Chocolate Stout Cake - aka Guinness cake

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Janet H

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I thought I'd share this cake I've been making the past few days. I made it on a whim and loved it - then made another for a party, this is the third one in three days :)

The cake is amazingly easy to make and densely chocolate. It would be good served with a dollop of Baileys infused whipped cream but stands alone. Note that it calls for stout beer. NO SUBSTITUTES on the beer - get the darkest, maltiest beer you can find. The entire cake is mixed in a saucepan so use one that is large enough to hold all the batter.

Oven 350 F

Ingredients


1 cup stout beer (really dark beer)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sour cream (use the full fat variety)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 tsp salt


Assembly

Grease a 9-in. springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat beer and butter until butter is melted. Remove from the heat; whisk in sugar and cocoa until blended.

Combine the eggs, sour cream and vanilla; whisk into beer mixture.

Combine flour and baking soda; whisk into beer mixture until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350° for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack IN THE PAN. Remove sides of pan only after cooled and preferably after the cake has had a few hours to rest.

------

I added a ribbon of green marzipan around the edge to gussy it up and sprinkled with powdered sugar.


beercake1.jpg

beer cake 2.jpg
 
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That looks great, the marzipan is a very nice touch!

I have never had this as a cake but, I have had it as cupcakes and they were very good. The ones I had were frosted with a Baileys Irish Cream frosting made by beating icing sugar, butter and a good shot of Baileys until it was thick and creamy.

The problem is what to do with the rest of the stout!:ermm::ohmy::LOL:
 
I've had it as a 2 layer with the Bailey's Irish buttercream in between the layers and covered in ganache. Each cake was 4 inches in diameter, Shrek and I have shared one, but we like not sharing two better.
 
This looks great Janet :)
Just one question, can you taste sour cream once it's baked?
I'm not fond of this new craze of adding sour cream or cream cheese icing to chocolate cake. Would regular cream work?
 
This looks great Janet :)
Just one question, can you taste sour cream once it's baked?
I'm not fond of this new craze of adding sour cream or cream cheese icing to chocolate cake. Would regular cream work?


I don't taste sour cream after it's baked but believe that the acid provides needed balance for the sugar. Using regular cream would undermine this balance and probably mess up the moisture levels as well. :chef:
 
I don't taste sour cream after it's baked but believe that the acid provides needed balance for the sugar. Using regular cream would undermine this balance and probably mess up the moisture levels as well. :chef:

I thought it might be something like that. I thought it was to give the baking soda rise.
I'll try it for hubby's birthday, beer and cake in one!
 
Hey guys long time no post.... Any ways I have been meaning to say for the longest that this is a new family favorite. This recipe is so easy. Just make sure you have lots of cold milk !!
 

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I'm glad you like the cake - it's one of my favorites as well. I usually serve this with a big dollop of whipped cream, but plain works pretty well too ;)
 
This looks great Janet :)
Just one question, can you taste sour cream once it's baked?
I'm not fond of this new craze of adding sour cream or cream cheese icing to chocolate cake. Would regular cream work?
From watching Ina Garten and Anna Olsen on Food Network, I gather that the sour cream makes the baking soda work as a raising agent. Same effect as using cream of tartar with baking soda I suppose.

The Guinness cake we have over here (Nigella Lawson's recipe I think) has a very sweet frosting involving cream cheese but it's very sweet so you don't really taste the sour cream as such. I think regular cream would be too bland.
 
I thought I'd share this cake I've been making the past few days. I made it on a whim and loved it - then made another for a party, this is the third one in three days :)

The cake is amazingly easy to make and densely chocolate. It would be good served with a dollop of Baileys infused whipped cream but stands alone. Note that it calls for stout beer. NO SUBSTITUTES on the beer - get the darkest, maltiest beer you can find. The entire cake is mixed in a saucepan so use one that is large enough to hold all the batter.

Oven 350 F

Ingredients


1 cup stout beer (really dark beer)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sour cream (use the full fat variety)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 tsp salt


Assembly

Grease a 9-in. springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat beer and butter until butter is melted. Remove from the heat; whisk in sugar and cocoa until blended.

Combine the eggs, sour cream and vanilla; whisk into beer mixture.

Combine flour and baking soda; whisk into beer mixture until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350° for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack IN THE PAN. Remove sides of pan only after cooled and preferably after the cake has had a few hours to rest.

------

I added a ribbon of green marzipan around the edge to gussy it up and sprinkled with powdered sugar.


View attachment 17441

View attachment 17442
If you like this, you'll love it with the cream cheese frosting a la Nigella Lawson's recipe. I'm not a lover of chocolate or anything made with it but the Guinness cuts the sickliness of the chocolate and the cream cheese frosting lifts it out of the world.
 
From watching Ina Garten and Anna Olsen on Food Network, I gather that the sour cream makes the baking soda work as a raising agent. Same effect as using cream of tartar with baking soda I suppose.

The Guinness cake we have over here (Nigella Lawson's recipe I think) has a very sweet frosting involving cream cheese but it's very sweet so you don't really taste the sour cream as such. I think regular cream would be too bland.
I've thought about this reply and now would and no you don't taste the sour cream - n the same way that you don't taste the yoghourt or buttermilk in scones.
 
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