Blackout! Sometimes deep, rich, chocolate cakes go by that name, but in this case it was the real thing. Heading down the street with my precious ingredients I noticed the traffic lights weren't working and when I got home, I realized that wasn't all. Hard to bake a cake without electricity. But fortunately after a two hour lull, we were back in business.

Ever since I blogged about Guinness I've been looking for an excuse to make a Guinness Chocolate Cake and the latest "Is My Blog Burning?" seemed like a good one. IMBB is that mostly monthly event whereby bloggers world round blog about cooking with a certain type of ingredient or on a specific theme. Of course the eighth IMBB event was supposed to be one in which we used spirits or wine, so I imagine using Guinness is a bit of a stretch but then again, you could wash it down with a spot of Irish Whisky or an Irish Coffee.

This recipe comes from a St.Patrick's Day special served at Diamond Jim Brady's Bistro, located in the Novi Town Center, a Detroit restaurant and bar. I made a few changes to the frosting recipe otherwise I followed the recipe to the letter. Dark and chocolate-y this is a great grown-up cake.

Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake

1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 pound butter
1 cup Guinness
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
11/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 350 degrees. With cocoa powder, lightly dust two greased 8 or 9 inch spring form pans. In heavy saucepan heat butter, Guinness and cocoa powder until melted. Cool.
Sift dry ingredients together, add the Guinness-cocoa mixture and beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Add eggs and sour cream and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter into pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove sides and cool. Use a serrated knife to even tops, if necessary. Frost. Chill the cake to set up the frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons Guinness Stout
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cups cocoa

Beat all ingredients, except cocoa, until very smooth. Sift or sieve the cocoa, then mix it in the frosting.

Enjoy!