1. Chainbreaker Meringue Swirls with Orange Zest

    April 3, 2013 by bri

    Citrus season is always one of my favorite food seasons, so I’m always a little sad to see it go. But the end of citrus season also means the end of winter. It means more color, more sunshine, more warmth, and the fast approach of Seattle Beer Week.

    It means sitting on the back porch with a summery beer will soon be a common activity!

    Saying goodbye to citrus also means it’s time to start thinking about rhubarb. A friend of mine had an idea to brew a Belgian Witbier with rhubarb, so that is definitely on the docket for upcoming homebrew activities. I’m thinking chamomile would be a good accent spice to the tartness of rhubarb.

    Belgian Witbiers got me thinking of these pillowy striped meringue cookies I noticed on Martha Stewart’s website, so I decided to adapt the idea to include some great craft beer flavor.


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  2. Hair of the Dog Adam Basque Cake with Adam Pastry Cream

    January 31, 2013 by bri

    Happy New Beer (Year)!

    2012 ended with a bang for Beer for Dessert. I wrote an article about craft beer and holiday pies for CraftBeer.com (here), and a few of my recipes have been featured on the site, which is awesome! I’m also looking forward to taking an online class on brewing from the Siebel Institute (a surprise Christmas gift from Mr. Beerfordessert).

    I rarely make resolutions, but I often enter a new year full of hopes and expectations for the coming months. This year is no exception: I’m hoping to try tons of new beers this year, thus I am dubbing this season “New Beers” season.

    My good friend, Adam, recently introduced me to the Crux Fermentation Project out of Bend, OR (featuring the former brewmaster for Deschutes, Larry Sidor) via an awesome holiday gift: a small growler of their Triskel IIPA. A refreshing reminder that although Russian River is no longer distributing to WA, there are still fantastic things going on nearby in the world of west coast IPAs.

    I just got back from Port Townsend’s Strange Brew festival this past weekend, full inspiration for new homebrewing and pastry projects: whiskey and ginger with red ale, rauch beer with the flavors of butterscotch candies, pineapple with a big juicy IPA, and much more!

    This recipe, however, uses an old favorite. Mr. Beerfordessert had another birthday, and Hair of the Dog Adam continues to be his favorite brew.


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    Category Cakes | Tags: , , , , , , , , | No Comments

  3. Cranberry Upside Down Cake with Two Beers Pumpkin Spice Ale

    November 3, 2012 by bri

    Every fall I look forward to two things with an equal amount of excitement: pumpkin beers and fresh hop beers. Luckily, living in Seattle means I don’t have to worry about going without.

    Another fantastic element of life in Seattle is the abundance of beer festivals. My favorite is held in the autumn — the Elysian Great Pumpkin Beer Festival (GPBF). Breweries from all over town and across the globe come together and provide us Seattleites with the nectar of the gourds, sweet fermented liquid of squashiness. A true beer-lover’s celebration of the great fruit of fall.

    This year did not disappoint. My favorites (in no particular order) included some new local breweries. Reuben’s Brews made a Pumpkin Rye that had an obvious rye spiciness to compliment pumpkin pie spices in the concoction. Bainbridge Island Brewing aged a pumpkin ale in a whisky barrel and dubbed the brew Whisky Jack. Just enough whisky to warm your senses and amplify the pumpkin flavor. Epic Ales made a Pumpkin Pie Gose, a sour and salty beer that benefited from the squashy and spicy undertones.

    I left the festival hungry for a sweet and tart pumpkin ale inspired dessert, and this cranberry upside-down cake made with Two Beers Pumpkin Spice Ale really hit the spot.


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    Category Cakes | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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