Stout Beer Chocolate Cakes

Photos © 2013 Curly Girl Design, Inc./Leigh Standley. all rights reserved.

A friend made this cake for a birthday dinner recently and I could not get enough of it. It is perfect for those of you who have a Guinness or two left over from St. Patty's Day, or you know, those of you who love amazingly delicious chocolate cake. Whichever.

I am very particular about cake to icing ratios. I don't like things that are too gooey or sweet so the right amount of sweet is magically elusive thing when it comes to baking. I will choose cake over icing any day. I know there are many folks who are the reverse. Fortunately for all of us, this recipe has absolutely perfect balance of the two. Which means I will be making this more often than may be appropriate.

The recipe is based on Nigella's “Guinness Chocolate Cake” and if you are partial to beautiful British women who make all food sexy, you might head on over to her site, because I did not change it too much.

I used a small craft Stout instead of Guinness because this particular one is a little sweeter and a little richer than Guinness. The cake does not taste like beer when it's all said and done, just has a deepness to it that is really lovely. I also made the cake as cupcakes for the purposes of sharing, but you can also make it in a spring form pan. This is a dense cake, so be aware that the center might fall a little bit in your spring form…more room for icing. I also think for best results, and if you can get your hands on it, use castor sugar or extra fine sugar, it will blend much better and keep the warm part of this recipe process moving along.

Unlike most cakes, you mix this cake over a little bit of heat in a saucepan. Make sure you use the largest one you have as it will have to contain the whole cake batter at some point… and when you add the flour with the baking soda, it will puff up a bit.

Stout Beer Chocolate Cakes

You will need:

1 Cup Stout Beer

1 stick plus 2tbs Butter

3/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Cups castor sugar (or super fine)

3/4 Cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 tbs. vanilla extract

2 Cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

For the Icing:

8oz light cream cheese

1 1/4 Cup powdered sugar

1/2 heavy cream

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. grease and line a 9″ spring form pan or grease cupcake tins (makes about 24).

In a large wide saucepan, pour the stout and add the butter, heat over medium heat until butter is melted.

When butter is melted, whisk in (whisk is important here) the cocoa and the sugar (together is fine).

Whisk until totally combined. Turn heat down to low.

Beat the eggs into the sour cream and vanilla thoroughly then mix into the warm pan (mix quickly when adding eggy things to warm things).

Mix baking soda into flour and whisk the combo into the pan. Your mixture will puff up a little, keep whisking, keeping sides of saucepan scraped.

Pour the batter into your spring form pan, or spoon it into cupcake tins.

Bake cake for 45 mins. Cupcakes for about 25 or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely.

Once cake is completely cool , mix up the icing in the food processor.

Spin the powdered sugar in the food processor until the lumps are out, then add cream cheese and whirl. Finally add the cream and spin until it is spreadable.

Ice cake/cakes to your liking and lick the bowl.

Be prepared to fall madly in love.

xoxo