Bittersweet Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake

Thursday, 24 July 2008

Cakes made with Guinness stout are not uncommon. A quick perusal of the internet affords dozens permutations on the idea. I wanted to make a cake that would reflect the character of this world famous beer and be friendly and familiar to Americans as well so versions of the cake with fruit and or spice were ruled out. I also wanted to devise a recipe that would efficiently utilize one full (14.9 ounce) can of Guinness “Draught,” the version that has become the most widely available so I eliminated the sour cream and most of the eggs from the various recipes I found to make room for more Guinness in the batter. In the end, I came up with this chocolate Bundt cake that is moist and bittersweet. It needs no frosting, but benefits from a dollop of whipped cream on the side. (Makes 1 Bundt or kugelhopf to serve 12) 1 cup butter, at room temperature 2 cups brown sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon table salt 1 (14.9 ounce) can Guiness draught stout powdered sugar, for dusting sweetened whipped cream as an accompaniment 1.) Butter a 10-cup kugelhopf or tube cake pan and preheat the oven to 350. 2.) In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the butter and sugar until the mixture is smooth then beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then stir in the vanilla extract. 3.) In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 4.) Add about half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and beat until the flour is almost all incorporated into the butter. Add half the Guniness stout and beat until almost smooth. Add the remaining  flour mixture and the remaining stout and beat until the batter is smooth, about 3 minutes. 5.) Transfer the batter to the buttered cake pan and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan to cool on a rack and when it is completely cool, sprinkle it with powdered sugar.

 

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