Sweet & Savory Kitchens

Margaux says…

I’m a sucker for recipes that have ingredients you wouldn’t normally put together, like this one.  So when Aunt Suzy told me about this cake last year, I had to try it!  And oh, is it heavenly.  It’s rich, dense and chocolatey, and the frosting is fluffy, tangy and light…a perfect combination!  It’s always a hit with everyone.  It’s also a good dessert for St. Patrick’s day…for obvious reasons!  🙂

Aunt Suzy says . . .

Our friend Pat Eaton, of Madison, Wisconsin, served this when we were visiting them a couple of years ago.   I made it very shortly after returning home for a card party and it was a hit.  This is a very easy cake to make, with a method similar to Texas Cake.  I don’t have a spring form pan, so I used an 8×8 cake pan after researching Joy of Cooking for options.  It turned out nicely, but didn’t look nearly as good as the round shape, which is supposed to simulate a glass of Guinness with that beautiful foam.  I have also thought about making cupcakes with this recipe – they would be like mini-glasses of Guinness.  Have you ever tried making this as cupcakes, Margaux?

Margaux says…

I made them as cupcakes for this St. Patrick’s day, and they were great!  I actually made them as jumbo cupcakes, and they made 11.  If you make them as regular sized cupcakes, they will make 22.  See instructions below for bake times.

This gives “butterbeer” a whole new meaning!  Yum!

Adding the sour cream/egg mixture creates a beautiful swirl…

I also made this last weekend for company, and accidentally forgot to add baking soda.  I put what I thought was baking soda in it, which ended up being extra fine sugar (it was in a matching container to the soda, but not labeled!)  That’s what I get for being lazy and not labeling everything in my pantry.  Needless to say, the cake was a flop (literally).  Hopefully the friends I made it for will trust me that it’s really delicious and make it again for themselves!  This time it turned out perfectly…I wish they didn’t live in Pittsburg so that I could share it with them.

This cake is actually very easy to make, and you can do it pretty quickly because you don’t have to let the ingredients get to room temperature before mixing the batter (they all get cooked in the saucepan together before baking).

Chocolate Guinness Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment paper, or line muffin tins with paper cups.

1 cup Guinness stout
1 stick unsalted butter, sliced
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups superfine granulated sugar (Aunt Suzy uses about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Pour Guinness into a large saucepan, add butter and heat until melted. Whisk in cocoa powder and sugar.

In a small bowl, beat sour cream with eggs and vanilla and then pour into brown, buttery, beery mixture and finally whisk in dry ingredients.
Pour cake batter into greased and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a toothpick inserted at center comes out clean (check at 45 minutes for doneness). Leave to cool completely in pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

For jumbo cupcakes, bake 24-27 minutes. For regular cupcakes, bake 18-22 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Place cream cheese and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl, and whip with an electric beater until smooth. (You may also do this with a food processor.) Add cream and beat again until you have a spreadable consistency, and it’s light and fluffy.

Frost top of cake, starting at the middle and fanning out, so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.