Friday Cocktail: Raspberry & Chocolate Beer Ice Cream Float

Oh yeah, I went there.

It all started when I realised how frickin' deliciously (frickaliciously, if you will) chocolate and raspberries go together.

Then I started mulling it over and remembered that chocolate beer is most definitely a thing, and a thing of beauty at that.

We've already told you about Bateman's mocha beer (my beer of choice for this cocktail, actually - it has real Belgian chocolate in it) and how it makes really good chocolate beer cake, but there's also Youngs Double Chocolate Stout (at Tesco) and a whole ton of others popping up all over the shop.

So I thought: why not add raspberry liqueur to chocolate beer? It'll be fit. True enough it tasted grand, but it didn't blow my socks off, and it wasn't a cocktail yet. I needed more.

Then last week I was wondering down the ice cream aisle at Sainsbury's minding my own business when out of the blue I heard choirs of angels singing and a bright light emitting from one of the freezers, and there in front of me, shimmering with wonderment and giving me 'come to bed' eyes was a tub of Cadbury's zingy raspberry chocolate brownie ice cream.

It was fate - and the raspberry and chocolate beer ice cream float was born. Honestly, when you take a sip and get a bit of the raspberry sauce or little raspberry pops, it's absolute heaven with the chocolate beer.

Naturally, I am going to share the recipe with you.............. now:

Raspberry and Chocolate Beer Ice Cream Float cocktail recipe 
(serves one)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 bottle of chocolate stout or chocolatey beer
• 25ml raspberry liqueur (I used chambord)
• 1 massive scoop Dairy's Zingy Raspberry Chocolate Brownie ice cream (it's currently £2.50 down from £4 at Sainsbury's!) - or any other chocolatey/raspberry-laced ice cream you like
• Chocolate vermicelli sprinkles, to garnish

How to make it

1. Pour out a splash of chambord onto a saucer and coat the rim of your glass in it.
2. Lay out some chocolate sprinkles, give them a little bash with the back of a spoon or something (so they're not so big and clumpy) and the roll the sticky rim of the glass in them to coat it.
3. Pour in some fridge-cold chocolate beer and a shot of raspberry liqueur, and stir carefully (you don't wanna knock your sprinkles off, now).
4. Add an almighty scoop of chocolate and raspberry brownie ice cream on top (and any extra sprinkles if you fancy it) and you're ready to serve.

Go forth and stuff your merry faces, my friends! It's the weekend, after all...