Guinness Chocolate Cake

Oh, I forgot to tell you that I made this cake over the weekend!  If the pictures don't speak for themselves (though they are not my personal photos) I should tell you that this cake is incredible!  For lack of a better word, it is so moist (agh this is my least favorite word!)and delicious.  I'll be honest though, when I first starting making the batter I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out.  The smell of melted butter, with cocoa powder and Guinness did not smell so tasty and I'd imagined.  Once I put all the ingredients together, the batter was the best thing I've ever tasted!  A bold statement, I know.  


Below I copied the recipe, but please stop by Design*Sponge to read all about Food Photographer Katie Quinn Davies and see more pictures of this baking process.  

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Cake Ingredients

• 250 g (1 c. and 2 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 250 ml (1 c.) Guinness
• 75 g Dutch process cocoa ( 3/4 c.), sifted
• 275 g (2 +  1/4 c.) all purpose flour, sifted
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 400 g (2 c.)  sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 150 ml (2/3 c.) sour cream
• 1 tbsp. good quality vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients

• 300 g (1 + 1/3 cup) cream cheese
• 150 g (1+1/2 c.) powdered sugar, sifted
• 150 ml (2/3 c.) cream, whipped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

1. Add butter, cocoa and Guinness to a saucepan. Warm over a medium heat and stir until melted. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to cool slightly.

2. Add flour, baking soda and sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix together well. Pour in the Guinness/cocoa/butter mixture, lightly combine, add the vanilla, eggs and sour cream and beat everything together until well combined. The batter should be thick and dark chocolate in color.

3. Pour into a greased and lined 10″ angel food pan (or another straight-sided tube pan) and cook in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean from the centre of the cake.*Note: This cake is very moist inside, so use your judgment regarding the skewer test. Do not leave in the oven until the cake has totally dried out — cook long enough so there is no uncooked cake on the skewer but there may be a few moist crumbs sticking to it after an hour of cooking.  [Please note:  Katie baked this in an 8.5" x 3.5" pan.  If you make this in a regular angel food cake pan, you should start checking for doneness at least 15 minutes early.]

4. Leave to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from the cake tin and placing on a wire wrack to cool completely.

Frosting Instructions

1. Place the cream cheese into the bowl of a mixer and beat on a low-medium speed using a whisk attachment (I find a paddle attachment tends to over-beat the cheese). Whisk until the cheese is smooth and there are no big lumps remaining.

2. Gradually, using a large spoon, add in the sifted powdered sugar and beat gently to combine. After 2 to 3 minutes, stop the machine, scrape any excess frosting from the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed until lump free.

3. Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in the whipped cream, mixing to fully combine.

4. Place cooled cake on a cake stand and add the frosting, spreading out just to the edge without going over the side (never go over the sides of the cake) until the cake resembles a pint of the creamy black stuff! The idea is to capture the essence and simplicity of a pint of Guinness. Sláinte!

I can't wait for St. Patrick's Day to bake this again!  It is my roommate's boyfriend's (got that?) 21st birthday.  Perfect, right? 

Let me know what you think of this cake!

Melina

{images via designsponge}