Chocolate Guinness Cake

In honor of St. Patrick's Day.

This is, hands down, THE best chocolate cake you’ll ever eat. I’ve made this cake pretty often and those that try it are pretty amazed. The addition of Guinness, sour cream and all that butter makes the cake incredibly dark, moist and rich.

That, topped off with a thick cream cheese frosting, and it'll become a favorite of yours too.

It’s pretty easy to make, too. I've made this cake dozens of times and have adapted/adjusted it from Nigella Lawson's recipe. Her recipe is for one, thick, nine-inch cake with 8 oz. of Guinness in the batter. Mine is for two, thinner, nine-inch cakes that bake in the same time, but with the whole bottle of Guinness thrown in. (12 oz.)

(Please see "helpful hint" below)

Cake Ingredients

butter for pan
1 cup Guinness Stout (One bottle for two cakes)
10 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Topping Ingredients
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper.

2. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend.

3. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan.

4. Topping: Using a food processor or by hand, mix icing sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

5. Remove cake from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake only, so it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness.

Helpful hint: (Sshh! Don't tell Nigella!)
I've made this cake at least a dozen times and I prefer to add the whole bottle of Guinness to the batter (12 oz.) then divide the batter into two nine-inch cake tins to bake. (That way, you get more of a Guinness-ey taste to the cake and even a moister texture.)

Also, I like to divide the frosting among my two smaller, more manageable cakes. This much frosting on top of one 9-inch cake just gets runny and out of hand.

The only disadvantage to my suggestion is that the cook doesn't get to drink the leftover 4 oz. of Guinness while you work. (Just pour yourself another bottle instead)

Makes one 9-inch cake, 12 servings. (Or two, with my suggestions)