Guinness Hot Chocolate topped with Guinness Marshmallows

Hello, hello, hello! Today is March 1st, which means that starting today I will be posting one Irish-y recipe every day all the way up to the big day…March 17th….St. Patrick’s Day! I’ve been inexplicably doing this for a few years now, so I’ve got quite a lot of great St. Patrick’s Day food ideas for you from past years as well. Just click Runcible Eat/Recipes up at the top navigation bar and scroll down to the St. Patrick’s Day category. There are over 50 recipes to choose from there. Not to mention all those that I will be adding this year. Which brings me back to today. I wanted to start my St. Patrick’s Day blog-a-thon off right and I thought I’d go for something boozy and decadent! That is just what I’ve got going on here with this Guinness Hot Chocolate topped with Guinness Marshmallows.

And let me be clear….this is homemade Guinness Hot Chocolate…no powders here…with homemade Guinness Marshmallows bobbing around on top! Whaaaaat?!! Before I did it, I didn’t know marshmallows could be made at home…well that’s a bit of a fib…I should say I didn’t think I would ever do it.

Homemade Marshmallows waiting to be dusted

Woooweee! They can and I sure did. And once you taste them, you’ll be spoiled for those little plasticy nuggets that come in bags at your local grocery.

You’re kind of getting two recipes today as well. Of course, they can be served together. Gooey Homemade Marshmallows melting on top of a big mug of piping hot silky smooth liquid chocolate and Guinness blend is a no-brainer for sure, especially in light of the lovely weather we have been graced with this winter. But you can also just serve these marshmallows as a treat all on their own. Once you’ve accessorized them to meet whatever your tastes might be, they simply look divine and taste pretty heavenly as well!

 

I’ve provided you with a couple of toppings options, but really you can add whatever you like. Get creative! But definitely try your hand at a batch of these Guinness Marshmallows today!

But let’s not forget that rich, thick and creamy Guinness Hot Chocolate with all of the Guinness Marshmallow excitement. It will be exactly what the doctor called for to warm you once you’re back inside after the parades. Cold weather simply calls for the comfort of Hot Chocolate and the addition of the Guinness, which adds a bit of a nutty depth of flavour, really ups its game.

Yup, this Hot Chocolate with an Irish twist is pretty special all on its own, but when you pop a couple of the marshmallows on top, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven! So there you have it…day one of this years St. Patrick’s Day blog-a-polooza done and dusted. Only 16 more to go! Hope you’ll stick around for all the fun!

• Servings: 3 cups or 24 ounces for the hot chocolate. Number of servings will vary according to the mug size you plan to use and anywhere from 9 - 120 Marshmallows -depending how you slice them
• Difficulty: easy
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recipes from: Guinness Marshmallows: Yes, More Please! Guinness Hot Chocolate: The Beeroness

Ingredients:

For the Marshmallows:

• 3 envelopes unflavored gelatin /approx. 21 grams (I used powder, you’re welcome to use gelatin sheets )
• 1 cup cold, flat Guinness Stout
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 2 pinches of sea salt
• 2 large egg whites beaten until stiff peaks.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To dust:

• ½ cup confectioners sugar
• ½ cup cornstarch

For Toppings:

• 1 cup dark chocolate for melting.
• caramel sauce
• 3-4 tablespoons roasted salted pistachios crushed.
• Salty, pretzels
• Maldon flaky salt

Directions:

For the Marshmallows:

Whisk the Guinness to flatten. Or just crack one open and leave it sitting the night before you plan to make the marshmallows. Remove some of the foam if necessary.

Lightly oil your 8×8 pan and generously dust with the confectioners sugar and cornstarch mixture. Reserve the rest for use when cutting the marshmallows.

Using the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, place ½ cup of Guinness and sprinkle the 3 envelopes of gelatin powder. Leave to bloom.

In a separate bowl, whisk your egg whites until stiff peaks set aside.

In a medium saucepan (and when I say medium, I mean you want to have sides at least 4″ high – if you’re nervous like me, go for an even deeper pan!) over medium high heat mix the sugar, corn syrup, and the other ½ cup of flat beer until the sugar is dissolved. At this point attach the candy thermometer to your saucepan and bring this sugary mixture to a slow boil until it reaches 240°F/ 116°C . This sticky, lava-like syrup will bubble up and foam like mad before it reaches 240°F. Stay calm! And stay back…it also pops and spits and burns like the dickens if any of that molten stuff lands on you! Remove from heat.

Fitted with the whisk, start your stand mixer on the slowest speed. Being very careful, start adding the hot syrup in a low stream to incorporate with the bloomed gelatine.

Once you pour in all the syrup, mix for 2 minutes and then proceed to add the egg whites along with the vanilla extract.

Mix  on high for about 10-12 minutes, until the mixture has double or tripled in size, it turns an off-white color, it has a nice shine to it and it holds stiff peaks.

At this point with the help of a spatula (lightly spray the spatula with some nonstick spray), Pour all this fluffy and highly sticky gooey goodness into your greased and powdery pan.

 Flatten the top and allow the marshmallow to dry for at least 4-6 hours. Overnight is best. The marshmallow should fill springy and soft  to the  touch.

Once dry, over a piece of parchment paper generously dusted with powder sugar and cornstarch mixture, un-mold the marshmallow sheet with a little spatula pulling from one corner and place the big square on top of the paper. With the help of a dusted knife, pastry cutter, pizza cutter or scissors, cut your marshmallows into squares.

Once they are cut, place the remainder of the confectioners sugar and cornstarch mixture in a bowl and toss the squares, so every side is covered with powder to avoid sticking. Shake the excess powder, and place the marshmallows on a clean cookie rack.

At this point, you will need to decide how many of these marshmallow are going to be used in hot chocolate and how many will simply be devoured all on their lonesome. The only reason I say this is that I prefer to have non-pretzelfied/pistachio’ed marshmallows on my hot chocolate, but to each his own. Proceed with toppings as you see fit!

Melt the dark chocolate, and warm any other sauces you plan to use. Drizzle the marshmallows, sprinkle with toppings of your choice.

Devour!

Guinness Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• ½ cup Milk
• ½ cup Dark Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup Guinness
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar (if desired – remember those marshmallows will add quite a bit of sweetness as well)

Directions:

In a pan over medium high heat, add the cream, milk and chocolate chips. Stir until melted, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in the Guinness. Depending on your personal preference, add in the 2 tbs of sugar for a higher level of sweetness.

Return to heat and stir until desired temperature is reached (Usually between 140 and 160 degrees F).

Serve hot chocolate topped with Guinness Marshmallows.

Enjoy!

Guinness Hot Chocolate Topped with Guinness Marshmallows brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)