Fremont Brewing // B-Bomb

The Bruery // Black Tuesday 

The Lost Abbey // Serpent’s Stout 

 

No Bake Pretzel and Bourbon Beer Balls

Servings 36 balls

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup 50g chopped pecans
  • ½ cup 58g chopped almonds
  • 1 cup 154g pretzels crumbs (pretzels processed with a food processor)
  • 1 cup 122g graham cracker crumbs (9 full sized graham crackers, processed)
  • ½ cup 43g unsweetened cocoa powder, divided
  • ¾ cup 75g powdered sugar, divided
  • ½ cup 118mL bourbon barrel aged beer
  • 3 tablespoons 63g honey (or light corn syrup)

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl stir together the pecans, almonds, pretzel crumbs, graham cracker crumbs, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (reserve the other ¼ for the coating), and ½ cup powdered sugar (reserve the other ¼ for the coating).
  • Stir in the beer and honey until well combined. Mixture shouldn’t be wet but it should hold together when squeezed. If it’s too dry to hold together add more beer, about 1 tablespoon at a time until the right consistency is reached.
  • In a small bowl stir together the remaining ¼ cup cocoa powder and ¼ cup powdered sugar.
  • One at a time form into balls about the size of a golf ball, roll in powdered sugar. Place on a plate or tray.
  • Chill for 2 hours and up to overnight. Serve chilled.

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Spiked Hot Chocolate with Salted Caramel Whipped Cream

Spiked Hot Chocolate with Salted Caramel Whipped Cream

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Jennifer was one of those people I admired right away.

Her gorgeous photos, flawless recipes (she’s a trained chef), and she just seemed like someone I wanted to have a beer with. After we passed the obligatory blog-stalking-each-other period, we became friends. She’s someone who will give advice without judgement, share what she’s learned, and she’ll go to bat for you.

She’s the type of friend you want, even if she lives on the other side of the country. Even if most of our communication is vent-messaging each other things we know the other will understand. Even if I’m still hoping to make an East Coast trip happen soon, and it just doesn’t seem to be materializing.

When her book, The Gourmet Kitchen,  came in the mail I was thrilled. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. Gorgeous photos, recipes you want to make, and instructions that feel effortless to follow.

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So I made a recipe, and drooled over the rest. I was sucked in by the idea of a salted caramel whipped cream and now all other whipped creams will be decidedly inferior. I switched out the bourbon for a bourbon barrel aged stout because I do that type of thing, but feel free to booze as you choose with bourbon, brandy, rum or beer.

Don’t forget to check out her blog Savory Simple, and her Instagram.

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Spiked Hot Chocolate with Salted Caramel Whipped Cream

Used by permission from The Gourmet Kitchen cookbook by Jennifer Farley,
Servings 2 large servings

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 6 weight ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup bourbon barrel aged stout or ¼ cup bourbon*

Instructions
 

  • In a medium saucepan heat the sugar, water and salt over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Allow the sugar to continue cooking, keeping a close eye on it, until it starts to turn golden brown. Once it begins to caramelize, it will darken quickly. Let the sugar get dark without burning for the best results.
  • Once the caramel is a dark amber, remove the pan from heat and pour the heavy ream down the side of the saucepan. The caramel will splatter before temporarily seizing up, be careful to avoid burns.
  • Move the pan back onto the burner and use a heatproof spatula to stir the caramel and cream until evenly combined. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring periodically.
  • Pour the caramel into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing firmly directly against the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until very cold, several hours and up to overnight.
  • In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment whip the caramel until it reaches medium peaks. Set aside.
  • In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat. When the milk is steaming but not yet simmering, remove from heat and add the chocolate. Allow the mixture to sit for a minute until the chocolate has melted. Vigorously whisk in the vanilla and beer (or bourbon), and briefly return to heat until the desired serving temperate us reached. Pour into mugs, top with whipped cream.

Notes

Recipe in the book calls for 1/4 cup bourbon. The only adaptation I made was the option of using 1/2 cup bourbon barrel aged stout instead of bourbon,
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I was given a copy of The Gourmet Kitchen without expectation or obligation. All opinions are my own. 

Mascarpone Winter Ale Stuffed French Toast

Mascarpone Winter Ale Stuffed French Toast

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Winter ushers in a new crop of hard-to-get-your-hands-on beers, and they are just starting to poke their heads out the pumpkin saturated beer crowd.

Winter ales have flown under the main-stream-beer-radar for a while, getting a bit lost as beer drinkers trample from the squash-spice section over to the barrel aged section, but they deserve their time to shine. Every pocket of beer lovers have their own set of winter ales they wait for, counting down the days until the Holiday Ales start to show up in bottle shops. In my circle of beer nerd (based mostly on the distribution zone I’m in), this is what we are waiting for:

Fremont  // Winter Ale (and then the BBomb version that’s barrel aged)

Sierra Nevada // Celebration (a classic, and a reminder that hops are invited to the holiday party)

HUB // Abominable  (Malty and hoppy, well balanced and full of flavor)

Deschutes // Jubelale (Tastes like Christmas: notes of cocoa, toffee, spices)

Avery // Old Jubilation (A crowd pleaser, warm, malty, with nut and candy notes)

21st Amendment // Fireside Chat (they describe it as: "a kick in the ass and a hug at the same time")

Widmer // Brrr (robust red ale with candy notes and a nice balance or malt and hops)

The Bruery // 12 Days of Christmas Series 

Maritime // Jolly Roger

What are you looking forward to? Any Winter Ales that you’ll pick up that I can’t get my hands on?

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Mascarpone Winter Ale Stuffed French Toast

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • For the Filling:
  • 8 wt ounces mascarpone
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons winter ale
  • pinch salt
  • For the French Toast:
  • 1 large loaf French bread Brioche, or Challah
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup cream
  • ½ cup winter ale
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons butter

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl add the mascarpone, powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons winter ale and salt. Beat with a hand mixer until well combined.
  • Slice the bread into 3-inch slices (about 8 total).
  • Using a sharp knife, make a slit in the center of the bread slices, forming a pocket for the filling.
  • In a medium bowl add the eggs, cream, ½ cup winter ale, vanilla, and sugar, whisk until well combined.
  • Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
  • One at a time spoon the filling into the bread slices. Dip in the egg mixture, making sure to coat well. Remove from the bowl allowing the liquid to drain off the bread.
  • Place the French toast in the hot pan, cook on each side until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.
  • Serve warm.

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Beer Doughnuts with IPA Lemon Curd

Beer Doughnuts with IPA Lemon Curd

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Don’t invite me to dinner if you’re looking for a normal dinner conversation, it always gets weird.

I brought my sister with me to a press dinner and we ended up telling the story of the time we accidentally killed a 300-pound pig. It was well after my parents moved us from a little California beach town to the middle-of-nowhere-Eastern-Washington to play farm with pigs and an alfalfa field.

It was late summer and we were boy-crazy-middle-school girls who spent the lazy summer afternoon avoiding the heat and trying to convince our boyfriends to have their moms drive them ALL the way out to the farm. Her’s obliged, mine didn’t. About the time that her 8th-grade boyfriend wandered through the door, looking like a young Neil Patrick Harris, we heard an angry-grown-up-scream from the backyard.

As soon as the three of us exited the back door with a full view of the backfield and the pigpen, we knew what it was about. You see (for those of you who DIDN’T grow up on a pig farm), pigs don’t have sweat glands. They need mud or water to cool off during extreme heat in order to not die. It was our job to go out to the pigpen and hose them down every few hours to facilitate the not dying. We forgot. Unfortunately, the biggest hog (the one we named Piggy Smalls), didn’t make it.

Punishment for farm-related mistakes is very "punishment fits the crime." Our penance was to dig a 6-foot deep hole to put the dead pig into (no, we couldn’t butcher and eat him, he’d been dead too long). My sister’s boyfriend, with his sidewalks-and-cul-de-sac upbringing, looked too shocked to process what was being said. We lived too far away for him to walk home and his mom wouldn’t be back for hours. He was stuck digging a hole for a dead pig with his girlfriend and her little sister. Pretty sure that wasn’t what he’d imagined for the afternoon.

It took us until almost midnight, but we did it. With a series of buckets, a make-shift pulley system, a ladder, and three shovels we created a pig-sized grave in one of the empty fields. Piggy Smalls was deposited into said grave via a backhoe. The biggest surprise is that Doogie Howser didn’t flinch. He jumped right in (literally, right into the big hole), helped us out, and even came back over a few weeks later. I’m not sure what happened to that guy, but I can bet that if he was willing to dig a pig hole for an 8th grader, he’s probably making a pretty decent husband for someone.

I say this all to tell you that if you want to have a normal dinner party, with normal conversation, I’m not the guest you should invite. But if you want dead pig stories and doughnuts, I’m your girl. I’ll even bring beer.

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Beer Doughnuts with IPA Lemon Curd

Ingredients
  

For the Doughnuts:

  • 3 cups 360g flour
  • ¼ cup 58g granulated sugar
  • 1 packet 2 ¼ teaspoon or 7g rapid rise yeast
  • ¾ cup 6oz wheat beer
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 large egg yolk room temperature
  • ¼ cup 60g heavy cream (room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt
  • oil for frying
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

For the Filling:

  • 1 tbs lemon zest
  • six egg yolks
  • 1 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice about 6 large lemons
  • ½ cup IPA beer
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter cut into cubes

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add the flour, sugar and yeast.
  • Add the beer to a microwave safe bowl, microwave on high for 30 seconds, test temperate and repeat until beer reaches between 120F and 130F.
  • Add the beer to the stand mixer, mix until most of the flour has been moistened.
  • Add the vanilla then the yolks, one at a time. Add the cream, and salt.
  • Building up speed, beat on high until the dough comes together and gathers around the blade.
  • The dough will be very soft.
  • Add dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubles in size.
  • Punch down the dough and knead lightly to remove any air bubbles.
  • Add the dough to a lightly floured surface. Pull into a large rectangle about ½ inch thick. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out 12 cricles. Allow to rest until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
  • Heat 4-inches of oil in a pot over high heat until the oil reaches 350F on a deep fry thermometer. Adjust heat to maintain that temperature. A few at a time, fry the circles until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes.
  • Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, beer, sugar, cornstarch, and yolks to a saucepan off heat and whisk until well combined. Add the butter and place the pan over medium/low heat. Whisk until thickened, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. Add to a piping bag (with a metal tip and a pea-sized opening), refrigerate until chilled.
  • One at a time make a small slit in the side of the doughnuts.
  • Press the metal tip into the side of the doughnuts, pipe the filling into each doughnut adding about 2-3 tablespoons of curd to the center of each doughnut.
  • Dust the doughnuts with powdered sugar on both sides.

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Puff Pastry Cake with Maple Ale Pastry Cream

Puff Pastry Cake with Maple Ale Pastry Cream

Puff Pastry Cake with Maple Ale Pastry Cream

It’s storming in a way that makes me nervous.

But maybe not in the way you’d expect. I watch the outage map light up all around my town as the lights start to flicker off. I hear the light footsteps of rain on the roof and the cold wind slither through the trees. It’s charming. As much as it can be for a California girl transplanted to the Pacific Northwest.

I worry about not being able to take the photos I had planed for the day, about getting cut off from the Skype call I have this afternoon, and about the fate of the sourdough starter in my fridge.

It also helps me to take a giant step back. All of this is just an inconvenience, a minor disruption that changes my plans of working into fireside book reading. I’m grateful. Breathlessly, disgustingly, grateful that it isn’t more, that the "first world" problem that is making my neighborhood panic and make plans to flee the city isn’t anything more than just sort of uncomfortable.

Sometimes we all just need a little perspective. Just take a step back, pour a beer, eat some cake and tell yourself how lucky you are. Not in the good moments when it’s easy, but in the hard ones when it could be much worse. MUCH, much worse.

Have a safe weekend. Eat some cake. Drink some beer.

Puff Pastry Cake with Maple Ale Pastry Cream

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup plus 2 cups heavy cream, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons beer*, divided
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 sheet of puff pastry
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • Berries for garnish

Instructions
 

  • In a saucepan off heat whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt and cornstarch until well combined.
  • Add the milk, 1 cup cream and 1/3 cup beer to a container and warm slightly (not hot, just body temperature).
  • Whisk the egg mixture continually while slowly poring the warm liquid into the saucepan.
  • Add the saucepan to medium heat, whisking until thicken. Remove from heat, add to a storage container and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
  • Heat the oven to 400F.
  • Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Trim uneven edges and cut into even thirds. Place on a baking sheet, Poke all over with a fork.
  • Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
  • In a medium bowl add the remaining 2 cups cream and powdered sugar, beat with a hand mixer on high until soft peaks form. Slowly pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons beer, beating until whipped cream firms.
  • Add one of the puff pastry sheets to a serving platter. Top with about ½ the pastry cream, then add another puff pastry sheet, and the remaining pastry cream. Top with the final puff pastry sheet (if the stack starts to slide around, chill until set before frosting).
  • Frost with whipped cream. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
  • Garnish with berries before slicing and serving (a sharp bread knife works well for slicing).

Notes

I used a Autumn Maple Belgian Ale from The Bruery. If you can't find it, use a malty, sweet beer like a Belgian Quad, a pumpkin ale, a gingerbread ale.

I used Autumn Maple  from The Bruery

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Baked Apples with Wild Ale Mascarpone and Beer Candied Pecans

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Collaborations are more than a partnership, more than a blending of ideas or a meeting of brewing minds. It’s a handshake that says, “I trust you, I trust your ideas, and I’m putting my breweries name on the line to prove it.”

More prevalent in the beer world than in nearly any other industry, collaborations yield beer that makes noise far beyond the distribution reach the resulting beer has.

Just yesterday one of these whispered about collaboration brews showed up on my door, three thousand miles from the closest distribution location, and half a world away from the origins of the collaboration. Sam Adams out of Boston, Massachusetts and Mikkeller from Denmark came together to produce a wild ale that merges more than just the ideas and experience of the two locations, but ingredients from both.

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Each brewery brewed a beer, Mikkeller a sour cherry wheat beer, and Sam Adams a Strawberry Blonde ale, and the two batches of beer were merged into one beer and finished with a little more funk (brett & lacto). The result is an incredible wild ale that offers fruit, grain, yeast and water from two distinct parts of the world in one bottle. Many of the brewing worlds most brilliant minds spending countless hours on one project that will have a very small distribution, as a celebration of experimentation and the love of beer.

Bugs & Berries is both well soured and beautifully balanced. The gorgeous tart cherries and strawberry flavors are both well blended, and distinct in their own right. Bold fruit forward flavors with mild wheat back notes, without being overly-sweet and the funk to let you know it’s a proud sour but without any off-putting pucker. This is a beer that I would drink all day. If you are lucky enough to come across this beer, buy it. Buy two.

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Baked Apples with Wild Ale Mascarpone and Beer Candied Pecans

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup wile ale divided
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter plus 1 cup divided
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup pecan pieces
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 Granny Smith apples*
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 8 wt oz mascarpone
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 200F.
  • Add ¼ cup beer, 1 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons butter to a pot over high heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil for 4 minutes or until dark amber. Do not stir after the sugar starts to boil, but you can swirl the pan if hot spots start to appear.
  • Remove from heat, add the baking soda and 2 tablespoons beer. Stir until well combined. Add the pecans and cranberries, stir until well coated.
  • Spread evenly onto a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
  • Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with salt. Allow to cool before braking apart. (Can be made 3 days in advance. Cool and then store in an airtight container in a cool place).
  • Turn oven heat up to 350F.
  • Peel the apples, cut in half lengthwise, and scoop out the core with a melon baller.
  • Place the apples, cut side up, a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
  • Sprinkle each apple with about 2 teaspoons brown sugar, place 1 tablespoon of butter on top of each apple.
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes or until apples are fork tender.
  • Remove from oven, add to a serving plate.
  • In a bowl add the mascarpone and powdered sugar. Beat on high with a hand mixer until well combined. While the mixer is running slowly add the remaining 2 tablespoons beer, beating until well combined.
  • Add the mascarpone to the center of the apples, sprinkle with the pecan and cranberry pieces. Serve immediately.

Notes

*Granny Smith apples hold their shape better than other apples, some varieties will turn to mush when baked so be careful of the variety you choose.
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Chocolate Stout Freak Shake

Chocolate Stout Freak Shake Freakshake 

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In college I worked with a guy named Freak.

Large and imposing with a heart of gold under layers of ink and steel. I refused to call him Freak, making up new names for him. Finally, he stopped me, asked me why I was so opposed to using that name. "But you’re not a freak. You’re normal." In my white-girl-from-the-farm logic, this was a compliment. Once it hit his ears, it was anything but.

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"No I’m not. Stop thinking normal is good, and abnormal is bad. Do you think I want to be like everyone else? The word freak means: 'a person who is unusual' and that’s me. I WANT to be a freak, I don’t want to be normal."

That was the end of it. I understood, and it changed the way I saw things. I embraced my weird in new ways. I’d never really wanted to be typical, average, or normal, but I hadn’t ever held my weird up over my head like a boombox in a John Hughes movie until that day. Weird is good, freaks are awesome, non-conforming is liberating.

Long live the freaks of the world. Milkshakes, people, places.

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I beer’d up a phenomenon that is sweeping Australia from a little cafe with a long line called Patissez. Freaks of the world are uniting over the over-the-top, and anything but usual, ice cream concoctions. I, of course, felt like anything that excessive needed beer. A big beer with beautifully bold flavors that can stand up to all the noise in that glass. I chose a stout from Washington called Wrecking Ball from No-Li Brewhouse. Fantastic all on it’s own, but this recipe is about excess and Wrecking Ball kept up.

Chocolate Stout Freak Shake

Servings 2 shakes

Ingredients
  

  • 10 wt ounces 60% cacao chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup Imperial stout or barrel aged stout divided
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 pint ice cream
  • 1 cups pretzels crushed
  • 1 cup whipped cream
  • cookies and candy for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Add the chocolate chips, 1/3 cups stout (reserve the other 1/3 cup of stout for the milkshake), and the butter in the top of a double boiler over medium heat.
  • Stir until the chocolate has melted and combined with the beer and butter (if the sauce separates, use an immersion blender to bring it back to life). Set aside.
  • Add the crushed pretzels to a bowl.
  • Dip a serving glass in the chocolate, then the pretzels to rim the glasses.
  • Add the ice cream plus the remaining 1/3 cup stout to a blender, blend until smooth.
  • Pour the milkshake into the glass until about half way full, add a few scoops of chocolate sauce on top of the ice cream, then fill the glass with the ice cream mixture.
  • Top with generous amounts of chocolate sauce, whipped cream, crushed pretzels, cookies and candy.

Flourless Chocolate Stout Cookies

Flourless Chocolate Stout Cookies 101

This is what happens when you leave me alone with a bag of cocoa powder.

Not just one batch, but five. Each batch with new tweaks to make them perfect. A batch with mini chocolate chips, one with ill-advised walnuts, one batch of chocolate and caramel ice cream cookie sandwiches, and the last batch left on my sisters kitchen table for her to love-hate me when she got home from work.

Some recipes bring out the obsessive, the this-must-be-perfect, the one-more-to-make-it-even-better, and this recipe stuck that cord. The next time I make them it’ll be with a sprinkle of sea salt on the top, maybe a smoked Maldon, and a barrel aged stout.

As a side note: beer and cookies are vastly superior to milk and cookies. No exceptions.


Flourless Chocolate Stout Cookies

Servings 16 -18 cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 ¾ cups 1 lbs powdered sugar
  • 1 cup 114g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons 5g vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons stout beer
  • 1 cup 140g chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Separate the eggs.
  • Add the salt to the whites and beat the whites until light and frothy.
  • Add ½ cup powdered sugar to the whites, beat until firm.
  • Add the remaining powdered sugar and cocoa powder, stir until combined.
  • Stir in the vanilla, beer and egg yolks until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop to mound cookies onto the parchment.
  • Freeze for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375.
  • Bake for 14 minutes.
  • Pull the parchment onto the counter to allow the cookies to cool.
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Blueberry Muffin Beer Loaf Cake

Blueberry Muffin Beer Loaf Cake

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I’ve always been curious.

Probably a bit too curious for my own good, but I’ll take it over safe, and timid. Lately, It’s been gluten-free beer that’s had me wondering (wait, don’t go! Let’s talk about gluten-free beer just for a second!).

It’s not so much the "gluten" part that I’m curious about, as far as me (and my guts) are concerned, gluten is awesome. It’s more of a curiosity about a growing segment of the market that is focused on brewing with different grains. Barley is the only ingredient in beer that has gluten, and brewers are experimental and curious by nature, so what does beer taste like if you brew it with millet instead of barley? What about brown rice? It’s not so much the gluten part that has me interested, it’s the beer being brewed in a different way. It’s one grain being swapped for another. What does that do? The brewing process is the same, what does the end result look like?

To satisfy my curiosity I’ve teamed up with Heather Christo and Allrecipes and we’ve decided to do a LIVE Facebook taste test. This means I have never sampled any gluten-free beer and I will do so live, for the first time, on camera. Also, it bears mentioning that I have a complete inability to hide my feelings. So if a beer isn’t good, you’ll be able to tell right away.

So join me on the Allrecipces Facebook page on Thursday, August 11th at 2PM PDT to watch me sample all the gluten-free beer I can get my hands on.  It should be fun. Then, maybe, we can eat this gluten-filled cake to celebrate?

Update:

The video is live here: Gluten Free Beer Taste Test with The Beeroness & Heather Christo

Blueberry Muffin Beer Bread1

And in case you were wondering, this post has nothing to do with this delicious, gluten-laden blueberry cake.

Blueberry Muffin Beer Loaf Cake

Servings 1 loaf cake (8 servings)

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ cup 195g granulated sugar
  • ½ cup 113g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon 2g vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup 55g buttermilk
  • 2/3 cup 166mL wheat beer
  • 2 cups 256g cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon 4g baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon 6g baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt
  • 1 cup 150g fresh blueberries (for frozen, see note)
  • 1 cup 125g powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons 16g lemon juice (or beer for a larger beer flavor)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Add the sugar and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high until light, fluffy and well combined.
  • Add the egg and vanilla, beat until well combined.
  • Stir in the buttermilk and beer.
  • Stop the mixer, sprinkle with flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until combined.
  • Stir in the blueberries.
  • Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched, about 55 minutes. Allow to cool completely before icing.
  • Stir together the powdered sugar and lemon juice (or beer). Pour over the cake, slice and serve.

Notes

For frozen blueberries, rinse well until the water runs clear. Add to paper towels to dry, do not stir into batter. Layer loaf pan with 1/4 of the batter, sprinkle with berries, top with more batter, then blueberries, repeat until all the berries and batter have been used. This will avoid smashed berries and a purple cake.

Blueberry Muffin Beer Bread3

Brown Sugar Barley and Belgian Ale Peach Skillet Crisp + What Does Barley DO for Beer?

Brown Sugar Barley and Belgian Ale Peach Skillet Crisp9

Let’s say beer is a rock band. Hops are the loud front man that gets all the attention. The ingredient that everyone talks about and no one can ignore. Yeast is the rowdy, wily, drummer who’s hard to control but sets the tone for what’s going on, without him you have nothing. Barley is the bass player. It’s the backbone and deep thread that runs through it all. Barley is the John Paul Jones, the Flea, the Bootsy Collins. Barley drives the van, and books the shows and rarely gets the credit deserved.

Barley Field Trip2

I rode around Wyoming and Idaho with Let’s Grab A Beer for a Barley Field Trip to learn more about barley, see where it grows and to make it the star of the show, even if just for a few days.

Barley Field Trip P

So, what does barley do in beer? Barley gives you a little sugar, which is more important than you realize and allows two other main players to do their jobs. Hops are loud and awesome with their kick-you-in-the-teeth bitterness, but barley provides the sugar that balances that bitterness into something you actually want to keep drinking. The sugar in barley is also what yeast feeds off of in order to do it’s job. Without barley and the sugar it gives off, the yeast would die and the beer would have no alcohol in it. Barley is also nearly 100% responsible for the color of your beer. A light-colored beer uses barley that was very lightly roasted, whereas that blacker-than-your-ex-wife’s heart stout is made with barley that has been roasted to a deep, dark brown.

Barley Field Trip5

So, how does it work? Barley, right from the field, doesn’t have any developed sugars yet. Throw it into your beer-makin’ and you’ll be outta luck. It first has to sprout (also called germinate, or chit), and that takes a little water. Once it starts to sprout, you have to stop that chit right away. This is a delicate process, too much or too little and it’s no good. It’s stopped with heat more than 90°F. From there, it can be roasted for additional flavors or colors, but it can also be used right away.

Barley Field Trip7

Barley can also be eaten. It’s a versatile little sucker, something you may not have thought a lot about before now. I made a dessert using barley and beer, an homage to the sweetness it brings to the beer in your glass. I also toasted the grain before using it, a nod to the heat used in the malting process. It gives off a nice nuttiness in the topping. I hope you’re able to see how one ingredient can offer a substantial range of flavors depending on how it’s treated. From beer to dessert, this grain can do so much.Barley Field Trip8

Brown Sugar Barley and Belgian Ale Peach Skillet Crisp

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
  

Topping:

  • 1 tablespoon 14g unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup 53g pearled barley
  • 1 cup 120g all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt
  • 2/3 cup 120g brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup 113g chilled, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Filling:

  • 2 tablespoons 28g unsalted butter
  • 2.5 lbs yellow peaches (about 6 large) sliced
  • ½ cup 90g brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon 3g salt
  • 1/3 cup 78mL Belgian ale (or brown ale)
  • Vanilla ice cream for serving optional

Instructions
 

  • Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Add the barley, cooking until the barley is toasted and golden brown (it should smell nutty). Remove barley from heat. Add to a small bowl and chill until ready to use (barley must be cold before it’s used in the topping or it will melt the butter and prevent the topping from cooking properly).
  • Make the filling while the barley cools. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, peaches, brown sugar and salt to the same skillet you used to toast the barley. Bring to medium-high heat, stirring until the butter is melted and the brown sugar is well combined with the peaches. Add the beer and bring to a strong simmer. Simmer until the liquid in the pan starts to thicken and become syrupy, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  • In a food processor add the toasted and cooled barley, flour, salt and brown sugar. Process on high until the barley starts to break up, but some chunks still remain.
  • Add the butter and pulse until just combined. Add the topping to the top of the skillet in small handfuls until the top is mostly covered. Bake at 425°F until the top is golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Serve warm, topped with ice cream if desired.

Goose Island Sophie is easy to find and will work well in this recipe.

Brown Sugar Barley and Belgian Ale Peach Skillet Crisp8

Let’s Grab A Beer sponsored this post. They have a mission to educate the public and raise the consumer knowledge base about beer. All ideas, words, recipes, photos and opinions are my own.

Grilled Apricot Saison Shortcakes with Ginger Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Grilled Apricot Saison Shortcakes with Ginger Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Grilled Apricot Saison Shortcakes with Ginger Mascarpone Whipped Cream3

I have to show my cards when the very glaring hole in my beer resume is revealed the moment I am forced to admit that I don’t brew. I’m not a brewer, I’m just here for the beer. I’ll stick to what I’m good at and leave that to the pros. There is enough mediocre beer in the world without my adding to it. But don’t forget that every industry has more jobs that the Rock Star positions that get the focus. Music needs producers, PR people, engineers, designers, writers. So does beer. I’m not sure if I have the patience or disposition for the time, failure, cleaning, and re-working that brewing demands. I’ll contribute in a way that I can, and just spend my days imagining what I’d make if I get another chance to get behind a brew kettle with one of those pros.

Grilled Apricot Saison Shortcakes with Ginger Mascarpone Whipped Cream4

I always have a bit of a list of beers that I’d brewed if my imagination was able to take the solid form of a bottled beverage. Right now, I’d brew a Saison. I’d use matcha and peaches. Or apricots and butter. Can you brew a beer with butter? I have no idea. Yogurt, I know that’s possible. But butter? My talents don’t reach those avenues. But if you do brew, and you make a Saison with matcha and peaches, or apricots and butter, please let me know. I’ll want to get my hands on that.

Grilled Apricot Saison Shortcakes with Ginger Mascarpone Whipped Cream2

Grilled Apricot Saison Shortcakes with Ginger Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Servings 8 -10 shortcakes

Ingredients
  

For the Shortcakes

  • 3 ½ 420g cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon 4g baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon 6g baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon 3g salt
  • ¼ cup 65g granulated sugar
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted cold butter cut into cubes
  • ¾ cup 187mL Saison beer
  • 1/3 cup 74g buttermilk

For the Filling:

  • 12-16 ripe fresh apricots
  • 1 tablespoon 16g brown sugar, packed
  • 8 wt oz mascarpone cheese
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon ginger finely grated with a microplane

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425.
  • In a processor add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
  • Pulse to combine. Add the cold butter, process until well combined.
  • Add the beer and buttermilk, process until just combined.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop about ¼ cup balls of dough onto the parchment, evenly spaced.
  • Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown and cooked through.
  • Cut the apricots in half, remove the pits. Add to a preheated grill, grilling until grill marks appear, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, slice, add to a bowl and sprinkle with brown sugar, toss to coat.
  • Add the mascarpone to a bowl, beat until light and fluffy. Add the heavy cream, beat on high until soft peaks form. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and ginger, stir until combined.
  • Split the shortcakes, fill with mascarpone whipped cream and apricots.

Grilled Apricot Saison Shortcakes with Ginger Mascarpone Whipped Cream1

Lemon Beer Party Cake with Rum Lime Whipped Cream

Lemon Beer Party Cake with Rum Lime Whipped Cream

Lemon Beer Party Cake with Rum Lime Whipped Cream3

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake when all I want to do is cry.

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake when people are dead for terrible reasons.

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake when my friend had to sit down her ten-year-old son and explain that he has to be calm and not get upset even when a police gun is in his face, even if he did nothing wrong, because his skin makes him seem guilty and because she wants him to come home alive.

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake when good people are killed because someone who looks like them did something bad.

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake when a uniform doesn’t keep you safe, not if you’re in it or if it’s on someone who swore to protect you.

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake when it seems like #NoLivesMatter.

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake when I feel like I can’t breathe in a world so full of hate.

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake when it seems like nothing and no one is safe, nothing is sacred and peace does not exist.

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake when people think the answer to innocent lives lost is more innocent lives lost.

I’m supposed to sit here and write about a cake.

Lemon Beer Party Cake with Rum Lime Whipped Cream1

Lemon Beer Party Cake with Rum Lime Whipped Cream

Ingredients
  

For the cake:

  • 2 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 2 cups 400g sugar
  • 1 cup 228g unsalted butter
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons 66g lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon 5g vanilla extract
  • ½ cup 108g whole milk
  • ¾ cup 88g wheat beer
  • 3 cups 360g all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon 5g baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt

For the whipped cream

  • 2 teaspoons 5g lime zest
  • 1 cup 120g powdered sugar
  • 2 cups heavy 464mL cream
  • 2 tablespoons 30mLdark rum
  • 1 teaspoon lime 5mL juice

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 325F.
  • Add the lemon zest and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on high to help the zest release it’s oils.
  • Add the butter and beat until well combined with the sugar, light and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions.
  • Stop the mixer and add the lemon juice, vanilla, milk and wheat beer, stir until combined.
  • Add the flour, baking power, and salt, stir until just combined.
  • Grease and flour a 9X13 baking dish, pour the batter into the pan in an even layer. Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes.
  • Remove from oven allow to cool.
  • In a large bowl add the lime zest, powdered sugar and cream. Beat with a hand mixer on high until soft peaks form. Add the rum and lime juice, beat until well combined.
  • Frost the cake with the whipped cream. Chill until ready to serve.
Lemon Beer Party Cake with Rum Lime Whipped Cream2

Beeramisu Doughnuts

Beeramisu Doughnuts

Beeramisu Doughnuts

This ended Taco Wednesday.

Backdropping a conversation about what holds up. Movies. What movie holds up? Ferris Bueller’s Day off, Wizard of Oz, Pulp Fiction, Back to the Future? What’s the movie that always seems to be great no mater how much time has elapsed since the first time you saw it?

Maybe it just made sense because doughnuts and tacos hold up. No matter how much food you eat, what flavors you discover between that first one and the most recent, it’s always a welcomed plate of food. Tacos. Doughnuts. Burgers. Cake. Timeless, unlike those firework fads that burst bright and then fade away, leaving us wondering why we ever liked them in the first place. Like the Terminator movies, and Crystal Pepsi.

Through the rise and fall of popular foods, the foam, the infusions, and the fads, doughnuts will always be there reminding us why they were always our favorite. Why they’re just as good for dessert as they are for breakfast. Why they are the best cheat meal and perfect hangover food.

Especially when you include beer.

Beeramisu Doughnuts

 

Beeramisu Doughnuts

Ingredients
  

For the Doughnuts:

  • 3 cups 360g flour
  • ¼ cup 58g granulated sugar
  • 1 packet 2 ¼ teaspoon or 7g rapid rise yeast
  • ¾ cup 6oz wheat beer
  • 1 teaspoon 4mL vanilla
  • 2 large egg yolk room temperature
  • ¼ cup 62mL heavy cream (room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt
  • oil for frying

For the Filling

  • 2 large eggs
  • pinch salt
  • ¼ cup 50g sugar, divided
  • 8 wt oz mascarpone cheese
  • 2 tablespoon 28mL stout beer
  • 1/3 cup chilled 75g heavy cream
  • ¼ cup 32g powdered sugar

Top Glaze

  • 1 ½ cups 188g powdered sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon espresso powder
  • 1 tablespoon 14mL stout beer
  • Shaved dark chocolate

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add the flour, sugar and yeast.
  • Add the beer to a microwave safe bowl, microwave on high for 30 seconds, test temperate and repeat until beer reaches between 120F and 130F.
  • Add the beer to the stand mixer, mix until most of the flour has been moistened.
  • Add the vanilla then the yolks, one at a time. Add the cream, and salt.
  • Building up speed, beat on high until the dough comes together and gathers around the blade.
  • The dough will be very soft.
  • Add dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubles in size.
  • Punch down the dough and knead lightly to remove any air bubbles.
  • Add the dough to a lightly floured surface. Pull into a large rectangle about ½ inch thick. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out 12 cricles. Allow to rest until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
  • Heat 4-inches of oil in a pot over high heat until the oil reaches 350F on a deep fry thermometer. Adjust heat to maintain that temperature. A few at a time, fry the circles until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes.
  • Remove and add to a wire rack.
  • Set out three medium sized bowls.
  • Separate the eggs, adding the yolks to one bowl and the whites to another bowl.
  • Add a pinch of salt to the whites, beat until stiff peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons white sugar, beat until well combined.
  • Add the remaining 2 tablespoons white sugar to the yolks, beat until light in color and ribbony. Beat in the mascarpone then 2 tablespoons stout beer to the yolks.
  • Add the cream and ¼ cup powdered to the remaining bowl, beat until soft peaks form. Stir the whipped cream into the mascarpone then gently fold in the egg whites until just combined.
  • Add cream to a large piping bag with a metal tip and a pea-sized opening.
  • One at a time make a small slit in the side of the doughnuts.
  • Press the metal tip into the side of the doughnuts, pipe the filling into each doughnut adding about 2 tablespoons of cream to the center of each dough nut.
  • In a shallow bowl combine the remaining powdered sugar, espresso powder and beer, stir until well combined and thick.
  • One at a time gently dip the doughnuts into the glaze, sprinkle with chocolate and return to the wire rack until set. Serve immediately.

Beeramisu Doughnuts

Blackberry Peach Saison Galette + Beer’s Favorite Celebrity

Blackberry Peach Saison Galette , with the BEST pastry crust ever. 

Blackberry Peach Saison Galette

I wonder if he likes it.

Garrett Oliver starts an effortless soliloquy about the beer we’re drinking. A careful and accurate dissection of flavor, body, and aroma of a replica batch of a 133-year-old Carlsberg beer. In his cashmere voice he talks, almost without thinking, to tell me his thoughts on the beer we’re drinking.

He’s a beer celebrity if there ever was one. I wonder if the center stage he always takes while in the company of beer people is something he likes as much as he seems to. In a crowd like this you can watch the wave of acknowledgement and awe wash over the faces of the people in attendance as his presence is noted. Whispered tones sneak through the crowd in a way that reminds me of my days in Hollywood and the drunken celebrities that I crossed paths with. Similar in a way, but this seems like a deeper connection. A beer celebrity is given that crown because of accomplishments, knowledge, and achievements. Not because of sex tapes, DIU’s and antics. It’s as much fame as it is reverence. Beer celebrities have earned their spot through decades of hard work, magnificent beer, and an unwavering dedication to people in this community. It’s more than just fame, it’s glory.

I wonder if he likes the attention or if he just puts up with it. I wonder because it’s impossible to tell, he seems as effortless as coffee in Paris. I wonder because we don’t want him to stop showing up and telling us what he thinks of the beer.

Blackberry Peach Saison Galette3

Blackberry Peach Saison Galette

Servings 4 -6 sevings

Ingredients
  

Crust:

  • 1 ½ cups 180g all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon 3g salt
  • 1 tablespoons 15g sugar
  • 5 tablespoons 70g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 4 tablespoons 50g vegetable shortening
  • ¼ cup 48g ice cold beer (pale ale, Saison, wheat beer)
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon sanding sugar or granulated sugar

Filling:

  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1/3 cup 71g granulated sugar, plus ¼ cup (60g) divided
  • 3 teaspoons 12g cornstarch, divided
  • 2 tablespoons 24g Saison beer
  • 2 yellow peaches sliced
  • 6 wt oz blackberries

Instructions
 

  • Add ¾ cup of flour (reserve the other 3/4 cup), salt and sugar to a food processor, pulse to combine. Add the butter and shortening, process until well combined and dough gathers around the blade and is slightly fluffy and whipped (this will be far more processing than most recipes, but this will create a new fat, making the crust incredibly flakey).
  • Add the remaining flour and pulse 6-8 times or until all the flour has been combined.
  • Transfer to a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the beer until completely incorporated into the dough (don’t add the beer in the food processor or your dough will turn into a cracker). Dough will be very soft.
  • Lay a long sheet of plastic wrap on a flat surface, add the dough to the center.
  • Form into a flat disk. Wrap disk tightly in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, about 3 hours and up to three days.
  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Knead the dough lightly in hands until dough comes together and warms slightly. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to form a large circle, about ¼ inch thick.
  • Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, transfer the dough circle to the parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl add the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoons beer. Beat with a hand mixer until well combined.
  • Add the cream cheese to the center of the dough in an even layer, making sure to leave the outer 4 inches of the dough bare.
  • In a medium bowl add the peaches. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch, toss to coat. Add the peaches on top of the cream cheese layer.
  • Add the blackberries to the bowl, top with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cornstarch, toss to coat. Add blackberries to the center of the galette.
  • Fold the bare edges of the dough up over the filling, using the parchment paper if necessary.
  • Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer, freeze for 15 minutes. Alternately you can chill in the fridge for 30-45 minutes (or overnight). This will help the galette stay together when baking and help the crust to be lighter and flakier.
  • Brush the crust with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar.
  • Bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool prior to serving.
Blackberry Peach Saison Galette5

Coconut Porter Tres Leche Cake (dairy + egg free)


Coconut Porter Tres Leche Cake (dairy + egg free)

Coconut Porter Tres Leche Cake (No Dairy or Eggs)1

I can’t stay.

I’m in a hotel in Copenhagen and I just found an open-air farmers market nearby and although it’s been about 22 hours since I’ve slept, I have to go see it. But I wanted to give this recipe to you first and tell you what I was doing 5-years ago today.

5-years ago today I was a social worker. It was good work, work I liked and, for the most part, was good at. Inexplicably, it also made me breathtakingly unhappy. My life, although I fought to pretend otherwise, made me miserable.

5-years ago I sat at a desk, thinking about how much I wanted to be a photographer, a writer. How much I wanted to have a job that involved being creative and also necessitated travel. I sat at a desk and thought "Who am I to want that?" I figured everyone wanted that, who was I?

Then one day, I stopped that shit. I stopped thinking "Who am I to want that?" and I started thinking, "Why not me?" If other people got to do it, why not me, too?

So then I fought, 80-hours a week doing both the social work thing that paid the bills and the photography-beer-cooking-writing thing that filled my soul and gave me hope. When I was told "no," I just heard, "Some day I’ll wish I’d said yes to you," and I kept going.

Two years later it was my full time gig.

So here I am, in a hotel in Denmark fresh off a red eye from the other side of the world, and I’m telling you the same thing about that dream you’ve always had: Why not you?

Coconut Porter Tres Leche Cake (No Dairy or Eggs)103

Coconut Porter Tres Leche Cake (dairy + egg free)

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cans 400mL each full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
  • 2 cups 240g flour
  • 1 cup 200g sugar
  • ½ tsp 2g baking soda
  • 1 tsp 4g baking powder
  • 1 tsp 6g salt
  • ¾ cup 175mL almond milk, plus one cup (240mL), divided
  • ½ cup 4 wt oz coconut porter beer, plus ½ cup, divided
  • 1 tsp 3g vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup 56g coconut oil, melted
  • 2 teaspoons 6g apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Carefully remove the cans from the fridge without shaking. Open carefully and remove the top layer of fat that has collected at the top, taking care not to include any of the liquid that is at the bottom, placing the coconut fat in a small bowl and reserving the liquid in the cans.
  • Cover the bowl of coconut fat and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
  • in a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  • Stir in 3/4 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup coconut porter beer, vanilla extract, coconut oil and apple cider vinegar until just combined.
  • Grease and flour a 9x13 pan, pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes of until the top springs back when lightly touched.
  • Allow to cool completely.
  • Once cooled, poke the cake all over with a fork, skewer or the handle of a wooden spoon.
  • In a small bowl stir together the remaining one cup almond milk, 1/2 cup of coconut porter and 1 cup of the remaining liquid form the coconut milk cans. Pour over the cake (it will look like too much milk, but it will absorb into the cake).
  • Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 3 hours.
  • Retrieve the chilled coconut fat, beat with a hand mixer until light, fluffy and well combined. Beat in the powdered sugar.
  • Top cake with coconut whipped cream. Chill until ready to serve, cake should be served cold.

Coconut whipped cream can only be made with full fat cans of coconut milk that have been chilled for at least 24 hours (store in the fridge for ease of use). For a tutorial, see: Coconut Whipped Cream, Gimmme Some Oven. 

Trader Joe’s sells coconut cream that will work perfectly for the whipped cream as well.

Coconut Porter Tres Leche Cake (No Dairy or Eggs)101

Pure Delicious Free Beer Waffle Sundaes (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, nut free)

Pure Delicious Cookbook: Free Beer Waffle Sundaes (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, nut free)

Pure Delicious Free Beer Waffle Sundaes (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, nut free)11

For more about gluten free beer, watch this

A few years ago I sat in the back of a press dinner failing at my attempts to hold back tears in the midst of the biggest personal life crisis I’ve ever faced. Talking quietly with Heather Christo, explaining to her what I’d been keeping so private, the tears came fast. At that moment, she was exactly what I needed. This woman with endless talent, an old Hollywood glamor that makes her seem unreachably beautiful, is also incredibly kind hearted with a realistic matter-of-fact approach to life, and a mouth like a sailor. She was exactly who I needed to talk to. Although she’d never faced the same storm that was tearing through my life, she somehow had an empathy that made me feel understood.

After the topic shifted off me, she told me what she’d been dealing with. Her daughter was facing a health condition that had been the source of many sleepless nights, ER visits and panicked phone calls to the doctors as she watched her little girl writhe in pain. Once the problem was finally diagnosed, the solution was dropped in Heathers lap like a grenade. Debilitating and potentially hazardous food allergies. It seemed like her little girl was allergic to nearly everything, the list of foods she could eat seemed smaller that what she couldn’t. Looking back, I realize that I never heard her complain about it once, she seemed to immediately go into problem solving mode.

Pure Delicious Free Beer Waffle Sundaes (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, nut free)13

She didn’t just solve the problem, she attacked it right back. First up: recipes. Not just a few recipes, an entire book of incredible dishes that anyone can eat. Next up: she developed a line of allergy friendly food, now being sold at Costco, called Heathermade. After all, she isn’t just a food writer, she’s also a trained chef.

Pure Delicious is a must for anyone facing food allergies. The food is so delicious, none of the recipes feel "without," exploring so many culinary options it’ll never occur to you that there is anything missing.  It’s also a resource for tackling the issues people face when the problem of food allergies enter their lives. I just hope I can tackle my next life crisis the way Heather handles hers. Or at the very least, I find myself at dinner with her in the midst of it.  Pure Delicious Free Beer Waffle Sundaes (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, nut free)12

 For the ice cream, I recommend:

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream- (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Peach and Cinnamon Caramel Ice Cream (Vegan, Gluten free, Nut Free)

Free Beer Waffle Sundaes (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, nut free)

Recipe used by permission from Pure Delicious, by Heather Christo
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup beet sugar
  • ½ cup rolled oats*
  • 2 cups gluten free flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup coconut oil melted
  • ¾ cup beer**
  • Vegan ice cream see note above

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the waffle iron.
  • Add the coconut milk and vinegar the bowl.
  • In a separate bowl stir together the sugar, oats, flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Add the coconut milk, coconut oil and beer to the flour mixture, stir to combine.
  • Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray (I used coconut spray). Cook the waffles according to manufactures specifications (I found these cook best at a higher temp setting).
  • Serve topped with ice cream.

Notes

*While oats are inherently gluten free, many companies use machines that are contaminated with flour. If you need gluten free waffles, make sure the package states the oats are gluten free.
**Use gluten free beer for gluten free waffles.
***Waffels can be frozen easily. Add to a large ziplock freezer bag, freeze for up to two weeks. Bake at 350F on a baking sheet until warmed, about 10 minutes.

Pure Delicious, Heather Christo 

Pure Delicious Free Beer Waffle Sundaes (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, nut free)6

I was given a copy of Pure Delicious without expectation or obligation. I was not financially compensated for this post. All opinions are my own. 

Strawberry Pineapple Pale Ale Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Strawberry Pineapple Pale Ale Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting 

Strawberry Pineapple Pale Ale Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting. So moist and delicious with my FAVORITE frosting ever.

This is the new beer-to-watch of 2016.

Pineapples have been slowly sneaking their spiked heads into brew kettles for the past few years, closing the lead on grapefruit’s fruit-of-the-moment status. IPA’s are often the drug of choice for the pineapple craze, but the tentacles of this trend are extending their reach into all corners of the beer world.

The sweet acidity of this gorgeous tropical fruit blend so well with citrusy hops and is balanced so beautifully with malt that the pairing feels effortless. Scour your bottle shops and report back. Possibly a beer Randalled  through a cored pineapple? Let’s give that a try. For now, here are a few to seek out.

Strawberry Pineapple Pale Ale Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting. So moist and delicious with my FAVORITE frosting ever.

Strawberry Pineapple Pale Ale Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Servings 12 servings

Ingredients
  

Pineapple Cake:

  • 1 cup 226g butter, softened
  • 1 cup 200g sugar, plus ½ (100g) cup, divided
  • 4 large eggs separated
  • 1 teaspoon 5g vanilla extract
  • 1 cup 8wt oz IPA beer
  • 1 ½ cup 0.75 lbs finely chopped fresh pineapple
  • 3 ½ cups 360g all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons 8g baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon 4g baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1 ½ cup 339g heavy cream
  • 1 ½ cups 155g plus ½ cup (55g) powdered sugar, divided
  • ½ cup 113g butter, room temperature
  • 16 wt oz cream cheese room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon 5g vanilla extract
  • 1 pint fresh strawberries sliced

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter and 1 cup sugar. Beat on high speed until well creamed.
  • While the mixer is running on medium speed add the yolks (reserve the whites in a clean bowl) one at a time. Stop the mixer several times to scrape the bottom to insure the butter is well incorporated.
  • Stir in the vanilla, beer and pineapple.
  • Stop the mixer, sprinkle with flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until just incorporated.
  • With a hand mixer beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly add the remaining ½ cup sugar, beating until peaks return. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
  • Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans. Divide the batter evenly between the three pans.
  • Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes or until the top of the cakes are golden brown and spring back when lightly touched.
  • Allow to cool before removing cake from pans.
  • Add the heavy cream and ½ cup powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer, beat on high until soft peaks form. Remove from mixer, set aside (no need to clean mixer bowl between jobs).
  • Add the butter and cream cheese to the mixer, beat on high until well combined, light and fluffy. Add the remaining 1 ½ cups powdered sugar and vanilla extract, beat on high until well combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream.
  • Ice the cake with a layer of frosting and sliced strawberries between each layer of cake.

Inspired by: She Wears Many Hats, Pineapple Cake 

Strawberry Pineapple Pale Ale Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting. So moist and delicious with my FAVORITE frosting ever.