Chocolate Guinness Cake

Happy St. Patty's Day! This holiday is all about the Irish so I just had to make this cake:) It's a "grown up version" of a chocolaty, moist, dense cake with a subtle hint of a bitter after taste from the Guinness beer used in the recipe. Cream cheese frosting is a great compliment to the cake—as it is for many many other cakes (thank you cream cheese, I love you). It’s always fun to try out cakes with different ingredients!

Chocolate Guinness Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

From Simply Recipe, makes one 8 or 9 inch round cake

Ingredients

·         1 cup stout or porter beer, such as Guinness

·         10 tablespoons unsalted butter

·         3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

·         1 1/2 cups superfine sugar

·         1/2 cups dark brown sugar

·         3/4 cup sour cream

·         2 eggs

·         1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1.      Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 8 or 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray (with flour) and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

2.      In a large saucepan place the beer and butter. Cook over medium-high heat until the butter has melted. Add the cocoa powder and sugars and whisk together. Take off heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

3.      In another bowl beat together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract until very, very well combined. Add to the butter-beer mixture and whisk together.

4.      In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the beer-butter mixture and whisk together until it just comes together. Pour into the prepared pan and give the pan a few short drops onto the countertop to shake the air pockets in the batter to the surface and out of the cake. Bake for 50-60 minutes (test the cake with toothpick at 50 minutes).

5.      Allow to cool on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edge to separate the cake from the pan and pop the ring off the springform.

6.      Spread frosting on the cooled cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Ingredients 

·         12 ounce cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat)

·         2 tablespoon butter, softened

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Directions

1.      Cream cream cheese and butter.

2.      Beat in vanilla extract till combined. Add the sifted powdered sugar to the mixture slower and beat the frosting till combined and smooth.

Notes

1.      I cut the cake in halve to make two layers for more frosting:)

2.      I cut a shamrock shape out of piece of parchment paper, place it on the cake and dust cocoa powder for decoration to get the Irish look on!