Two things: (1) Happy St. Patrick’s Day!; and (2) For the love of all things Irish, go make this Chocolate Guinness Mousse RIGHT NOW. It is out of this world good and earned high praise in my house, including: “Wow. This is good. This is like restaurant good.” and “Mommy, we are renaming this day Mommy Pudding Day! You and Ms. Suzanne should open up a sweet shop.” You’ll have to put some good work into it — there’s a lot of whisking involved — but it is worth it. The recipe I followed was for a pudding, but mine came out so dense and rich, it has to be a mousse. And I served it in small appetizer/cocktail glasses because of that. I also ended up making a straight whipped cream for the top (slightly over whipped, actually — you want soft peaks), instead of incorporating the Guinness syrup called for — I thought it would just be too much. But give it a go yourself and see what’s what.
Chocolate Guinness Mousse (slightly adapted from Epicurious)
(makes 15, 3-oz appetizer/cocktail glass servings, with a little extra)
Directions
In large nonreactive mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar.
Open can of Guinness and slowly pour into 4-cup measuring cup, pouring down side of cup to reduce foaming. Pour half of Guinness (about 7/8 cup) into heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan (drink the remaining Guinness yourself if not saving it for the whipped cream). Add 2 1/4 cups cream and whisk to combine. Set over medium heat and heat, whisking occasionally, until bubbles just begin to form at edges. Remove from heat, add chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
Slowly pour hot chocolate mixture into eggs, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Return mixture to saucepan and set over moderately low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and coats back of spoon, about 15 minutes. (Pudding will look separated.) Pour into blender and blend on high for 1 minute. Divide pudding among glasses, leaving space at top of each. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and set.
Beat remaining cream until soft peaks form. Divide cream among 6 glasses of pudding and serve.
A Feteful Life 