Rich, dark, chocolate-y, and with a frosting meant to put you in mind o’ the head on a glass o’ Guinness; this cake will be a favorite with even those who don’t care for a bit of stout now and again (like me).
The original recipe came to me from Nigella Lawson and did, indeed, use Guinness, but we’ve been experimenting with different varieties – a vanilla stout in this case, and now, because we thought ‘how cool!’ when we came across it in the beer cooler last week, a chocolate stout.
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
•1 cup Guinness (dark beer)
•1/2 cup unsalted butter
•2 cups sugar
•3/4 cup baking cocoa
•2 eggs, beaten
•2/3 cup sour cream
•1 tbsp vanilla
•1 orange, zested
•2 cups flour
•1-1/2 tsp baking soda
Frosting:
•1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
•2 cups confectioners’ sugar
•1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Heat oven to 350º.
Butter a 9-inch spring form pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and set aside.
Whisk the sugar and the cocoa together in a bowl, and set aside.
Whisk the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla together in another bowl, and set aside.
Whisk the flour together with the orange zest and the baking soda in yet another bowl, and set aside.
Heat the stout and butter in a large pan over moderate heat until the butter is melted.
Remove from the heat and whisk in sugar and cocoa mixture until blended.
Whisk the egg and sour cream blend into the sugar and beer mixture.
Finally, whisk the flour mixture into the batter until smooth, then pour batter into the prepared spring form pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add confectioners’
sugar and cream; beat until smooth (do not over-beat).
Remove cake from the spring from pan and place on a platter or cake stand.
Add the frosting to the top of the cake so that it resembles a frothy pint of beer.
Keep the cake in the fridge or (around here, this time of year) a cool garage until ready to serve.
Enjoy.