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
Ingredients
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
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.
Instructions
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.
Enjoy!
