Ingredients:

Unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons

Yellow onions, 2 medium (halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise into ½-inch-thick pieces)

Irish whiskey, 3 tablespoons

Granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon

Kosher salt, 1½ teaspoons and a pinch

All-purpose flour, 1½ tablespoons

1 clove of Garlic (finely chopped)

Guinness beer, ½ cup

Beef stock or broth, 6½ cups

Freshly ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon

Crusty baguette, eight ¾-inch-thick slices

Sharp cheddar , eight ¼-inch-thick slices

Preparation:

Here’s where your trusted Quickpot comes in! Start by selecting the high sauté setting. Add the butterl into the pressure cooker.. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, sugar, and salt, and whiskey, and stir with a wooden spoon, separating the onion layers and coating the slices with the fat.

Cover the pot and let the onions cook.

Stir occasionally, until the onions turn a darker shade of brown, 4 to 6 minutes.  Stir in the All-purpose flour and chopped garlic and  Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Then, while stirring, pour in the Guinness (or dark Irish beer of your choice), stirring occasionally, until the beer is reduced by one-third, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the broth and secure the pressure cooker lid in its sealing position, then select the manual setting, and set the time for 5 minutes at high pressure.

When it’s finished cooking,  let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes, then move the pressure release valve to “venting” to release any remaining steam.

At this point, the soup will stay hot on the “warm” setting for up to 10 hours, until you are ready to serve it.

Prepare an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the broiler to high. Divide the soup among 4 oven-safe french onion soup bowls and set them on a rimmed baking sheet. To each bowl, add 2 bread slices Cover each slice of bread with 2 pieces of the: 2 pieces sliced sharp cheddar Set the rimmed baking sheet on the upper-middle oven rack and broil until the cheese is melted, golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes

Remove from the oven and serve! Piping hot bowls of your Irish Onion Soup, perfect for St. Patricks Day!

If you make this recipe and want to share it with us, tag us on Instagram @stokesstores and use the hashtag #StokesMoments.

Here is what you need:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 ⅔ cups Irish whiskey
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Preparation:

• In a blender, combine heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, Irish whiskey, instant coffee, chocolate syrup, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Shake well before serving.

Simple, delicious and so festive – perfect for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in your own special way. Enjoy!  If you make this recipe and want to share with us,  please tag us on Instagram @stokesstores and use the hashtag #StokesMoments.

Here is what you need:

• 3 lbs corned beef brisket, pre-brined, with pickling spice packet (a blend of  mustard seeds, allspice, coriander seeds, cloves, ginger, red pepper flakes, bay leaf and cinnamon)
• 1 cup beef stock

Preparation:

Sous-Vide:

1. Set sous vide machine to 82C/180F.
2. Rub pickling spice packet on the fat side of the corned beef. Put the corned beef and beef broth in a freezer bag, and remove the air using a vacuum sealer or the displacement method. Drop the bag in the bath for 10 hours.

To Finish:

1. To finish the corned beef, heat up the skillet on medium high and sear all sides. Alternatively, place the corned beef under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure to watch closely to ensure the meat does not get burned. 
2. Serve with cabbage and potatoes, and enjoy the most succulent corned beef, ever!

Of course, St. Patrick’s Day wouldn’t be the same without some beer (preferably green), serve alongside your wonderfully filling and savoury Irish corned beef. Pro tip: The leftovers make for great sandwiches the next day!

Enjoy! If you make this recipe and want to share with us,  please tag us on Instagram @stokesstores and use the hashtag #StokesMoments.

#1: The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Canada was held in Montreal!
Another reason to be proud Montrealers, the first ever St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were held in Montreal in 1824. Is anyone surprised? Perhaps this is what set the tone all those years ago for Montreal to be the party destination it is today. Source: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/st-patrick-s-day-in-canada

#2: The official colour of St. Patrick was originally blue!
The colour blue has deep meaning and roots in Irish mythology, history and culture. When George III established the “Order of St. Patrick”, its official colour was even referred to as “St. Patrick’s Blue”. So why aren’t we slathering blue face paint on March 17^th instead of green? Towards the late 18^th to 20^th century, the colour green as well as St. Patrick’s famous shamrock became a symbol of identity, patriotism and even rebellion for the Irish. Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/should-st-patricks-day-be-blue-180954572/

#3: The city of Chicago dyes their river green every year.
Every year since 1962, the Chicago River is dyed green using 40 pounds of an eco-friendly powder dye that the organizers refer to the dye as “leprechaun dust”. Source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-st-patricks-day-chicago-river-green-dye-tradition-20160311-story.html

#4: The most popular drink on St. Patrick’s Day is…beer!
To no one’s surprise, beer is a St. Patrick’s Days staple. While green beer is festive and fun to indulge in, Guinness is the most commonly ordered. If you’re avoiding the crowded bars or simply want to kick off the festivities at home, good beer glasses are a must have. Pro-tip: Frost your glasses by leaving them in the freezer beforehand for a world of difference! Source: https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/guinness-st-patricks-day

#5: St. Patrick used to be a dry holiday…
This may be hard to believe; especially having just read #4 above but it’s true! St. Patrick’s Day was originally treated more as a religious holiday and all the pubs in Ireland would be closed. This was the case up until as late as the 1970’s! Source: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/all-pubs-ireland-closed-st-patricks-day

#6: Shamrock Shakes are back and here to stay!
For those who do prefer to indulge in something non-alcoholic or are looking for a festive St. Patrick’s Day drink for kids, the infamous Shamrock Shake is perfect! You don’t have to wait once a year for McDonalds to bring it back. You can make and serve up your own version of this minty-fresh deliciousness at home. However you like to make your milkshakes, just make sure you have a good blender and some peppermint extract in your pantry and you are officially well equipped. Bonus points if your blender is mint-green as well!

#7: St. Patrick’s real name wasn’t actually Patrick…
March 17^th could have very well called St. Maewyn’s Day! The actual saint Patrick’s name that he was born with was Maewyn Succat. According to legend, he had changed his name to Patricius when he became a priest. Source: http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972553_1972551_1972451,00.html

#8: St. Patrick was not actually Irish!
Perhaps the most surprising fact so far, St. Patrick was actually British. He was born in Britain towards the end of the 4^th century and actually came to Ireland originally as a slave and was held captive for 6 years. He eventually escaped back to England, but returned to Ireland later in life as a missionary. The rest is quite literally, history. Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/3/120316-saint-patricks-day-2012-march-17-facts-ireland-irish-nation/

#9: There were no snakes in Ireland…
St. Patrick’s legendary feat was driving the snakes away from Ireland during a powerful sermon he delivered. However, this scientifically is inaccurate as the climate in Ireland, especially at the time, was not suitable for snakes to live in – meaning, there were no snakes at all in Ireland at the time! Maybe they were worms? Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/3/140315-saint-patricks-day-2014-snakes-ireland-nation/

#10: The official dish to cook on St. Patrick’s Day is Corned Beef & Cabbage.
Every holiday has a meal associated to it and while beer may heralded as the main beverage for St.Patrick’s Day, the food is as humble and hearty as well. Corned beef and cabbage is cooked and enjoyed on St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re serving up a St. Patrick’s feast at home, this is the perfect meal to prepare! This is one of those easy recipes you can rely on your trust slow cooker for. Dump all your ingredients in there and have a drink (or two, or five, it’s St. Patrick’s Day – no one’s counting!) while you wait. Source: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/g981/st-patricks-day-food/

And what better way to celebrate that than to make a chocolate cake?! This St-Patrick’s day why not make it extra festive by adding two classically Irish favorites into the mix: a touch of creamy Irish Stout, Guinness for example, and of course, you’ve got to top it off with some Kelly green icing!

With this recipe, we bring you a Four Layer Chocolate Stout Cake by Savoury Sweets Bakery’s Allison Sklar. And by the time you’re through with it, we hope you’ll be feeling that luck ‘o the Irish! Happy St-Patrick’s Day!

Recipe

Four Layer Chocolate Stout Cake 

This cake comes together in one large bowl and requires nothing but some measuring cups, spoons & a standard metal whisk. Note: do not substitute any ingredients. Baking, unlike cooking, is a science. This cake requires real buttermilk & real beer in order for a physical reaction to occur. These ingredients together help in creating a fluffy, slightly dense crumb. Vegetable oil is my oil of choice for baking as it has a neutral flavour and keeps the cake moist. Though you may taste the beer in the batter, the final product only has a hint of stout, but a whole lot of complex chocolate flavour.

Ingredients

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup Irish Stout beer (such as Guinness)
• 2 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups flour

Method

Use butter or margarine to generously grease four 8″ cake pans. Cut out a circle of parchment paper to place on the bottom of each. (Don’t skip this step, or you’ll have a messy time removing them from the pan once they’re cool!)

In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil & beer. Add sugar & eggs, whisking until homogenous. Whisk in sifted cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Add flour, a little at a time, whisking slowly after each addition. Only mix until flour is combined – do not over-mix!

Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Allow to cool. Remove from pans, wrap in plastic wrap, and transfer to freezer for an hour.

Make ahead tip: You can bake and freeze up to 3 weeks in advance.

Molasses Buttercream

Ingredients

• 454g  butter
• 500g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp fancy molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

In the Promix stand mixer, paddle 454g of butter until fluffy, intermittently scraping down the sides. This should take about 7 to 10 minutes on medium-high speed. Your butter will turn a very pale, nearly white colour, and will increase in volume as you add air into it. Add the sugar, a little at a time, mixing on low with each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, add the molasses and vanilla. Beat on high for 2 more minutes, until everything is well combined and buttercream is fluffy.

Assembly & Decorating

The easiest way to assemble a cake is to use the “naked cake” method.

PRO TIP: Use a cardboard cake board that is 2″ larger than your cake. Place this underneath your cake for easier clean up and transport.  Put a little dollop of cream underneath the bottom of the cake to secure it to the board/tray so that it doesn’t move around as your decorate.

Place one chilled layer of cake on your board or on your serving tray, such as the Lina cake stand from Stokes. With a spatula, scoop a generous amount of buttercream onto the layer. Smooth it out with a decorator’s spatula or a butter knife. Top with second layer & repeat. Once you reach the top, smooth buttercream over the surface. Voila! Serve as is – a beautiful, naked cake – right on trend!

Feeling rather festive? Let’s make it green using my watercolour effect!

Smooth out the sides of the cake with a flat spatula. Use some green food dye to tint the rest of the buttercream, but do not mix it in completely – allow streaks, these are good! Spread it carefully onto the sides of the cake, smoothing once the entire cake is covered. Add green sprinkles, if desired.

PRO TIP: For extra smooth sides, run a butter knife under hot water and run it lightly over the frosted edges.

Serve on your très chic plates and enjoy with your matrix mirror dessert forks!

Helping you celebrate with something sweet,

Click here for a printer friendly version of the recipe.

Allison believes that the best way to combat nasty cravings is to eat more sweets. A professionally trained pastry chef and a qualified art teacher, Allison combined her two passions and founded Savoury Sweets Bakery in 2014. Allison’s creations are as unique as they are delicious – never using fondant, her cakes are all decorated using fluffy buttercream frosting, accented with handmade fabric flowers and customized hand-drawn toppers. Sweet tables are one of her favourite things to cater, as she gets to show off her talent for making chewy cookies, decadent brownies & her famous pie squares. Among her many talents, Allison also specializes in a variety of vegan baked goods, so everyone at your next gathering can indulge in a little something sweet. From weddings to birthdays, big or small, Allison does it all. Check her out on Instagram, on Facebook, or on her website.