Bangers and (Sweet Potato) Mash with Guinness Gravy

This is just something I kind of improvised on the fly when we weren't sure what to have for dinner one day. I came out really nicely, so I figured it was worth recording in case we ever want to make it again.

Beef Bangers (aka Beef Sausages)
4 beef sausages (~1 lb.)
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4-1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4-1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. dried parsley
15 turns freshly ground black pepper
pinch of granulated garlic
a few shakes of dehydrated onion

1. Add all the ingredients to the pan along with enough water to almost cover the sausages.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until water is almost gone and sausages are cooked. Flip and rotate sausages as necessary during cooking.
3. Remove sausages from pan and keep warm while you make the sauce.

Guinness Gravy
Cooking water from Beef Bangers
1 onion, chopped
1 shallot, minced
1/4 c. Guinness
flour

1. Add onion and shallot to pan and cook until browned.
2. Deglaze pan with Guinness and 3/4 c. water.
3. Make a slurry of flour and water (~1 Tbsp. flour to 5 Tbsp. water) and stir this into the sauce.*
4. Cook, stirring, until reduced to desired consistency.

* Next time I would consider replacing the flour slurry with a roux.

Sweet Potato Mash
sweet potatoes
milk
butter
salt
pepper

1. Peel and boil your sweet potatoes.
2. Drain and mash adding butter and milk. (As far as I can tell, the secret to really good mashed potatoes -- sweet or otherwise -- is to add half again as much butter as you think you need.)
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chocolate Guinness Cake

I may have a new favourite chocolate cake recipe. This is pretty much the perfect cake if you're looking for something dark and rich while not being too heavy or sweet. It is the Goldilocks of chocolate cakes.

My previous favourite chocolate cake recipe was tasty and definitely very chocolate-y. It was also incredibly easy, which earned several points in its favour. And it was great if you were looking for a nice dense, heavy sort of cake. I would say it was actually almost halfway between a brownie and a cake. I quite liked it. And it made a nice middle ground for me and TF. He liked it because it was almost a brownie and I liked it because it wasn't quite a brownie. And that recipe will still be my go-to for a nice, simple, heavy chocolate cake.

The Guinness cake though... it's a whole different animal. It's not as dense as my usual chocolate cake and is less sweet as well. There's actually a slightly bitter undertone to it, but it's incredibly moist and rich and dark. A beauty of a cake!

I made a train cake!

Chocolate Guinness Cake
Slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson
250mL Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g Dutched cocoa powder
400g granulated sugar
142mL sour cream (full fat/14%)
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
275g all-purpose flour
2 1/2 baking soda

1. On the stove, melt the butter with the Guinness.
2. Whisk in the sugar and cocoa.
3. Beat the eggs into the sour cream with the vanilla and add to the Guinness mixture.
4. Combine the flour and baking soda and whisk it into the mix.
5. Pour into a greased 9" springform pan and bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes.
6. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.

There was an icing recipe provided as well. I like the idea of a white cream cheese icing to mimic the white head on a pint of Guinness however, this cake is so good on its own, it's difficult to justify even making a frosting for it! I definitely don't think this is the type of chocolate cake that wants a chocolate frosting to go with it. I would be interested to see how it pairs with a slightly tangy cream cheese frosting though. I think it would be good, certainly. It's just hard to believe that it would be better than the naked cake on its own.