Chocolate meets dark beer in this decadent dessert from King Arthur Baking Co.
“Stout and other dark beers are often described as having chocolatey overtones,” King Arthur’s Susan Reid points out. “The presence of the stout gives the cake a complex finish, and the slightly bitter hops from the beer act as a counterpoint to the sugar in the cake.”
Naturally, this beer-infused beauty was inspired by a brewery — Barrington Brewery & Restaurant in Great Barrington, MA. The recipe calls for Guinness, it being St. Patrick’s season and all, but you can choose your favorite. The instructions call for 2 cups of beer, but a Guinness can holds 14.9 ounces — just make up the difference with water, Reid says.
Chocolate Stout Cake
One 8- or 9-inch three-layer cake
CAKE
2 cups (454g) stout or dark beer, such as Guinness
32 tablespoons (454g or 1 pound) unsalted butter, cold
1½ cups (128g) Dutch-process cocoa
4 cups (480g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 cups (794g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons table salt (use 1 teaspoon, if you use salted butter)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup (170g) sour cream, at room temperature
FROSTING
2 2/3 cups (454g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate wafers, chopped
2 cups (454g) heavy cream
1 teaspoon King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8-inch or two 9-inch cake pans, and line them with parchment paper circles or reusable pan liners. Be sure your cake pans are at least 2 inches deep.
To make the chocolate stout cake: Place the stout and butter in a large, heavy saucepan and heat until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cocoa powder.
Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sour cream. Add the stout-cocoa mixture, mixing to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix together at slow speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again for 1 minute.
Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans. (The recipe yields about 10 cups of batter. If you’re making a double-layer cake, each pan should have about 5 cups or roughly 1,312g. If you’re making a triple-layer cake, each pan should have about 3 1/3 cups of batter or 875g.)
Bake the layers for 40 to 45 minutes for 8-inch pans, or 55 to 60 minutes for 9-inch pans, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out of their pans and returning to the rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.
To make the frosting: Place the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is completely smooth.
Stir in the vanilla. Refrigerate until the icing is spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.
To assemble: Trim the top of the cake layers to be level, if necessary (otherwise the layers will crack when they are stacked).
Line the edges of a serving plate with parchment or waxed paper to keep it clean, and then place a layer upside down on top. Spread 2/3 cup of the icing over just the top of the layer.
Top with another cake layer, top side down, and repeat the process. If you baked three layers, add that one also.
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Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the chocolate stout cake. Remove the parchment or waxed paper. Sprinkle with shamrock sugar decorations, if you have them.
Note: For a smaller chocolate stout cake, make a half batch of cake batter and cut the frosting in half. Bake the batter in a lightly greased 9- by 13-inch pan for 30 to 35 minutes. Once the cake has cooled, frost it in the pan.
— Courtesy King Arthur Baking; www.kingarthurbaking.com
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