Chocolate Guinness Cake

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Courtesy of Nigella Lawson's Feast (which I highly recommend if for no other reason than to look at the beautiful photos of all that delicious food). I made this for Michael's birthday 2 years ago and haven't made it since. Which is terrible because this is so yummy even if you don't like Guinness (like me) . This cake is dark and moist and lovely and you really can't beat it. Especially if you are a half-Irish birthday boy who's entry into this world is the day before St. Patrick's Day.

For the cake
1 C Guinness
1 stick plus 2 T unsalted butter cut into chunks
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa
2 c granulated sugar (or superfine if you have it)
3/4 C sour cream (I used low-fat by Daisy)
2 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
2 C AP flour
2 1/2 t baking soda

For the topping
8 oz Philly cream cheese (again, I used the lower fat version), brought to room temp
1 1/4 C 10X (confectioner) sugar
1/2 C heavy cream (I used regular milk)

Preheat oven to 350 and butter and line a 9" springform pan. I just got my new pans from Baker's Secret so I used those instead (8") but no matter what pan you use, you really need to line the bottom or the cake will be a stinker to remove later. Also, I dusted with cocoa powder after the buttering.

Pour Guinness into a large saucepan and add butter, heating until melted. Whisk in cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream, eggs and vanilla and pour into the beer mixture. Whisk in flour and baking soda.

Pour batter into cake pan(s) and bake for 45 to 60 min (or less) depending on what kind of pan you use. Cake will be moist but a knife or skewer stuck into the center of the cake should come out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before removing from pans.

To make frosting, beat frosting until fluffy. Sift over 10X sugar and beat until smooth and lump-free. Dribble in the cream and beat until combined. I would use a hand mixer to make the frosting because there isn't enough of it to work in a stand mixer. The cream cheese just ends up sticking to the bottom of the bowl where the whisk attachment can't reach it.

Frost cake and serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Comments

Alissa said…
made this for my dad's birthday this weekend. I used the chocolate ganache recipe from Smitten Kitchen's Chocolate Stout cake instead of the frosting, though... really, really good. :)
11:07 PM
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