Tag Archives: Chocolate Porter

Australia Day

Caroline: Happy Australia Day!!

Kris: Australia Day was a great opportunity to drink some local craft beers and to cook some classic Australian recipes with some indigenous ingredients. I used some kangaroo, lemon myrtle, bush tomatoes and tasmanian pepper berries.

Caroline: Fire up the barbie! Crack a coldie! Get a bit sunburnt! Make some hamburgers in the shape of Australia!

Kris: OK, calm down.

Caroline: Sorry.

Kris: The first dish I cooked was some Kangaroo skewers with Lemon Myrtle Chutney. (I have posted this recipe before, you can find it on our Recipe Page). I matched the dish with Lord Nelson Three Sheets Pale Ale. It is a 4.9% Australian Pale with sweet malt and citrus and floral hop characters. The beer complimented the chutney and was refreshing in between bites.

 Kris: Mc LarenVale Dark Lager is a great interpretation of one of my favourite beer styles. It has chocolate and roasted malt flavours and aroma, with just a hint of bitterness. It was also a great ingredient and match to the next course.

Kangaroo Pies

500g Kangaroo fillet

1 bottle McLarenVale Dark Lager

1 brown onion

250g mushrooms

2 cloves garlic

4-5 dried bush tomatoes

4-5 tasmanian pepper berries

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 cups beef stock

2 Tbs Tomato paste

olive oil

salt and pepper

Good quality puff pastry

Method

Thinly slice the onion and saute in some olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat

Add the thyme, garlic, bush tomatoes and pepper berries

Dice the kangaroo and brown in the saucepan

Add the mushrooms (thinly sliced)

Add the beer and beef stock

Turn down the heat to low

Add the tomato paste and stir through

Cook for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened

Season with salt and pepper and allow to cool

Defrost some pastry and cut out circles to fit a muffin tray

Brush the top of the pies with some melted butter

Cook in an oven pre-heated to 200 C for 25 minutes until golden

Stout Lamington’s

(makes 4)

1 plain sponge cake

400g dark chocolate

200ml Holgate Temptress Porter

Shredded Coconut

Method

Melt the chocolate in a stainless bowl over a pot of simmering water (double boiler)

Whisk in the stout

Remove from heat

Cut the sponge cake into cubes

Dip the cake in to the chocolate mixture

Roll in coconut

Refrigerate for an hour before serving

Kris: The stout Lamington’s were really tasty, especially paired with the Holgate Temptress. I have featured this beer before, but it is one of my favourite beers to enjoy with dessert.

Caroline: This is the most genius dessert. Sponge cake dipped in chocolate-dipped in coconut. WHAT? Yes, please. Holgate Temptress is one of my favorite beers. The coffee-dark chocolate character of the beer was a perfect rich friend to Lord Lamington.

Hitachino Milk Stout Ice cream, Rhubarb and Summer Berries

Kris : As I have said before, I don’t have the sweetest tooth, but I do love stout and this is a way I can enjoy it in the warmer months. Mind you, I am always happy to drink a stout, particularly after dinner or on a milder night.

 Hitachino Milk Stout Ice Cream

200ml Hitachino Milk Stout

3000ml thickened cream

4 egg yolks

1 vanilla bean (or a tsp good quality vanilla essence)

180g castor sugar

Method

Place the stout in a saucepan on a low/medium heat and reduce by approximately  half

(It’s best to use a sweet stout with low bitterness – Low IBU’s)

Split the vanilla bean long ways, scrape out the seeds and place into the saucepan

Add the cream, stir and allow to almost come to the boil

(Don’t let the mixture boil as it will split)

Put to the side and allow the vanilla to infuse

If you don’t have a vanilla bean, substitute with vanilla essence

Place a stainless bowl over a saucepan of water at a rolling boil (make sure the bowl is not touching the water)

Place the sugar and eggs in the bowl and cream them together

Slowly add the stout/cream mixture

Continue to whisk for around 10 minutes, creating a custard that coats the back of a metal spoon 

Allow the mixture to cool overnight in the fridge

Place the mixture in an ice-cream machine (using the operating instructions)

Caroline: It’s important to cool the mixture before you put it in the ice cream maker. We got impatient our first time round and put it in the maker a bit warm and the ice cream took FOREVER and formed some ice crystals…Second time round, chilled overnight, worked perfectly.

Kris: I cooked some rhubarb that we had picked from a friend’s garden with a small amount of water and sugar. We also bought some new season berries from the farmers market and served them with the ice cream.

Kris: It’s been a while since I have drank a Holgate Temptress, I found it at our local craft beer store, Cool Wine. It is a 6% Porter brewed with dutch cocoa and vanilla beans. It has a subtle caramel/ malt character with a little chocolate bitterness and a hint of vanilla. An ideal match to this dessert.

Caroline: Delicious! The ice cream was smooth with a bit of choclatey-coffee flavors. The Holgate cut through the creaminess perfectly and was sweet enough to match it…mmm beer icrecream