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There’s nothing better for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day than food and beer. And what’s better than chocolate cake? Add those two ideas together and we have Guinness chocolate cake (or cupcakes).

There are tons of recipes and variations out there but here is one I’ve been making successfully for about five years. The first time I made it was for a work St. Paddy’s Day pot-luck and I baked the recipe in a large bunt pan. It worked out just fine, though was heavy and very rich. Since then I’ve taken to making cupcakes and mini cupcakes with the same recipe. And really, bite-sized Guinness chocolate cakes are just an awesome idea, right?

The cake itself comes out like any chocolate cake except the stout makes it richer and fudgy, like a brownie. There’s an optional cream cheese icing which is supposed to help the dark cake, or cupcakes, look like it has a frothy white collar just like a real Guinness pint. I tend to not use this, though, and sometimes top my cake(s) with a simple ganache. And warning: I make no apologies about the richness of this recipe. This is a decadent cake that’s not exactly diet material!

The cake-making process seems a little much at first but it’s quite easy if you prepare buy setting out all your ingredients and tools before you start. It’s a basic two-step process and will yield one heavy cake, about 1 ½ dozen cupcakes, or a heck of a lot of mini cupcakes.

The ingredients:
* butter for greasing pan
* 1 cup Guinness Stout (there’s more than 1 cup in a can/bottle so to the chef go the spoils!)
* 10 tbsp unsalted butter
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
* 2 cups sugar
* 3/4 cup sour cream
* 2 large eggs
* 1 tbsp vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Topping Ingredients:
* 1 1/4 cups icing sugar
* 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
* 1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch spring form or bunt pan and line with parchment paper. If you’re making cupcakes or mini cupcakes, you may use liners or grease the pans

2. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and sugar, and whisk to blend. Set aside to cool completely.

3. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into prepared pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Again, if making cupcakes, your baking time may be reduced. After about 30 minutes make sure you regularly check them by inserting a toothpick into the centre of one. The toothpick should come out of the cake(s) with a few wet crumbs. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan before removing cake or cupcakes.

4. Topping: Using a food processor or by hand, mix icing sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

5. Remove cake(s) from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice the top of cake(s) once cooled to resemble a frothy pint of Guinness. Enjoy & sláinte!

baking, Food, holiday, treats

Leapin’ leprechauns! Signal has teamed up with the Quidi Vidi Brewing Company to help you ring in St. Paddy’s Day with a chance at winning two dozen of your favourite QV beer!

Check it out:

In the video above, the b’ys all go around collecting empties to cash in for their favourite QV beer. If that were you, which QV beer would you walk away with?

Let us know in the comments and you’ll be entered into a draw.

The winner of that draw will receive two dozen of their favourite QV beer to enjoy this St. Paddy’s Day.

May the luck of the Irish be with you.

Deadline for entry is 6am Wednesday, March 17th, 2010. Draw takes place 8am Wednesday, March 17th, 2010. Winner to be announced 9am Wednesday, March 17th, 2010. Entrant must supply verifiable e-mail address within the e-mail field when leaving their comment for their entry to be valid. E-mail addresses are private and will not be used for any other purpose than to contact the winner. One entry per e-mail address. Winner must be 19 years of age or older.

beer, contest, Quidi Vidi, qv, st. paddy's day

The Pedestrian’s Manifesto, published in the most recent issue of The Scope, covers a lot of ground. From the expected who we are and why we’re mad, to the here’s what we see improving and here’s what we’d like to see further improved, the Manifesto goes a long way towards making the plight of the pedestrian in St. John’s known.

As a full time pedestrian who was once struck by a car while crossing the street, I have to say this was a long time coming. While I’ve no doubt the authors of the Manifesto have their hearts in the right place, some of what they’re both claiming and proposing feels more like a step backwards than one in the right direction.

Take this shot at city council for example:

But as city council repeatedly congratulated themselves for being at the helm of a city that was selected by the Conference Board of Canada as one of the best six Canadian cities for migrants to settle in, we couldn’t help but shake our heads.

Most of the newcomers we spoke with were appalled by the snowy, dangerous sidewalks and the crappy public transit system.

Really? Considering most of the recent influx of immigrants to St. John’s come from far sunnier climes, is it any wonder they’d be appalled by the sight of snow, any snow, in their path?

There’s no question that our winter sidewalks can be treacherous. Using the perspective of the newly arrived immigrant to prop up your side of the argument just seems a little Mooreish.

I’m behind the Manifesto’s list of demands 100%. Their advice to council to “imagine it as if the tourist season occurred from November to March,” is a clever way of getting their point across. But when it comes to describing what the authors will do to take action as pedestrians, I’m in a mix of support and strong disagreement.

We will be more aggressive towards careless drivers.

We will take note of license plate numbers and report them to the police.

We will start a web forum where we post your plate numbers.

We will scream and cause a scene in the middle of intersections.

Rocks?

We will hang up on people who call us while driving.

We will take our space and cross the street and expect drivers to stop, instead of huddling at the corners, waiting for someone to let us cross.

And we will stop waving in thanks to those who do. As Pedestrians, we have the right of way at all times.

You are required to stop.

Actions like publishing license plate numbers and hanging up on drivers, I can get behind. But rocks? Rocks? Beyond being dangerous and illegal, throwing rocks at cars (what else could they be suggesting?) is a great way to further increase the divide between the plight of the pedestrian and that of the motorist. As are causing a scene at intersections and jaywalking.

And as for no longer waving in thanks to drivers who let us cross, while doing so may not be an obligation it certainly is polite. More importantly, it would serve as a good way to strengthen the relationship between pedestrians and drivers.

Isn’t that a large part of what this Manifesto ought to be about?

You’re far more likely to consider the needs of your friend than your enemy. While I take the point that many motorists tend to treat us like the latter, I believe the Manifesto, and the pedestrians it represents, would be far better served if it made strides towards changing rather than encouraging this unfortunate, counter-productive tendency.

[image via J.A. Alcaide's flickr]

cars, city coucil, drivers, manifesto, pedestrian, sidewalks, the scope

No, that’s not M for Mayor. By the looks of the About page, it’s straight up M for Mark. As in this is Mark’s word, now what’s yours?

The M Word is a new corner of the CBC’s vast website, where Idler’s front man Mark Wilson serves up question-of-the-day type videos with the intention of stirring up debate in the community. After you watch a video – there’s only one up so far, and it’s so bad it’s good – you can share your thoughts in the comments section below.

The M word might as well be Municipal, too, since the harmonious co-habitation of the residents of St. John’s, culturally, politically, and environmentally, seems to be the ultimate goal of Wilson’s quest.

More power to him, and to us all.

Below is a screen grab from the new site.

cbc, m word, mark wilson, mayor, Video, website

It’s for a worthy cause.

fundraiser, ghana, gifts, ship

Interesting post by Colin Peddle over at nlphotogs.com about photos and the photographer’s right to be credited in blogs. It was spurred on by an originally uncredited photo posted here on Signal, which at first appeared to be anonymous but was later claimed by photographer Ryan Strickland.

You can read Colin’s post, along with my response, here.

colin peddle, credit, photo, ryan strickland