Guinness Cake for St Paddy's Day!

It was on March 17th, about six years ago, when I was first introduced to Guinness Chocolate Cake. What? Beer cake? The waiter at Allen's on the Danforth assured me that it was too good to pass up. I'm not a big fan of Guinness, but my sweet tooth was intrigued and curious as to how a bitter stout beer would lend itself to chocolate.

It was divine. Not overly sweet nor chocolatey but rather a rich, dense and slightly tangy cake with a smooth cream cheese frothy topping that resembled the head on a well-poured pint. I was hooked!

Now, every year I make this cake for my Irish boyfriend David. He loves Guinness and this sweet beer treat allows him to have his pint and eat it too!

Happy St Paddy's Day - Slainte!
Rosie

Guinness Chocolate Cake

The great thing about this recipe is that it's super easy and the result, delicious.

Even if you've never baked a cake before, this will be a sure winner, everytime! 

Ingredients

For the Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup Guinness stout
1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla


For the Frosting
1 package of cream cheese (250g/8oz)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 cups icing sugar
1/4+ cup whipping cream


Method

Cake

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. 
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat together sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
4. In a large sauce pan, combine the Guinness and butter and stir over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, remove pan from stove.
5. Whisk in cocoa and sugar.
6. Add sour cream and egg mixture. Mix well. 
7. Whisk in flour mixture. 
8. Pour cake batter into the prepared springform pan and bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour. The cake should spring-back slightly to the touch. Do not overbake the cake.
9. Let cool in the pan and once cold, remove from pan and frost.

Frosting

1. In a mixer, whip the cream cheese until smooth. 
2. Add vanilla and sour cream. Mix well. 
3. Add icing sugar and mix together until smooth. 
4. Add whipping cream and whip the frosting until the it resembles thick whipping cream. 
5. You may need to add additional whipping cream to get a spreadable consistency. If the frosting is too runny, add a bit more icing sugar. 
6. Frost the cake to resemble the top of a well-poured pint of Guinness!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Use the same cake recipe as above. 
2. Line cupcake baking tray with baking cups. 
3. Fill each cup approximately 3/4 full with batter. 
4. Bake in oven for 17-20 minutes.
5. Let cupcakes cool in pan. 
6. Frost cupcakes (recipe above).
7. Decorate with green sprinkles, if desired.  
8. Makes approximately 20 cupcakes.