Guinness Chocolate Cake Recipe | Everyone Wants It

Guinness is one of my favorite beers, so when an old co-worker from my Industrial Light & Magic days made a Guinness Chocolate Cake for his new co-workers, I had to get the recipe.  It was such a hit, everyone wanted the recipe.  After making it this weekend myself, I've confirmed it's a must share. 

Even though I haven't baked a dessert in years (I'm not much of a sweet tooth), it was easy to make and pretty fail proof.  It's the perfect cake to bring to parties, and make for those special people in your life, so be ready to share the recipe once it's served.

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

Butter for pan

1 cup Guinness Stout (Guinness Extra Stout works too)

10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups extra fine sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup heavy whip cream

DIRECTIONS FOR CAKE:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9 or 10 inch springform pan.  Line the bottom of pan with parchment paper.  In a large saucepan, combine the Guinness and butter.  On medium-low heat, warm the mixture until the butter melts.  Remove from heat.  Add cocoa powder and extra fine sugar to mixture.  Whisk mixture until completely blended.

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add Guinness mixture.  Add flour and baking soda.  Whisk ingredients together until smooth.  Pour mixture in the buttered pan.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Before removing from oven, stick a toothpick in the middle of the cake to make sure it's done.  If the toothpick comes out clean, it's done.  If there is batter on the toothpick, leave the cake in a little longer and test again.  Cool the cake completely in the pan.  Set it on a wire rack to cool.

DIRECTIONS FOR FROSTING:

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and heavy cream.  Break up the cream cheese as much as possible with a fork.  Add the powdered sugar to mixture.  Mix all ingredients together lightly with a spoon.  Next, blend all ingredients together with a blender on low speed, until mixture is smooth and free of lumps.

Once cake has cooled, remove it from the pan and place it on a platter, bottom side down.  Frost just the top of the cake, as to resemble a frothy pint of Guinness.

THINGS WORTH NOTING:

I used Guinness Extra Stout and it worked great.  If you're not big into Guinness, you may be able to buy just one bottle at your local liquor or grocery store, so be sure to ask if that's possible first.  Also, don't skimp on the frosting.  It might seem like there's a lot of it while you're frosting the cake, but in my opinion, it's the best part.  You'll want all of it!  This recipe comes to us from The New York Times, although I've seen a few other versions on the internet as well.

RECIPE SOURCE: 

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1875-chocolate-guinness-cake