Chocolate Guinness Cake

Get in the mood for St. Patrick’s Day with this rich, chocolatey, moist, out-of-this-world chocolate guinness cake, adapted from Nigella Lawson by Simply Recipes contributor Garrett McCord. And for more ideas, see our St. Patrick’s Day recipes section. ~Elise

I’m not a big chocolate person. Nor am I a huge stout drinker. Yet, combine the two together in this cake and you’ll have my attention.

The two ingredients have a lot of dark, husky flavor notes in common and combined with a bit of flour, sugar, and sour cream they blend into a rich as old money dessert that’s perfect for any St. Patrick’s day party.

A simple cream cheese frosting blends perfectly with the slightly bitter crumb and makes it all the better. This cake is best served with a pint of stout or porter beer, such as Guinness, so be sure to buy a six pack so you have enough to drink with your slice of cake.

This recipe is a riff on the classic Nigella Lawson recipe, but with some of the white refined sugar replaced with dark brown sugar which brings out some of the malty, twangy flavors of the beer; and a bit of salt added to highlight the chocolate. For something sweeter use all white sugar and add a tablespoon more of cocoa powder.

From the recipe archive. First posted 2012.

Chocolate Guinness Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup Guinness extra stout
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened natural 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
• 1/2 cream cheese frosting recipe

Read More: Chocolate Guinness Cake