Chocolate Cake 14 (Guinness)
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 250 mL Guinness
- 150 g butter (unsalted)
- 75 g cocoa powder
- 400 g Sugar (Castor)
- 142 mL sour cream
- 2 eggs (or 4, see note)
- 1 T vanilla extract
- 275 g Flour (Plain)
- 2.5 t baking soda
- For the Topping:
- 300 g cream cheese
- 150 g Sugar (Icing)
- 125 mL double cream (or whipping cream)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4. Line with parchment a 9" springform pan; set aside.
Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter - in slices - and heat until the butter's melted. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla; then pour into the saucepan. Whisk in the flour and baking soda.
Pour the cake batter into the lined pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and remove lining paper from cake. Let cool completely.
When the cake's cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand.
Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, add the icing sugar, and then beat them together. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.
Notes
Notes from source: This cake is magnificent in its moist blackness. I can't say that you can absolutely taste the stout in it, but there is certainly a resonant, ferrous tang which I happen to love. The best way of describing it is to say that it's like gingerbread without the spices. There is enough sugar - a certain understatement here - to counter any potential bitterness of the Guinness, and although I've eaten versions of this made up like a chocolate sandwich cake, stuffed and slathered in a rich chocolate icing, I think that can take away from its dark majesty. Besides, I wanted to make a cream cheese frosting to echo the pale head that sits on top of a glass of stout. It's unconventional to add cream but it makes it frothier and lighter which I regard as aesthetically and gastronomically desirable. But it is perfectly acceptable to leave the cake un-iced: in fact, it tastes gorgeous plain.
SJ Note 4 Dec 2013: Tasty! Moist! Chocolatey! Hooray! Finally! I've not made the frosting yet - I've had so many failed chocolate cake attempts that I didn't want to bother if the cake was no good. This cake is excellent. This is a definite keeper. I fourthed it this time (because that's how much Guinness I had on hand) except I used a whole egg instead of the half I should have used. Might increase the egg proportion when I make a bigger batch to maintain this texture I like so well.