| 4 | egg yolks |
| Scant 1 cup (200 g) plus 3 tbsp | packed light brown sugar |
| 1¼ cups (300 ml) | Guinness (stout) |
| 1¼ cups plus 7 tbsp (400 ml) | heavy cream |
| 3½ oz (100 g) | good-quality dark chocolate (about 72% cacao), chopped |
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the scant 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar until foamy. Beat for quite a while, so that the mixture contains lots of air and is nicely pale colored and mildly stiff.
2. Measure the Guinness and wait until the foam has sagged, so that you can be certain you have enough beer. In a heavy saucepan, bring 7 tbsp (100 ml) of the beer and 1¼ cups (300 ml) of the cream to a near boil. Turn off the heat immediately and add the chocolate. Let it stand for 5 minutes so the chocolate melts. Stir until smooth. While whisking, add the beer-chocolate mixture to the egg yolks in the other bowl and whisk into a smooth custard.
3. Pour the custard into six small ovenproof jars to ⅜ inch (1 cm) from the top and place them in a baking pan. Place the pan in the oven and pour hot water into the dish to come halfway up the sides of the jars. Bake the puddings for 30 minutes. Test by sticking in a knife—if it comes out clean, they are ready. Take them out of the water bath and let cool on the counter. Cover and place in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, boil down the rest of the Guinness with the 3 tablespoons brown sugar into a syrup. This takes about 20 minutes—you’ll only need 2 tablespoons of syrup, so let it thicken nicely.
Let cool until ready to use.
5. Before serving, whip the remaining 7 tbsp (100 ml) cream until it just about sticks to a wooden spoon. Pour the cream over the pudding jars and drizzle some Guinness syrup on top. Serve immediately.
from Home Baked