A great twist on a traditional devil's food cake, this is our favorite recipe to bake for St. Patrick's day. It's a moist cake, with a rich chocolate flavor and creamy topping. It's finished with a stout beer syrup that is magic. You can make the cake and syrup in advance and assemble the cake the day you want to eat it.
Sometimes, a holiday is an excuse to bake. Others to grab a favorite drink. Others to share your heritage.
St. Patrick's Day might be all of them. And a chance to make boozy chocolate cake recipes.
Give me some Irish booze and a baking recipe, and I will get down to business and make my favorite chocolate cake with bourbon or the brownies with whiskey and raisins I made last year. Or my favorite recipe with Irish cream, this dreamy Baileys chocolate cheesecake.
Today, we're adding this unique Guinness chocolate cake with a thick layer of creamy topping that makes it look very similar to an Irish coffee.
Ingredient list
- Stout beer: I use a creamy stout and highly recommend it because it is less bitter, mellower than the regular Guinness beer. Guinness Draught mild beer is smooth and creamy and a popular one.
- Cocoa powder: always use unsweetened. I like Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder, Ghirardelli Premium baking cocoa, and Scharffen Berger natural cocoa powder. You can also use Dutch-process cocoa powder. And, in my experience, the dark ones are the best (this does not apply to the super dark used for making homemade Oreo cookies known as dark cocoa powder).
- Chocolate: use your favorite dark semisweet chocolate for this recipe. I like Callebaut 54% chocolate wafers or Ghirardelli Premium baking bar.
- White granulated sugar.
- Brown sugar: light or dark.
- Unsalted butter. Don't use shortening.
- Vanilla extract.
- Milk: I like to use regular, full-fat milk because it adds richness, but low-fat works for this cake also. We already have the thick layer of whipped cream.
- Eggs: fresh, large.
- All-purpose flour or cake flour.
- Baking soda: make sure it's not expired.
- Salt.
- Cream: heavy whipping and heavy cream work well.
Variations & Substitutions
- Coffee: add a teaspoon or two of espresso powder dissolved in the milk. It brings out the flavor of the chocolate without adding coffee flavor.
- Chocolate ganache: drizzle it on top of the cream and omit the beer syrup.
- Extra chocolate: sprinkle semisweet chocolate chips on top of the batter before baking.
- Layer cake: use two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans to make layers. Fill and frost (top not sides) with whipped cream, regular or chocolate flavored.
- Bundt cake: another alternative is to use a 10 or 12-cup plain bundt pan and serve it with whipped cream and the stout syrup.
How to make chocolate stout cake
This is an adapted devil's food cake recipe, where you make a chocolate mixture, or thick custard, and then add it as the liquid part of the recipe.
Smooth batter. It might look somewhat curdled at some point before adding the flour mixture, but it will smooth out when you add the dry ingredients and flavorings.
The chocolate custard mixture. First, we mix the liquids, including the stout beer, to make a chocolate mix, similar to a drink.
Using a rectangular pan allows you to frost the cake more easily and cut into squares.
Whipped cream topping
This is a thick layer that goes on the cooled cake, and is reminiscent of an Irish coffee.
Though freshly whipped cream is the best, you can make it a day in advance and keep it well covered in the refrigerator.
More stabilized whipped cream: add a tablespoon of cream cheese to the cream before whipping. It will give it more structure. And the cheese flavor will not be invasive.
The Guinness syrup
This part was almost an afterthought because there was some leftover stout beer after making the cake, but after I tried it, it became crucial!
It's so good and easy to make. Simply boil stout and sugar for a few minutes until it thickens.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, utensils and equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Stout or Guinness beer: I found that the creamy style works best. But since all beers differ depending on where you are, I recommend you use one that is not extremely bitter.
- Cream: we use heavy whipping cream or double cream as they hold well due to their higher fat content. You can whip it up the day before and keep it refrigerated in an airtight container.
- Syrup: this is the perfect addition to finish off this cake. You can make it ahead and keep it in the fridge for weeks. Use it at room temperature and add it just before serving the cake or to the individual servings.
- Chocolate cake: can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a week or the freezer for a month, always well wrapped (in plastic wrap for the refrigerator and adding aluminum foil for the freezer).
For many, Guinness is the king of stout, the best type of dark beer. It's drier and sometimes referred to as a 'dry stout'. That's why I use a creamy stout for this recipe; it's mellow and better for a dessert. But that's my opinion; you can definitely use a stronger, more bittersweet Guinness stout.
Yes, it usually is. Though there are many beers around the world I don't know, stout (or Guinness in many places depending on the type you buy) is stronger in every way: color, taste, and alcohol content.
No, I don't recommend it. The flavor and color are completely different; regular beer just doesn't do it for this cake.
Serving
This is a cake to be served not completely cold or at room temperature, somewhere in between, but that can be assembled a few hours or up to a day before and kept in the refrigerator, covered to prevent drying out.
I like to bake the cake and whip the cream and put it together not long before I plan to serve it but enough to give the cream time to firm up so it cuts easier and neater.
Syrup: drizzle some on the cake before serving it, and pass some extra in a jar or small bowl for those who want more.
Related recipes you might like:
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Creamy Chocolate Stout Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, see Notes below for my favorite brands
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup creamy stout beer, Guinness beer
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose or cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons 140g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup white, granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or paste
For the cream topping:
- 1 ⅓ cups cream, cold
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
For the stout syrup:
- ⅔ cup cream stout
- ⅓ cup sugar
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Butter or spray a rectangular 8x12 inch (20x30 cm) cake pan lined with parchment paper. See Notes below for variations.
- Chop the chocolate and put it in a medium bowl with the cocoa powder.
- Heat the beer in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it almost boils. Don't let it boil. Add to the chocolate and let stand 1 minute.
- Whisk carefully until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the milk and mix. Reserve.
- Beat the soft butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, at medium speed for 30 seconds.
- Add sugars gradually, beating for 3 minutes, until light-colored and fluffy, and scraping the sides of the bowl frequently.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well each time.
- Add the vanilla and mix well, scraping down the sides.
- Sift the dry ingredients (you can do it in a different bowl or have them measured and sift directly over the butter mixture), and add them in 3 parts, alternating with the Guinness mixture in 2 parts, mixing well but just until it's incorporated. You start and end with the flour mixture. Don't be tempted to beat too much at this point as it will make the cake tougher.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The time might vary depending on the pan and oven.
- Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack (cooling rack).
For the cream topping:
- Whip the cold cream with the sugar in a large bowl until it's thick and almost firm peaks form. Be careful at the end, when it's very thick, not to overbeat it because as it might curdle.
- Using a spatula apply to the top of the cake and refrigerate until 20 minutes before you plan to serve it.
- Drizzle with syrup and serve.
For the stout syrup:
- In a small saucepan mix the stout and the sugar.
- Boil for 3 or 4 minutes, until reduced to a honey consistency.
- Remove from the heat. Let cool and use to top the cake before serving.
Notes
Cake adapted from Baked Explorations, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
angiesrecipes says
They look incredible. Is the cocoa powder you use for the recipe natural or dutch processed?
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks Angie! I use either and never had a problem.
Terra says
Oh I definitely had to pin this beautiful cake, it looks wonderful! I do love baking with booze, especially stout beer:-) That drizzle had to make the cake amazing! Hugs, Terra
Cocoa and Lavender says
I can almost taste the darkness and intensity of this! I also love that your parents' wedding cake was a fruitcake! That is so wonderfully old-fashioned! ~ David
The Cooking Actress says
I completely hear you on the becoming our mothers' thing, it's a little bit of a problem, lol!
These brownies look so fudgy and so wonderful and delicious, I'm obsessed.
Christina @ Sweet Peas Kitchen says
Mmmmm... yes please! These brownies look incredible!! 🙂
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
Paula, you struck two chords here. One, "Do you have the same feeling that you´re becoming your mother? I do, and when I see her being exactly like her mother, my grandmother, I worry even more." YES! I'm the only daughter of a single mom. We lost my Granny several years ago, and my mom has seemed more like her ever since. And now, more and more, I see little hints of my mother in me. This is good and bad. 🙂
Two, cream topped cake. Again, YES! I love the idea of rich chocolate playing off the simple, decadent flavor of cream.
Carol | a cup of mascarpone says
Oh my goodness, Paula, these are beautiful chocolate squares. I just love what a stout beer does to chocolate...it's amazing! Not bad to drink either! Wishing you a beautiful weekend and St. Patrick's Day!!!