Ice cream is a food that’s good to eat all year long. When I hear from people that they only really enjoy it during the warm months, I immediately question their sense of bearing.In other words, I have to hold myself back from asking out loud “what’s wrong with you?!”
We’ve got the perfect recipe for your “Big Game” party, or your any given day ahead. Even after spending a day with us at the Winter Beer Dabbler, why not finish off the fun with a tasty treat that offers up…more beer? Ahhhh, now you’re thinking like a true Craftapper!
My friend Robin Asbell is a woman of many talents, including her remarkable cooking and writing skills. She’s a regular contributor to the StarTribune’s ‘Taste’ section, and has nine cookbooks to her credit, including her latest where she’s compiled 300 concoctions all using the Vitamix blender. Now “300 Best Blender Recipes Using Your Vitamix” takes a cook in a lot of different directions using that amazing device, but several recipes are basic enough to let you use the blender you have at home, as long as it has the ability to blend ice. If your household inventory is like mine: as the Vitamix is a Maserati, my blender is a ’77 Ford Pinto. But it’ll still get me from point A to point B! If your blender has made Margaritas in the past it will work here.
The only thing you need to prep in advance is to make ice cubes out of whole milk, so get those done a day ahead.
Chocolate Stout Shake
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 to 2 cups whole milk (to make 2 cups milk ice cubes)
- 12 oz. stout beer, divided
- 1/4 cup half-and-half cream
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions
For milk ice cubes: Pour 1-1/2 to 2 cups milk (I recommend whole milk, but your choice) into a standard ice cube tray and freeze. A standard tray will make about 3 cups of cubes. Keeping cubes on hand in a freezer bag saves time for future shakes.
To make shake: Pour half of the stout into the blender container and add the cream, vanilla, sugar, cocoa and milk ice cubes. Secure the lid, and remove the center lid plug. Take the end of a wooden spoon (or the Vitamix tamper) and insert it in the lid opening. You may need to put a towel around the rest of the lid opening to prevent splashing.
Start on low speed and gradually increase the blender speed to the highest setting, using the end end of the spoon (or tamper) to push the ice cubes into the blades. Be careful not to push the spoon into the blades! Blend for 30 to 60 seconds or until thick and smooth. Turn the machine off, and if you hear ices cubes hitting the blades as they fall to the bottom, pulse the blender again.
Pour into 2 large glasses, then pour the remaining beer down the side of each glass, dividing equally. Serve immediately.