Guinness Chocolate Cake

Wow....I'm not all that diligent with this blogging thing, am I?  I'd love to blame this on my nonstop, too-busy-to-think schedule, but the truth is that I sit at a desk at work for eight hours a day and have more than enough time to punch up an entry now and then. Shame on me...I'll try to do better. Who knows, all this writing may come in handy someday. But enough talk. Let's get down to the business of baking. 


I have waxed poetic at the joy of baking on these virtual pages before. I love the technical, nit-picky nature of weighing flour down to the gram and carefully mixing everything together. It seems the quality of one's baked goods are directly proportional to the amount of obsessive-compulsive detail that goes into them. Give your cake, bread, or muffins a bit of time and effort, and they'll reward you with moist deliciousness. Baked goods truly come into their own during holidays, when the baker can fashion themed treats based on the occasion. Christmas obviously takes the cake (haw haw) on this topic, but I think that some of the "lesser" holidays deserve some baked respect. And since it's March 17 and your writer is fair-skinned, red-headed, and a lover of stout Irish beers, let's give some love to St. Patrick's Day with a fantastically moist creation called Guinness Chocolate Cake. 


Beer in cake? Yes, it's unorthodox. But as we have shown here before, beer is great at providing a yeasty backnote that is right at home in a variety of dishes. In this cake, the rich chocolaty Guinness brings a complex twist to an otherwise standard cake batter. I expected that, but I did not expect the incredible moistness this cake packs. Wow.  The "frothy" cream cheese icing is a perfect complement to the cake's yeasty sweetness. I took the cake to our church's small group and people were blown away by the moisture and pleasantly unexpected flavors. This one was an unqualified hit, and I'll absolutely make it again. Trust me, give this one a try. If you have friends/acquaintances who are teetotalers, just tell them the alcohol cooks out.  I think that it does, anyways. 


Guinness Chocolate Cake 


Ingredients:

• 1 cup Guinness stout 
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed 
• 3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa 
• 2 cups superfine sugar (pulse regular sugar in a food processor if you don't have any) 
• 3/8 cup plain yogurt 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 

For the topping:

• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar 
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 
• 
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan.

Using a food processor or by hand, mix confectioners' sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

Remove cake from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake and serve.